Did some air box cleaning today.. PICs

[jackyaudi]

A fellow Audiziner suggested to clean the mesh piece inside the airbox as it might improve MPG. Well, I decided to clean the whole "set" inside out.

I changed the air filter couple months ago, so it is still pretty damn clean, but whats unbelievable is how dirty that mesh piece was. It was full of: bugs, mosquitoes, sand, dirt, leaves, even very small rock chips.. If I would put all that stuff in a cup it will easily fill half of it! The water out of it was literally black and thick. If you think changing the air filter alone is enough, then think again. (I think its only there in cold weathered cars, but thats not confirmed yet)

Also cleaned again the MAF sensor, this time the sensor's "pins" changed from some dark color to its original metallic color. I let it dry for more than 12 hours. Same goes with most of everything else.


Here is some pics..

Before:




After:










Everything is going back in tomorrow morning.

[G-Bus]

Nice, I would like to know if you see a difference! Might do it aswell!

Very nice job cleaning it, btw...!

[eclimax13]

just ended up taking that screen out today...i blew on my hand and then tried blowing through the screen the feel the difference and i could barely feel it through the screen...seems really restrictive...got better throttle response once i did it

[jackyaudi]

just ended up taking that screen out today...i blew on my hand and then tried blowing through the screen the feel the difference and i could barely feel it through the screen...seems really restrictive...got better throttle response once i did it

I thought about that, but then I told myself: if that screen "held' so much dirt and stuff, then would it not be much better if I clean the hell out of it and keep it instead?

[eclimax13]

the first time i saw it, it was filthy as hell...bugs and tons of shit...but since i cleaned it , its stayed clear for a year now so i figured it was never taken out since the car was bought...

[dpatel]

I would clean it out every couple of months. It's much easier to clean the screen than to clean out the airbox which can have all that stuff in there if you don't have the screen installed.

[eclimax13]

my car is running much better without it

[jackyaudi]

I would clean it out every couple of months. It's much easier to clean the screen than to clean out the airbox which can have all that stuff in there if you don't have the screen installed.

Thats exactly what I was thinking. The amount of dirt that is going in will still be the same, but it could be on the screen instead of inside the airbox... And it is not fun to remove the whole airbox every time.

Apparently my car did not come with a snow screen or the previous owner threw it away, so am thinking to get one soon.

[eclimax13]

Thats exactly what I was thinking. The amount of dirt that is going in will still be the same, but it could be on the screen instead of inside the airbox... And it is not fun to remove the whole airbox every time.

Apparently my car did not come with a snow screen or the previous owner threw it away, so am thinking to get one soon.

im very confused...you said you cleaned your out...now you say you dont have one...

[LampyB]

^^i think he said he doesn't have the little screen to block stuff from entering the airbox.

[eclimax13]

^^i think he said he doesn't have the little screen to block stuff from entering the airbox.

his first post talks about how dirty the mesh screen was when he changed his air filter

[My OOOO My]

I removed my screen a long time ago. Car became much more responsive. Downside is.... have to swap filters every 4 - 6 months.

[ThreePointOhh]

my car doesnt have that screen. i guess the previous owner took it out

[jackyaudi]

his first post talks about how dirty the mesh screen was when he changed his air filter

I am confused myself. That mesh piece INSIDE the airbox is apparently a silencer and not a snow screen (or snow filter) as I thought. The Snow screen is supposed to be in the intake arm going to the airbox, so NOT in the airbox. Well, I never had it since I got my car, but I was thinking the mesh piece was it. I called the dealer and they have it for $20, so am thinking to go grab it and put it instead of cleaning my airbox and changing my air filter more frequently than I should.

As far as responsiveness, thats something I will have to decide on once I put the snow screen..

BTW, cleaning the mesh piece and airbox made the car much more responsive and the car just felt better.

[jackyaudi]

Quick update:

I got the snow screen which I never had when I got my car, $20 from the dealer:




When installed into the intake arm:




Responsiveness is absolutely the same, I have no idea why some people here are relating the snow screen to responsiveness. Maybe they have other factors causing that?

[eclimax13]

my mpg and throttle response definitely went up...not a night and day difference...i notice more pickup at lower rpm's....doesnt matter anyway as i just put an order in for the blinktek heat shield and air filter

jackyaudi...are you chipped?

[jackyaudi]

my mpg and throttle response definitely went up...not a night and day difference...i notice more pickup at lower rpm's....doesnt matter anyway as i just put an order in for the blinktek heat shield and air filter

jackyaudi...are you chipped?

Revo chipped with Forge DV.

[eclimax13]

hmmm...well like i said...its not a night and day difference...im just as much about mpg as i am performance with this car...to me its as exciting to add mpg as it is to add performance, maybe more so, or else i would have kept my last car...so if you notice a mpg loss...you'll know what it is...and either way i wont need any of it once my heat shield and filter come in...then we'll see if i can add more performance and mpg, if not ill sell it and go back

[jackyaudi]

hmmm...well like i said...its not a night and day difference...im just as much about mpg as i am performance with this car...to me its as exciting to add mpg as it is to add performance, maybe more so, or else i would have kept my last car...so if you notice a mpg loss...you'll know what it is...and either way i wont need any of it once my heat shield and filter come in...then we'll see if i can add more performance and mpg, if not ill sell it and go back

Personally, and from common sense, I dont expect a snow screen to make the MPG difference you are mentioning. Think about it, without that snow screen, all those rocks, flies, leaves, dirt and sand will end up IN the air filter OR the mesh piece which both are INSIDE the airbox, so how is that not affecting MPG?? I think its much better to filter them BEFORE they get into the airbox. IMHO, if you clean the snow screen once every couple months you will actually see a MPG increase and not the opposite. THe amount of stuff that was out of the mesh piece in the pics above was far worse than what was in the air filter which was black when I changed it 2 months ago.

[eclimax13]

well if all that stuff in the screen and not sitting at the bottom of the box...that will kill you mpgs...overall everyday its going to be less restrictive with it out, if it only makes 1 mpg difference, its still 1 mpg...doesnt matter, if you feel better with it in, keep it in...

[PCYC]

cool i still need to do this

[jackyaudi]

well if all that stuff in the screen and not sitting at the bottom of the box...that will kill you mpgs...overall everyday its going to be less restrictive with it out, if it only makes 1 mpg difference, its still 1 mpg...doesnt matter, if you feel better with it in, keep it in...

Yep, look, dirt will always be there, but it will be either on the screen or inside the box. So the whole point is that its easier the clean the screen than taking apart the box and clean it.

[[email protected]]

To the OP, that is not a screen, it's a sound dampener. That is used strictly to decrease the sound your intake makes. It has nothing to do with filtering dirt and is not designed to hold dirt effeciently. Just remove the whole thing...you get some better sound at least!

[F16HTON]

To the OP, that is not a screen, it's a sound dampener. That is used strictly to decrease the sound your intake makes. It has nothing to do with filtering dirt and is not designed to hold dirt effeciently. Just remove the whole thing...you get some better sound at least!

You are incorrect, it is called a "strainer, for use in cold climates" and is part of the "cold weather package"

In the good old USA we call it the "snow screen"

[jackyaudi]

To the OP, that is not a screen, it's a sound dampener. That is used strictly to decrease the sound your intake makes. It has nothing to do with filtering dirt and is not designed to hold dirt effeciently. Just remove the whole thing...you get some better sound at least!

If you read the whole thread you will find out that I mistaken that mesh piece with the snow screen, which I just got yesterday :)

[a4darkness]

So, let me get this straight. This piece in the airbox does nothing more than dampen sound?

[jackyaudi]

So, let me get this straight. This piece in the airbox does nothing more than dampen sound?

Apparently so. And it happens to be a safe heaven for a shit load of dirt.

[a4darkness]

Gotcha. If mine's not too bad, I might just yank it out since I swap filters often anyway.

[cjonesgo]

does that screen only come with cold weather package? my car does have the screen (i've cleaned it out) but does not have the cold weather package (no ski bag)

car is orginally from virginia, it snows there right? or maybe because it's an 02?

[B6480Avant]

is that ^ the pice that everyone is just taking out for sound?

[CO AVANT]

Gut it all out. The filter does enough keeping out large foreign matter. All other items are restrictive. I even run the 3.0L snorkel. It has a tad better air flow volume. Tight fit by the timing belt cover but been running mine for years without any issues...

[a4darkness]

K, that's what I figured. THX

Gut it all out. The filter does enough keeping out large foreign matter. All other items are restrictive. I even run the 3.0L snorkel. It has a tad better air flow volume. Tight fit by the timing belt cover but been running mine for years without any issues...

[jackyaudi]

Gotcha. If mine's not too bad, I might just yank it out since I swap filters often anyway.

I tried to remove the mesh piece to clean it, but its really stuck there, the plastic covering it is impossible to remove, so you would have to really cut and remove it in pieces.. which then you cannot put it back if you decide to. So make sure you really want to do that.

[eclimax13]

I tried to remove the mesh piece to clean it, but its really stuck there, the plastic covering it is impossible to remove, so you would have to really cut and remove it in pieces.. which then you cannot put it back if you decide to. So make sure you really want to do that.

took all mine out without even removing the airbox...not sure why yours is so tuff...i just took it out in pieces

[jackyaudi]

does that screen only come with cold weather package? my car does have the screen (i've cleaned it out) but does not have the cold weather package (no ski bag)

car is orginally from virginia, it snows there right? or maybe because it's an 02?

The snow screen has nothing to do, from what I know, with the Cold weather package. I believe the snow screen is equipped with cars coming from cold regions, like Canada, Sweden, etc.

[jackyaudi]

took all mine out without even removing the airbox...not sure why yours is so tuff...i just took it out in pieces

I have not introduced you to my car yet :) She is just.. cursed? Everything done on it ends up to be a headache.

[eclimax13]

I have not introduced you to my car yet :) She is just.. cursed? Everything done on it ends up to be a headache.

ha...that was my 03 maxima, and my 00 a6...this one has been good to me

[Trevsaudi]

I opened up my airbox when i bought my car, first off that foamy stuff inside the airbox was horribly dirty and disintegrated at the slightest touch, plus doesn't really seem to serve any real purpose, i just tore it out with some needle nose pliers, came out clean as a whistle, no noticeable sound difference, much cleaner airbox now :)

Second that little metal mesh filter in the intake arm apparently had never been cleaned out before, and HOOOLY CRAP there was alot of shit in there, just chock full of leaves, handfuls! and completely blocking air flow. I see no reason to put that little filter in such a bottleneck-prone spot, as soon as you get a couple of leaves you're dramatically cutting off air flow, and the actual air filter is what is going to do the filtering anyway, just clean out the air box and replace filter like twice a year maybe, a few leaves or bug in the airbox arent doing any harm, and they wont be choking your air supply that way. I say remove it, and i definitely noticed better throttle response.

[skeeball]

I'm kind of amazed at what gets sucked into the engine. Even with regular maintenance, the first time I removed my MAF housing I found a bug splattered on the screen. It wasn't very big, but if it made it through the snow screen and the air filter, what else is getting through?

I suppose it's possible it flew in while I had the intake open, but it looked like it was really moving when it hit that screen. Either way, it's a good idea to clean all that stuff out on a regular basis.