Re: Replacing the engine's air filters
In addition to his excellent post, just a few items to keep in mind.
A. The screws, as he mentioned DO NOT need to be removed completely from the housing cover. They only need to be unscrewed enough to lift the cover off. Not only does it reduce the work required, but since the screws are retained in the housing cover, they don't get lost. Also, you won't be dropping them into the intake. (Which I KNOW you have placed a dishcloth over, just AS SOON as you removed the airbox, to keep foreign objects like raccoons from getting into the engine inlet and foraging for treats)
B. When you are putting the cover back on, press it gently into position, and equally GENTLY, start the screws. It is easy to cross-thread them or get them started in a new track into the plastic tower. If you rotate them gently without pushing very hard, you will feel a tiny "drop" sensation as the screws start happily into their original threads. When you turn them down, they will rotate quite freely as they spin down into their original thread track in the plastic tower. There will be no increase in effort required until they spin nearly to the bottom, when they start applying squeeze pressure to the rubber gasket on the filters. At this point the effort to turn them will increase. When they finally bottom out and are tight, you will feel a definite "STOP" in the turning motion. Don't go beyond this point when tightening the housing screws.
BE GENTLE!
C. To make installation of the airbox a little easier, while you have it upside down (on the protective blanket or beach towel that you certainly used to keep from scratching it up while you were changing the filters) put a little dab of vaseline at each of the retainer clips. Just a dab will make them slip into place more easily, and avoid any squeaks from your intake when you ask for high power to thrash the insolent characters who seem always to be so desperate to get in front of you, so they can turn on their blinkers and slow down to 20 mph under the posted speed limit, while apparently transfixed in wonder that the road really DOES seem to go on forever, and "Look Mabel!! There's a TREE! By golly, you don't see THOSE everywhere!"