Air filter

[WhoShotJR]

Like most on here I am an over achiever when it comes to preventive maintenance, thus my air filter changes are around 15k miles (every second oil change), not the manual listed 30k - I believe.
See attached pic, any idea what would cause those dark areas on the filter? Previous changes did not have these. This interval saw mostly highway miles between home and the Rockies, with some trail running up there. No towing, very little stop and go. I use Mahle as I am a huge fan in their quality (my beast V8 powered BMWs were utilized fully on the autobahn for 7 years and I always used Mahle for air and oil filters and they performed perfectly). Previous black stone oil analysis (Ravenol 5w-30) was perfect, although this recent change is still out for analysis.
Truck at the dealer now for a front drive shaft seal leak - warranty claim, so if anyone id’s a serious issue I can let them know asap. Thanks in advance all!

 

[CoronaRaptor]

That just looks like a really dirty filter. Maybe the lid wasn't attached tightly.

 

[WhoShotJR]

I wish that were the case, sadly lid was secure with all clips.

 

[WhoShotJR]

And i do hope I am seriously overthinking this...

 

[CoronaRaptor]

It looks normal, just really dirty. Mine looks like that on my Raptor and Jeep.

 

[WhoShotJR]

Thanks Corona, good info. I hadn't seen one that dirty since my 2001 Ram Cummins Diesel...

 

[JohnyPython]

Looks normal - I believe the oem filter media is oiled but could be wrong.

 

[nikhsub1]

Pretty sure the OEM filter is a paper element. That filter doesn't look that dirty at all really. Not saying not to change it, but it is doing it's job and I see no issue.

 

[Mister Pinky]

Looks like blow by from the PCV to me. 7.3 Powerstrokes were famous for caking the intake with oil from the PCV system. This is nowhere near as serious but you’ll find it’s more common in turbo applications.

 

[COLORAP303]

I’m very interested as I’m having similar issues. My 17 just got the air filter replaced yesterday after only 6,500 miles it looked nearly identical to this. Mine is dirtiest in the corner closest to the front passenger side. 95% of miles are highway. The rest are very dusty trails and dirt roads but 6500 seemed soon.