I was trying to figure how to best pitch this question. On one hand I could keep it simple and ask: I have a crack in the convoluted hose that transports air to the throttle. Patched it with tape, how can I best tell if its sealed?

But that would leave a chunk of interesting info out, so here goes.

Replaced air filter a month or 2 ago. I was so shocked at improvement that i posted it here. Improvement = more ballsy, those downshifts at around 35mph = nice kick in the pants.

Last week i was looking around and realized that the clamp holding the convoluted pipe to the AFM wasn't sealing properly. I could rotate the pipe by hand. I quickly realized that there's supposed to be a rubber gasket in there to seal this.

How could i lose that? Strange, i was perplexed. Then after a quick search on replacement - i decided i better find it! It costs >$66!.

Checked my work area, nothing. WTH, I opened the connection at the pipe & AFM. ok don't laugh- in a stroke of brilliance (sarcasm) I figured I must have put the rubber gasket on the wrong end of the AFM, the air filter side. After all it's just gotta keep dirt out at that end, right?

Waste of time. No way the gasket from that side will fit under the convoluted pipe. . . Then just for the heck of it, I looked down the convoluted pipe - there it was! How it worked its way down there, I'll never know, but it was an easy retrieve.

Ok, now I was ready to put it all back together. Folks - you don't want to do this job in freezing weather! Very tight tolerances are exaggerated for sure. Getting that end of the AFM into the pipe was hard enough with the gasket, but getting it in at proper orientation without cracking the convoluted pipe increases degree of difficulty by a 10 factor.

After unbolting the other end of the hose at the throttle I finally got it together. Then just as I tightened the last bolt I saw it - I cracked the convoluted hose (oh joy).

From reading others experience, I was ready. Grabbed some sturdy gorilla tape and resealed it.

Now here's what's strange. Car runs perfectly, but that "kick in the pants / ballseyness" is gone. This is minor, but it leaves me wondering.

I should note: no CEL, no codes before it after.

Could a small air leak seem to improve performance?

Could it have been so small it didn't have any effect?

How can I now be sure I've sealed any and all leaks with the tape?

Thanks for reading, I look forward to your thoughts.

John

 

Best is a smoke test. You have to inject smoke under light pressure in the intake. A good input is the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line. The idea is that you see where the leaks are because they show smoke. You can buy a smoke tester on eBay. Nice to have over time for sure, but not super cheap. You can also make one with an old soldering iron in a jar and a bicycle pump.

Also, remember that the ECU "remembers" your old leaks with the long term trims. These will eventually be updated with the cumulative effect of the short term trims, but it may take a while for rpm/load not visited much.

 

Thanks fmertz!

John

 

What are STFTs and LTFTs? Check those readings first to see if there's a lean condition.

 

NBCat, thanks I'll check that out.

John