Airbox Lid - Slight Warp at Corners

[swexlin]

Perhaps I am being overly anal (a well-known trait of mine ), however, when doing a routine underhood inspection, I noticed that the passenger-side front and back corners of my airbox were *very* slightly warped - just a *tiny* bit of the filter rubber seal was visible.



The lid was tightly attached, and all tabs, etc were in place. I tried to budge it, and it was very tight. Should I be concerned? Could enough air sneak in there to be harmful? Seems to me that there is minimal airflow around there anyway, and it has to sneak in the corner, and around the gasket.



Thanks.

 

[JohnnyH]

Scott... Remove an elbow and check the inside of your tubing with a white rag. It will tell you if you are getting any air leaks post filter.



John

 

[swexlin]

A good idea. I mean, the gap is timey on each corner, and it is *tight* on there, but I wonder how many other boxes look like this?



Maybe I'll just put on a BHAF and be done with it!

 

[Forrest Nearing]

BHAF = best filter for the money IMHO... as far as filtration and performance...



I like my AFE for the sound, but you'll never have any worries w/ the BHAF. I would have done it as soon as I got the truck home!



Forrest

 

[swexlin]

So has anyone else noticed that their stock airbox looks like this? (Sorry, I don't own a digital camera, or I would post a pic).



I mean, it's small enought to be minimally noticable, which is why I probably didn't notice it until now.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I know the 2nd gens are somewhat known for leaking unfiltered air w/ the stock airbox. not sure about the 3rd gens.



Forrest

 

[swexlin]

I know the 2nd gens are somewhat known for leaking unfiltered air w/ the stock airbox

I did not know that. In several years of reading diesel truck forums, haven't read about many dusted engines, so, it must not be that bad.



I'm going to give it a better inspection tomorrow. By the way, the dealer (I know, I know, but it was in for service ) changed the filter about 1500 miles ago. Like I said, all tabs and clamps are tight and locked, there is no way to get this lid on any tighter, or fit better. It just looks like the two corners simply "curled" EVER so slightly, and I mean slightly.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

it's not so bad that it'll cause catastrophic engine failure or anything, but when you can get better filtration and performance for minimal cost, why not?

 

[swexlin]

Thanks Forrest, this is definitely worth looking into.



Scott

 

[mberry]

Don't forget to check and see if the lid itself is on properly. Mine is a little more of a PITA when putting it back on than my '02. I don't know why but if it's not on "just right" it will not look right and may leak unfiltered air.

 

[swexlin]

Mberry, that lid is on properly as far as I can see. All edges are correct and snapped, and clamps and tabs lined up. It's just those two corners that the upper and lower corner you can see the edge of the filter.



The box on my '01 Ford was the same way - it had to be on *just* so?



What is it with the engineers who design these things?

 

[swexlin]

Well, I took another look at this this evening, and it is apparent that the whole passenger side edges, top and bottom, do not "quite" meets. All tabs are in place, and the clips are attached, and clearly lined where the are supposed to be, as evidenced by the cutouts and markings.



It looks like the filter element gasket itself is so thick, that it won't let the edges meet. However, it seems that both edges are tight on the filter gasket.

 

[RLighthall]

I don't know about warping, but one of the tabs on my lid snapped off. Also, I have an issue with my '04. 5 that I had with the '03 - one of the clips will not lock into place. With the '03 if I fiddled with it long enough (10-20 minutes) I could eventually get it to stay on, but with the '04. 5 there's no way. I have a giant ty-wrap wrapped around the whole box holding the clip into place. Everytime I took it in to try to have the ball joints replaced or the 64mph vibe fixed, I forgot to tell them about the filter box. 'Course, maybe DC will determine it too is "within tolerance" ...

 

[swexlin]

Take a look at your box, and see what it looks like. I've had no problems with the tabs or clips.

 

[lmills]

Hey Scott, I have an extra box out of the 03 that I had. I will try to remember to bring it to the spring dyno event so you can take a look at it to compare. If it looks better than what you have, you can have it.

 

[swexlin]

Thanks, looking forward to next week