Thoughts on Air Box Mod

[greyboxer]

Hey everyone, since I trust the forum with more than my life, I trust it with my Explorer, I was wondering if anyone could take a look at a mod I stumbled across on the web and let me know what you think.
Thanks

Gary

http://ford40.com/airbox.shtml

 

[pope_face]

I believe in the basic premise for this mod, and that's what I was intending on doing, until I realized that if I'm doing any wheeling it'll suck up water pretty quickly... Personally I think it'll work slightly better than an open element filter, and if you're smart about it I don't see any reason for you to have any problems with it, but you have to decide whether or not you want to do any wheeling with your truck... if you're going to be ripping through mud and water then you've got to watch that you don't suck any into the intake...

 

[Jason94sport]

I wouldn't want that thing sticking out of the wheel well. I can see some major damage on the first bad pot hole or speed bump. The principle is sound though.

 

[pope_face]

Actually, it would sit behind the wheel... further in towards the engine... I think it mentions it in the writeup...

 

[bikeboarder]

if i had a pavement pounder i would have done that insted of a cone, but i wanted to raise my intake so i went with the cone.
that mod would be extreamly cheep and i bet it gives the 12HP it says it does. but that ranger is way too clean to be a mudder so i bet he doesen't wheel it. if you dont go through water or go muddin' then do it.

but if you do like to use the explorer the way it was ment to be used then dont.

 

[ExploringNC]

I wouldn't do it. :thumbdwn: Whats going to stop water from being sucked up when driving in the rain. Alot of water flies around in the wheel well while driving in the rain and air going in will suck water right along with it.

I've been toying with an idea of going into the side fender like you would a snorkel but have the intake stop just inside the fender and put a screened vent in the side of the fender. I've seen the vent on other cars but wasn't sure what it went to if anything. But like I said its just an idea.

 

[trucku]

I think that is the worst area you would want your intake. Its a area where lots of debris gets tossed around with the wheel turbulence.. Your gonna have a filthy filter very often. your wheel is basically gonna pick up all the dirt/water and fling it into the wheel wells and that opening is like a vacuum in that dirty air space.
Route it to the front.

 

[CodePoet]

If you're an offroader a snorkle is about the same...granted longer, but if you have a arb head on it it can act as a ram

 

[Jason94sport]

Water isn't much of a problem. All it's going to do is get the filter wet. To damage anything you need to completely submerge the hole in water. But as stated the water plus any dirt will make cleaning your filter a weekly affair.

 

[Burns]

But any water is a prob. I have got a filter wet and it sucked that wet filter over the screen filter around the maf. Cause a few probs.

All water is bad.

 

[wolfnutts]

true if u have a paper filter on their the water itself doest hurt any thing ??? as i remmber they used to sell a kit that injected water into ur intake yrs ago maybe they still do
cant rem if this was for carb only or fuel injected engines

 

[trucku]

Yeah the only way the water will do damage is if you hydrolock. But If your intake is that deep in water, I am sure your in bigger trouble...lol...just swim


I was watching the Dakar Rally one year and one of the trucks ran into a river and hydrolocked, but seemed like they didn't damage anything. They pulled the plugs and cranked it to shoot out the water. Then reinstalled and they were on the race again.

 

[CodePoet]

Yeah the only way the water will do damage is if you hydrolock. But If your intake is that deep in water, I am sure your in bigger trouble...lol...just swim


I was watching the Dakar Rally one year and one of the trucks ran into a rive and hydrolocked. Seem like they didn't damage anything. They pulled the plugs and cranked it to shoot out the water. Then reinstalled and they were on the race again.

They were lucky. They also probably killed the engine IMMEDIATELY and didn't try to start it again until they pulled the plugs. Which is the correct procedure for such an event.

 

[trucku]

They were lucky. They also probably killed the engine IMMEDIATELY and didn't try to start it again until they pulled the plugs. Which is the correct procedure for such an event.

Oh yeah once they hit the water and the truck died.. I think they tried to crank it, but the starter wouldn't turn the engine....lol. Then only after all the plugs were out they cranked her again.

Can't remember, but think they were going to slow, because other guys were flying in the water and out again without stopping. Maybe just bad luck.

 

[CodePoet]

But very good luck they didn't hose their engine! Silly people haha

 

[greyboxer]

Well I dunno about you guys, but I'm not planning on running through 3' of water anytime soon. What I had thought about was some kind of pre-filter. Like some of that white spongy stuff they use in the old breathers, cutting that to fit in the very end of the new intake and capping it (maybe a wire mesh cap similar to stucco backing?) to keep the extra crap the intake would be sucking up away from the air box, MAF etc...
I suppose if you were planning on running through water or heavy rain etc, you could just cap it with a solid piece until things were dry and you wanted a few extra horse.

 

[trucku]

Do all of that and you might as well keep your stock setup. I think a screen will just get glogged up. Route it with some flexible hose to the front of the truck and you will get nice cool fast flowing air. I don't know how much horse power you will get out of it.

Your only problem with the wheel intake is getting the filter very dirty very quickly. Heavy rain wont lock your vehicle up. Your intake box should have drain holes. So when the water is sucked in and hits the larger box air space, the air flow will slow down and the water drop out of the stream and back down to the bottom of the box and drain out.

 

[trucku]

But very good luck they didn't hose their engine! Silly people haha

I know..lol. I am sure they buggered something.

 

[Fordy nine]

So then I ask this question- where can you get cold air from to your box without cutting a hole for a snorkle? What if you did the mod like the dude outlined, but then cut another hole in your inner fender and then snaked an intake hose out to behind the grill? Anybody do this or know what I mean?

 

[pope_face]

I think I know what you're getting at, but it sounds like it would just be a pain in the arse... I like the idea above about just going into the inner fender and putting a screen in the outer fender... I'm actually considering going that route myself, as I don't want to get a full snorkle, and I can't really figure out a good way to get a hood scoop mounted... I think with a little forthought, that would be right about ideal...

In fact, that's what I'm doing... If done properly, it would allow cold air intake into the engine without an excess of piping or bends or whatnot... also, it would be possible to make some sort of quick-release mount for a snorkle if one were inclined to do any serious mudding...