[M4ck]

Ok guys I know this has been talked about on other forums but just so anyone who comes here knows. You don't always have to put an aftermarket intake in to improve your air intake. First off I have done this mod myself and believe it gave me better throttle response. Open the stock intake filter box. Remove the stock filter. When you look straight at the filter box from the front of the truck you will see a round tube at the bottom of the box that pulls air from inside the hole in the driver side fender well. Now take a dremel tool. If you don't know what this is its like a drill without a handle. Get a black & decker if you are getting a new one. I love mine and find many uses for it. Put a plastic cutt off wheel on your dremel and cut a long oval shape out of the top of this tube. The bigger piece you cut out the more air can flow freely through the filter. The way the stock box is set up the air has to take a very sharp angle out of one tube under the filter to get into the other end on the opposite side of the filter. This is a big bottleneck. Now that you have your cut out. Clean up any plastic pieces that are in the filter box. I stress to clean very well. I don't think you would want any plastic pieces getting sucked up into your engine. Now if you want put your stock filter back in the box and seal everything up. If you want to increase the flow even more. Pick up a aftermarket drop in filter. K&N or Fram Air Hog they are both great and have benifits besides better flow. They both are cleanable and last a very long time. This is a low level tech tip and any beginner could do this. Hope it helps you out.

M4ck

 

[JetTech]

great idea m4ck, got a pic of this mod that you can post?

 

[Guest]

Good post, I sorta did the same thing shortly after I got my truck. I just removed the elbow section then took the Dremel and opened up the hole in the airbox.

 

[M4ck]

great idea m4ck, got a pic of this mod that you can post?

Well of course since you ask. I will edit my first post and include them there. Wish I had taken step by step pictures but I didnt think about it while doing it. I will from now on.
M4ck

 

[k9mrussell]

Great post!!! That is a great idea for us poor folks who can't afford $300-$500 for a new air intake. I think I will try this over the weekend.

 

[firecracker]

I will give this a shot too!

 

[BiXLL]

Get back to this thread once you have done the mod. If the consensus is good, I too will do it. (Nice not being the ginny pig for a change!)

 

[M4ck]

Best thing about this mod is, even if it is not much gain it is free gain. I love free. Especially since I don't get paid for overtime. LOL. I can tell you I definately felt a little bit better throttle response. I'm sure its no where near the amount that an aftermaket K&N or Volant would give you, but I believe if you added in a Hi Flow K&N or Fram Air Hog filter that you would get a really nice increase for the money. I know you can get the Fram Air Hog from Autozone for like $40.00 lot cheaper than 300 or more for the FIPK kits.
M4ck

 

[USMCUglyAngel]

Thats awesome M4ck. Its the simple things like that, that I would never think of doing. Thanks for savin' me 300 bucks bro!

 

[firecracker]

Okay guys (BiXLL), I did the intake thing:



After I removed the box, I saw I could trim off a little bit more:




After all the trimming, there's only about 4" of tube that the air squeezed through.



I haven't noticed ALOT of difference, but I have noticed a little more/quicker throttle response. Thanks m4ck!! By the way, I didn't change from the factory filter yet, either.

 

[BiXLL]

Call me an old hard headed f*rt! I am happy with the way the truck runs. I can not see a reason to start cutting on it, and give the service guy a reason to say "ah-ha"!

 

[M4ck]

Unless he pulls the filter he wont know.
M4ck

 

[skromfols]

Cut one Side or Both

Mack, in looking at the pics of your modification I can't tell if you cut both side or just the side of the tube inside the air box. Can you please elaborate on your modification.

I just switched to Mobil 1 and hope that my mileage increases. I run mostly short around town trips of 6 to 8 miles each way and I've been averaging about 13.5 MPH, so any extra would help, especially here in Calif where we pay $2.25 for unleaded regular.

Stan
PS. Yes, I know, I wasn't buying a mini truck and didn't expect to get great mileage, but a little extra would be appreciated. And I keep my tires at 42lbs and that seems to help with very little deteriation in ride quality.

 

[M4ck]

I only cut the part of the tube in the box. Firecracker and others took it a bit further and cut part of the snorkel that extends from the box into the wheel well.

 

[skromfols]

One cut at a time

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll start off with the inside cut and see what that does. I just got an Air Hog yesterday and also want to see how that helps.

 

[skromfols]

Why quit half way

Thanks for the reply. I think I'll start off with the inside cut and see what that does. I just got an Air Hog yesterday and also want to see how that helps.

Well, I got out my trusty Dremel and thought, oh what the heck. The plastic between the engine bay and the outside fender makes the air do a 90 degree turn, and that can't be helpful, so I cut that as well as the inside portion. So far I've taken a couple of short trips in town and it does feel like I have quicker throttle response and I love the sound when I step on the gas. what a great sound. Now if I can only keep my foot out of it, hahaha

 

[bluedog12]

I just cut the whole thing out and use gorilla glue to place a/c foam around the hole. Seems to seal to the fender fairly well.

 

[goval]

This is some ghetto s$%#!

 

[jaysplaypen]

I did this after hearing from our resident tech that the tube comes out. I found the tube inside and the snorkel outside to be one peice that comes out, so I just cut it straight across with a hack saw. Unless a tech is really looking for a reason to deny something it looks normal with the straight cut.


Edited by Firecracker 6/3/05 1:24pm(added images) :wink:

 

[FlimFlamMan]

Thats a much more dramatic cut than m4cks. How is it working out for ya?