Cold Air Duct Mod - Props to Postban

[KingKobra]

:bash: Jeeez, I woke up yesterday morning and decided to try the Air Duct mod that Postban had done early on.

I went to Home Depot and bought a 32'' Aluminum tube.
I also picked up 3 hose clamps.
I searched and searched for a screen material to cover the holes... couldn't find anything... but found an aluminum oven range filter and simply dis-assembled it for the screen.

Total Cost of this modification: around $15.00
Cost of labor: 0
Not knowing what the hell you're doing? Priceless.

So Anyway, now I'm at home, fiddling with this. Of course, I don't bother removing anything, (air filter, etc) so my hands are all wrapped up under the bumber and I'm hugging my fascia like a dog in heat trying to get a good body position for the job. :lol:

I get the ducting over the splash guards and to the front plastic cylinder and ready for installation.. I'm happy with the progress so far.

THEN, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, I can't get this damn 3'' tubing to fit around the plastic cylinder! :cuss: I'm struggling, scraping my hands and finally I manage to get the tubing SOMEWHAT around the plastic cylinder, but not with any confidence that it'll stay on.

So, I'm sitting there, dirty, cut and sweaty, thinking, "How, in GODS name, did Postban pull this off... or better yet, pull this ON!"

After a few moments of reflection, I ask another question, "HOW in the WORLD did he get the SCREEN on ALONG WITH IT!" I mean, this fit is already tighter than a virgin on her wedding day, and I'm supposed to get the ducting AND a screen around this thing!? :lol:

I muster up enough courage to keep going... so I'm fighting and I'm LOSING, like a Honda on a dragstrip. :burn:

So, I take a break and try to pull the top part of the ducting up to the intake. That was the easiest part, by far. I pierced the side of the ducting at the top to allow me to hang a plastic draw-tite clip from a vacant hole on the fender. This way, the ducting would hang loose from the top and have some play.

So far, it looked great! BUT, I just couldn't get the ducting to slip completely over the plasic cylinder on the front. I pushed, pulled and cussed until I managed to expand the diameter enough to get it on a bit more, but not all the way. By then, I realize that I need to secure it with a hose clamp but DON'T get me started on that! At this point, since the ducting is not really ON the cylinder that well, I'm thinking, "This is NOT going to work for me today."

I continue to rig this thing by fitting a hose clamp around the tubing enough to consider taking this thing for a test drive. I'm starting to have doubts and fears that my hard work will not payoff.

Then, a thought hits me. What about rain, water, hoses, etc?? I guess I can pierce the bottom to allow runoff of any water that gets in and plug the hole with a rubber sink plug when I'm washing it. Besides, the incline is too step and this is not a forced induction mod, so, I don't worry too much.

Well, in the end, right before I'm about to drive it, I tug on the front of the ducting and it just falls off. I give up and pull the tubing out.

POSTBAN, I give my respect to you for integrating this mod. :beer:

Theoretically, it should provide swift cold air from the front of the car straight to the intake without being pushed around by turbulent hot air under the hood. It has great potential from a engineering standpoint. :read: Can you let us know what pains you had, what exact material you acquired or what you removed to make the job easier? :thumbsup:

 

[coleman]

you're further along than i am.
i wasn't even able to locate any Aluminum tubing

BTW, your vivid descriptions are hilarious!

 

[bassin247]

Originally posted by coleman

BTW, your vivid descriptions are hilarious!

yes they are! :lol:

 

[KingKobra]

Thanks guys, if it's a long post, I like to be vivid to keep the flow.

btw, the aluminum tubing I found was in the venting aisle at my local Home Depot. It's approved for high heat applications. It is pre-cut at 8 feet in length and was 3 inches as postban stated in his image-station article, but I was struggling.

 

[cobra0103]

I used a the 4 inch dryer tubing (the kind that fits those molded plastic ends that slip on the dryer). For the screen I used some plain old window screen, painted it black and cut a circle about twice the size of the opening. I then formed it over the inside end of the opening and secured it with a wire tie. Next I put the 4 inch tubing over the screen and the wire tie on the flange from the opening. I secued this with a large hose clamp with the screw facing down.

The flange is tapered and tends to cause the clamp to "walk" back or off when it is tightened. If you hold the clamp up against the forward edge while it is tightened it will stay put. (Putting a couple wraps of electrical tape or that self sticking tape on the flange would give more friction and make it less likely to slip off)

I then secured the upper end with some wire ties in those spare holes in the fender near the snorkel was.

I was thinking about driving in the rain so I drilled a few holes in the lowest portion. Highway driving could be a problem with xs mist/humidity. I would like to find a squishy ball that I could jam in the hole if caught in a downpour or extended wet drive. Perhaps a piece of foam will suffice.

 

[KingKobra]

4-inch may be what's needed. I mean, 3 inch seemed to really WANT to fit, but it was NOT working for me. Thanks for advice on the screen. Did you do all of this without removing any plastic moldings, etc?

 

[cobra0103]

yes, I just had to slip off one of the fender liner attachments beneath and forward (kind of a narrow portion of it)

 

[postban]

Congrats, you had more fun doing yours than I did. Hope the knuckle scrape is fine, I got several when fighting the tube into place:lol1:

Mine was venting tube, just a 4' piece, had weird connectors on both ends, hot water tank vent IIRC.

Only thing I removed was the front plug on the fender liner.

Outstanding description BTW, vivid as someone else stated:thumbsup:

 

[KingKobra]

Last Question!

Originally posted by postban
Congrats, you had more fun doing yours than I did. Hope the knuckle scrape is fine, I got several when fighting the tube into place:lol1:

Mine was venting tube, just a 4' piece, had weird connectors on both ends, hot water tank vent IIRC.

Only thing I removed was the front plug on the fender liner.

Outstanding description BTW, vivid as someone else stated:thumbsup:

Thanks for the literary comps. I'll have to look out for some other kinds of ducting, check another aisle or hit another store for the part. Did you use those weird connectors to fasten to the plastic cylinder on the front? Perhaps they are slightly more large at the ends to provide for a good fit. Mine ducting was just a bit too narrow and wasn't wanting to play nice. :shrug: