2006 XK8 with 118,300 miles....

I replaced the factory plastic air duct in October 2012 at just over 51,000 miles due to the typical heat-related cracks and splits in the accordion-pleated section. While doing my routine fluids-and-pressures check yesterday morning, I noticed some very small holes in the pleats of this replacement air duct. Rather than spend $140 or more for another new air duct (C2N1041) that will crack and split once again, I would prefer to repair this one. Some owners have simply taped up the pleated section with duct tape or electrical tape, while others have cut out the pleated section and replaced it with more durable tubing. For those of you who have opted for the cut-and-replace tubing, what materials did you use, what dimensions are they, and where did you get them?

Thanks for any recommendations you can provide....

 

Why not replace the accordion type with a more solid variant? I replaced the original accordion tubing with a lightweight aluminium tube from Mina Gallery two years ago. Very happy with the result, improves throttle response as well as the looks

 

You can use intake silicone hose connections with clamps and an aluminum tube. In a pinch, even an exhaust pipe of the proper diameter will do. There is also the option of replacing the entire tube with the Mina intake as was mentioned before. Literally anything will do as long as you have the proper diameter and keep it airtight.

 

Use 3" silicon hose connectors. It's a little fiddly, but the do go over the tubes. I just did this recently and it is holding up fine. Don't cut all of the accordion pleats off. Leave the last and sand it down to a small lip to help retain the tube. You'll also need a short section of 3" tube. I found a chromed plastic piece after first considering exhaust pipe. You will need about 6 inches of running to start with. Leave all of the clamps loose until you have gotten it settled into place in the car, then tighten. See my pics below.

 

Eventually, as in my case, even the resonators start chipping off. When you get to that point, you can replace more of the intake with the above solution or upgrade to a custom aluminum or titanium intake.

 

Higgins,

Looking at the photos of Mina Gallery's aluminum "Performance Air Intake Tube Package" (SKU: PRXTT-1595) on their website, their product looks to be a very different configuration compared to the stock plastic air intake tube on my wife's 2006 XK8. Can you confirm that the Mina Gallery product indeed exactly fits the normally-aspirated 4.2 engine with the factory air filter box? Or am I looking at the wrong product?

 

I can confirm the Mina intake will work on the 4.2 engine--see the photos I attached in post #22 in this thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-104595/page2/

Doug

 

I use the Mina Gallery intake tube kit on my Xkr 4.0, so I cannot vouch for 4.2 engine but as I understand it there should be no difference in fitment between 4.0 and 4.2

 

Left a voicemail message at Mina Gallery yesterday morning. No one has returned my call thus far. Is this typical behavior for them?

 

SeismicGuy,

Thanks for the photos and description. This confirms that some breather hose mods will be necessary with the Mina Gallery kit. Not sure that I really want to do that....

 

The "modifications" are extremely minor. All you need to do is to have the hose run across the front or back of the engine to the breather at the front of the driver's side. If I ever want I can easily remove and reinstall the OEM setup. I can say the improvement is quite noticeable in terms of quicker response from even light touches to the gas pedal.

Doug

 

Still have not had anyone return my voicemail to Mina Gallery yesterday. If this is typical of them, I doubt I will be purchasing from them....

 

Jon--they are kind of a small operation but Chris is a good guy. You might try sending an email as they tend to answer those fairly quickly.

 

Chris just now returned my call from yesterday morning and I agree that he is indeed a good guy. We discussed the pros and cons of running breather hoses around the engine bay in these XK8s. He fully understands the constant baking of the various components that goes on in there. I will study the intake tube layout in my wife's car and then decide whether I want to spend the money on Chris' fancy solution or just stick to the more generic repair options such as cutting out the accordion-pleated section or leaving it in place and wrapping it with black electrical tape....

 

Removed the October 2012 black plastic air duct this morning and saw that of the dozen or so pleats in the accordion section, at least half of them had pinholes or cracks at the very top. That was surprising to me because the original factory one developed pinholes and cracks on the underside while the top remained intact. The current one's underside is still intact. Just goes to show that there is no escaping the engine bay heat in these cars....

So I cleaned up the entire air duct exterior with soap and water and an old toothbrush, let it dry, then generously wrapped the entire accordion section with 12 to 15 feet of fresh electrical tape. Looks better than I thought it would, and that should do the job while I decide whether or not I want to cough up the cash for Chris' aluminum kit or do the cut-and-replace fix....

 

Any suggestions for a more heat-resistant tape than electrical tape or duct tape?

 

I used RTV and self-vulcanizing tape. Both worked fine for me and have stood up to engine heat for over a year.

I wouldn't trust electrical tape, though I'm sure different brands have different qualities for this application.

 

Possibly means the duct was installed at an upward angle, and the accordion section was rubbing against the hood liner. That section needs to be as low as possible before tightening the worm clamp on the throttle body. As that section of the duct vibrates with the engine, and the hood liner does not, there is a form of sanding against the liner and holes develop. I am sure this could be tested. Put a wet paper towel on the liner above the duct, close the hood and see if the duct is wet when you open it again. Or use a bit of flour on the duct and see if any of it tranfers to the liner. Good news is that if this is the problem, you could safely buy a new duct, and install it at that downward angle so it does not touch the liner going forward.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

No, the air duct was not / is not touching the hood liner. I made sure of that when I originally installed it, and checked it again last weekend when I noticed the tiny pinholes and cracks in the top of the accordion section. This failure is chalked up 100% to baking in the engine bay....

 

Just remembered that I have a roll of silver metal foil tape that I used years ago to wrap a portion of the A/C hoses in my previous 2005 S-Type. They ran directly underneath the oil filter (a stupid design flaw) and always got drenched in old oil whenever the oil filter was removed to drain the remaining oil in the pan. That tape held up quite well in that application. When I find what is left of that roll, I will remove the electrical tape on the accordion section of the air duct and replace it with the appropriate amount of silver metal foil tape. My wife used it on one of her pottery kiln ventilation duct hoses a year or so ago so it is up to her to remember where she put that roll after she was done with it....