First hesitation, rough idle, then no start...

[Coasting2aStall]

Oh you are going to like this. I notice the rubber end on air tube that connects to throttle body is chewed up. Ok, pull it off yet again and look close, not only rubber disintegrated in half, but piece of the molded plastic is missing. I go gungho with duct tape and bingo, starts right up and hesitation much less. Found my air leak. Duct tape not going to last.

Well seems you cant buy just the rubbers and the plastic has chunk out of it. Sorry, not spending $150 for new piece of molded plastic tubing. So I pull whole thing. OMG! Holes on bottom of it, where the pleats are, that supposedly allow little flexing. Hole worn on edges of pleats rubbing on something over the years. So even if I fixed the ends, this is a lost cause. And yea the air leaks between MAF and throttle body for sure the cause of my problems.

So this is already 24 years old, if there are some in some junkyard they are going to be worn too. Did find used one on ebay for $50 which is crazy enough and no guarantee how long it would last. New one is insane priced. The flange on the throttle body is 2.75 inch diameter. Flange on MAF housing is 3 inch. And need a T to attach the vapor hose from the oil fill. you can get some silicone bits and pieces with 2.75 diameter. But its not a common size tubing. Plus the molded one has flat area where the "caution fan" warning is.

Guess what I am asking is has anybody found economical work around? Something durable that doesnt cost an arm and a leg. Something that lets hood shut properly and doesnt interfer with moving parts on front of engine?

It would cost some to piece together one out of silicone hose, but probably cheaper than new OEM and the silicone would flex to allow hood to close.

I thought about even using the SS flex exhaust tubing though metal would get hotter. Again the 2.75 is rare and pricey and only in ten foot lengths when I need more like 3ft. Would 2.5 inch SS flex exhaust be large enough to allow air flow necessary. This isnt ever going over 3000rpm, its a beater truck and going for longevity not performance, so would seem 2.5 inch would work. I doubt 3 inch tube would allow room for hood to close properly... unless I beat on it with hammer.

There is a $12 universal flexible plastic air intake hose meter long on ebay. Its three inch. No idea its quality or anything and it comes on slow boat from china. Whether it would flatten enough to not interfer with hood??

 

[Rhett]

Been discussed before...there is a big thread on using PVC and rubber joiners around here.

I could never get the PVC to fit, with the hood insulation etc. in place on my '94. Others have gotten it to work successfully. I think they went with smaller diameter.

My fix has been Permatex Black. i was able to rebuild the rubber on the TB side. It eliminated the pinging I had from unmetered air. I did not have any holes in the tube itself though. I'm not sure how I'd tackle that, since there is no easy way to support the inside of the tube while you apply the fix to the outside. Maybe a plastic weld kit (available at auto parts stores) could do it. But then again, a hole in the intake tube -- how would you get behind the hole to firm up the filler material? It's a challenge man.

You can buy heat-resistant tape, like Cool Tape from DEI. That stuff will last for about 6-8 years of heat cycles. I'm not sure if it would seal well enough, but it might.

 

[Coasting2aStall]

Yea doesnt make much sense for new tube to cost what they do. I went over how to make one with 2.5 inch flex exhaust and several silicone connectors, they make them in sizes to fit about anything. But still seemed like lot money for stupid air tube.

The weak holey areas are the two accordion pleats on each end of original. Why they exist at all is beyond me, this plastic is too rigid to flex much. I patched the MAF end one, just one hole/split. The throttle body end was a mess. I finally just cut whole pleated area off. This left a 3.25 inch hole. Cat food can I had, made nice tight fit so measured diameter. So off searching for 3.25 inch OD tubing. Only thing I found was a foot length of 16 gauge aluminum on ebay for $24.

So for $36 bought the aluminum plus two silicone adapter/connector pieces. Going to put length of aluminum tube into the hole and drill three holes and bolt it with small bolts in three places to the plastic. Then use silicone sealer around the edges. That way the bolts hold it, the silicone just seals it. On other end stick another length of the aluminum tube in and just clamp it. The silicone connectors then hold everything together using hose clamps. Least thats my plan. Order in and stuff on the way.

If it wasnt for that crazy odd size tube needed, sure could done it for lot less.

 

[Coasting2aStall]

Ok, finally got my pieces. And got to looking around for way to actually glue hard plastic. Seems to be popular fix for plastic radiators, using super glue plus baking soda. Ok picked up fresh box baking soda on last shopping trip and ordered the super economy bundle of super glue off Amazon.

So first test of how this worked to seal accordion pleat on MAF side. Little clumsy with it, would do little different if doing again. But amazingly it worked and held together as I flexed the accordion! I am able to test it cause the rubber on MAF end though not great condition, is still intact and will seal.

Then since I had already cut off the accordion on the other side, inserted short length of 3.25" aluminum tube into the hole and glued/sealed it.

And pic of it installed in Ranger. I did use hose clamps on the red silicone connector, just took pic before I put them on.

No idea how long this repair will hold, but some people using this on youtube seem to think it will last indefinitely. The baking soda not only cures the super glue almost immediately, it cures it to a VERY hard mass. And latches onto plastic like nothing I have seen.

Wow what a difference when I started up the Ranger. No hesitation or rough idle.

 

[Coasting2aStall]

I am old man and dont drive lot miles anymore so hadnt run tank after modifications. But today took long drive, filling up before I left and after. Secondary road with lot hills and twists and turns. Anyway got gas on way home. 15.83mpg. Yea I know not that impressive, probably average for one of these engines. BUT it is impressive to me after living with 8mpg for long time. CEL did come on about half way, havent looked to see code.