need help getting to know my P5

[Echelon]

hey everyone
need some help figuring out whats goin on in my car.
had a previous owner who did a bunch of work, and honestly i dont know too much about this stuff, yes that makes me a noob.
anyway, iv included a bunch of pics detailing what im looking at, but heres the scoop.
iv got a cold air intake with a Reactive filter, and its got a few ports im confused about.
first, looks like a sensor just after the filter, two wires coming out.
second, an electrical box mid way up the intake with a wire harness on it.
last, is a port at the end of the intake feeding into the engin block. not really worried about that.
anyway, on the first two, their wires join together in a cable which enters a flex whip next to the fuse box with a bunch of other wires from the fuse box. i think this flex eventually goes into the firewall.
just curious whats going on here. is it a temp. sensor? and whats with the electrical box?
i can get better pics if that would help
any help would be cool
thanx guys
cheers
Mike

 

[changedman]

the small thing is the Intake Air Temp Sensor (aka IAT sensor) (Measures the air temp of air going into the engine)

the "box" is the Mass Air Flow Meter (MAF) and measures how much air the engine is sucking in (VITAL) if this becomes damaged your car will run like CRAP.

 

[Echelon]

wow that was quick
thanks
is there any tuning involved with either? again i dont know what the guy before me did.

 

[Sir Nuke]

wow that was quick
thanks
is there any tuning involved with either? again i dont know what the guy before me did.

NO no tuning involved...in fact the BEST thing you can do is keep both in place...and do not attempt to modify either....espically the MAF...that sucker is like $450 to replace.

 

[JOS3]

(mswerd)

 

[changedman]

yeah, dont touch that stuff, its VITAL to your cars health.

 

[Echelon]

thanks for the warnings.
ill probably come back with a few more

 

[akProtege5]

how do you know if the maf is danmage? the cel will come on?

 

[loccusst]

I think there is a way to clean the MAF but don't know how for sure. Other than that like everyone said...just leave this stuff alone.

 

[Echelon]

has anyone ever used Ractive air filter products?
iv got their "Tornado" style filter right now, wanted to know if the Heat Sheilded one provides and benifits. I understand the therory behind it, but does it actualy make a difference?

 

[Poseur]

screw heat shield. it's still getting warm air, and more than anyhting else, the pipe itself is warm, and will warm incoming air up after it's been filtered. MILLIONS of tests have been done with no data to really indicate that it matters significantly, so essentially it doesn't.

I've got a ractive intake, it's an intake, it sucks...

*heh* prettymuch just having any sort of intake helps. specifics apart from cleaning your filter every now and then are really not allthat important.

 

[dippin_on_v8's]

sensors

hey everyone
need some help figuring out whats goin on in my car.
had a previous owner who did a bunch of work, and honestly i dont know too much about this stuff, yes that makes me a noob.
anyway, iv included a bunch of pics detailing what im looking at, but heres the scoop.
iv got a cold air intake with a Reactive filter, and its got a few ports im confused about.
first, looks like a sensor just after the filter, two wires coming out.
second, an electrical box mid way up the intake with a wire harness on it.
last, is a port at the end of the intake feeding into the engin block. not really worried about that.
anyway, on the first two, their wires join together in a cable which enters a flex whip next to the fuse box with a bunch of other wires from the fuse box. i think this flex eventually goes into the firewall.
just curious whats going on here. is it a temp. sensor? and whats with the electrical box?
i can get better pics if that would help
any help would be cool
thanx guys
cheers
Mike

you are looking at.......in order from filter to throttle body
1. AIT....(Air Intake Temp) sensor
2. MAF......(Mass Air Flow) sensor
3. PCV.......(Have no clue) valve


all of these things need to be there to make the car run.......and coincidently you have a short ram or "Hot air intake".....cold air intakes go into the fender well.

 

[loccusst]

The heat sheild only protects the filter from long term damage due to heat. It can also help keep hot air from fans from blowing right on the filter...that's all.

 

[Morpheus]

3. PCV.......(Have no clue) valve

PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation, but that little hose isn't the valve. The PCV valve is located on the top of the valve cover towards the back side.

 

[andyfatsax]

I would do something about your intake rubbing the master brake cylinder. It is going to either wear a hole in the intake or damage the housing.

 

[Echelon]

thanks all. im going to look into doing a proper cold intake.

got another one. how do u clean your whole engine bay? its getting pretty dirty under the hood, wondered if it was safe to just blast the hose under the hood at the car wash or if i have to take care about something?

 

[Matthew]

be careful about that for two reasons (though i dont follow my own advise):

1) cold + hot = possible crack
2) water around/in the spark plug areas = misfire (or just suck the water out of each cylinder with a piece of vacuum hose and spit)

the first time you clean the bay will take you several hours. i prefer the yellow soft rags and quick detailer from meguire's. once you hook it up once, its easy to maintain it every few weeks.

picture:

 

[Captain KRM P5]

the little hose up top is just a breather hose that runs to the valve cover.

 

[loccusst]

Simple green works really good when cleaning the engine area. Don't spray water on the engine when it is warm.

 

[Protege52003]

I would do something about your intake rubbing the master brake cylinder. It is going to either wear a hole in the intake or damage the housing.

as stated here you don't want to wear a hole on the MBC. you should cut about 1/2 inch off the pipe going into the intake-manifold.....i did that to mine after my install a couple years ago when i noticed it was hitting it.