3rd Gen Air Box Mod

I would like to post this as a sticky for future members to the 3rd Gen section of EF.

I did the Air Box Mod to my current ( 2005 V6 explorer ). I really wanted to get a K&N Intake for my " new X " but there is no Intake kit for my application, because FORD decided to combine the factory air box, and the MAF together as one piece. Now because of this, us ( 04-05 ) V6 owners have no known performance product to suit our vehicles...

Now this mod can also be a cheap alternative to members who own ( 02-03 V6's ) + ( 02-05 V8's ) that are looking for a little extra power / mpg's etc. instead of getting the 300$ K&N Intake

for about 40$ to 60$ depending on your local auto parts store prices, and about 10 to 20 minutes of easy work. you can improve the performance of your vehicle instead of buying a 300$ kit. This Mod is not dyno proven, but when behind the wheel you will notice a difference

below is the list of steps i took to complete the mod...



* K&N Filter Part No. ( 33-2207 )

* disconnect the battery ( resets the PCM to a certain point )

1. for you ( 02-03 V6 ), and ( 02-05 V8 ) owners, unbolt the top of the box from the MAF.

* ( 04-05 V6 ) owners, take a flat head screw driver to loosen the clamp that holds the MAF / INTAKE TUBE together. just enough to move the top of the box out of the way. *** DO NOT UNPLUG THE MAF ! *** theres plenty of wiring to just move the top of the box out of the way.

2. open the airbox by undoing the 2 clips on the side, and pull the top open...

3. remove the filter...

4. the bottom 1/2 of the box is held in by 4 rubber gromets, 2 on the bottom of the box, and 2 on the fender side of the box. gonna have to wiggle the box loose a bit then yank it out. might be a little tough, might have to use a little force.

5. the silencer is the 6-7'' tube thats in the box ( the only 1 ) pull this out...

6. drill holes in the walls of the box. i did the FRONT, and FENDER SIDE, and the BACK SIDE of the box... leave the side of the box facing the engine alone, it some what acts as a heat shield...

7. then place the bottom 1/2 of the box back in where the gromets line up...

8. place filter back in or new performance filter of choice...

9. bolt the box back to the MAF or place the MAF and Intake tube back together, and tighten to clamp so its firm...

10 reconnect the box clips...

11. reconnect the battery...

12. turn on your X and let run for about 5 minutes or so in idle, then take a quick cruise and feel the difference...

* after running the mod with just the hole drilled on the front / side / back of the box. i did just cut around the edges of the front holes, and now there are 2 large holes in the front side of the box only...








this mod is done at own risk, and would most likley void a warranty, depending on how much of an A-Hole your mechanic is etc etc. but going to a junk yard and buying the bottom portion of the box is what i did to have as a spare for that reason.


Best of Luck Fella's !

He let me in on this a while back and it seems to help some. I need to get a K&N to go in it and drill some more holes in the box. I didn't put half of what you did. I think it would help more. Oh ya, gives the motor a great sound too under the hood.

STU

i did this today i removed that tube and put quite a few holes and really cant hear a difference in sound

if you already have a muffler or exhaust, then no you prob wont hear it over the exhaust...

its not retarded loud, but if you opened the box up enough, you should hear a difference. i know i did

i just pulled the silencer tube out with this help me out at all?

Wouldn't this defeat the purpose of the filter? :scratch:

No because you drill the holes in the box below the filter. The bottom is the inlet side the top is filtered air to the engine.

First of all, I want to say how grateful I am to have found this forum after I recently purchased an 05 Explorer EB 4.0L (with only 17K on it...gotta love old people in Florida ). Thanks for the tip/write-up on this mod. I just did it yesterday and I am very pleased with the results. Better air-flow and a sound that will keep me happy till I get a new exhaust. I know this really isn't the welcome section, but I want to say hi to everyone and let them know how helpful this forum has been in just the first 2 weeks I've owned my Explorer

I have an 05 v6, is there really not an intake kit?

Fordy55 said:

I have an 05 v6, is there really not an intake kit?

Click to expand...

http://www.kustomz.com/054004.html

MCHAMMER...

Welcome, and glad to help fella !

KKM does make a cone filter with a MAF adapter, but still uses the restictive factory tubing...

Just did this today. I have a loud exhaust setup already, but I did this for increased airflow. Haven't noticed anything yet.

You feel / hear the effects before you mod the exhaust...

once you get the exhaust done, you wont hear the awesome ( Inhaling Noise ), but when you punch it you may notice a little difference on the bottom end...

Thats what I was hoping for. I've been driving a bit today, and did notice a little better low-end response, and a bit of a deeper sound with my exhaust at high rpms.

thats the goal basically

it will help bring back some of the lost low end tq, and make the truck sound better !

does the v6 intake tube have them little resonator boxes in them? (IF so remove them and use a pvc end pipe plug to plug it).

I was thinking about this mod, well removing the intake tube deal by the headlight. I think though it will suck up some warm under hood air versus air from outside the engine bay.

i was able to fit a weapon r intake on my 04 explorer, wasnt very hard at all to do.

was your airbox, and MAF combined into 1 piece or were they seperate ????

I drilled about 1/3" holes on my Airbox, probably about 20 total. I was going to bore them bigger and add more, but I might just do something like this:

CALDWELL said:

was your airbox, and MAF combined into 1 piece or were they seperate ????

Click to expand...

yes the maf was built into the top of the airbox