Rain's causing problems...

[josh182]

i tried doing a search and didnt find anything helpful so here it goes.

My ms protege occasionally has a rough time driving in the rain. white smoke(Steam???) comes from the exhaust randomly, usually a day or two after rain. i try to not drive it in the rain anymore, but not always possible.

Im assuming that water must be coming in from the radiator to get into the intake and to the MAF. (cant think why else water would get in?)
Will i be okay buying a injen CAI, or do they still have issues with water? i was told to check out Injen's hydro shield. Does anyone have any experience with that?
And would it be okay to have a local shop bend a pipe for me to get the filter off the bottom of the car and have it moved behind the Drivers side headlight?





Background info...
The previous owner did some weird stuff with intake cause he thought itd be cheaper to just cut some three inch pipes and installing them. He also put an aftermarket front mount/ intercooler. My air filter is currently low and barely above the bottom of the engine bay. so it is definitely getting wet. Also shortly after buying the car 2 months ago we pulled apart the intake he made and there was some moisture lingering in there. I believe thats what caused the MAF sensor to set off my CEL. we put a filter type thing into the intake to keep moisture out of the MAF but I feel like water is still getting into the engine when i drive in the rain, and I definitely try to avoid puddles haha.


Any help is greatly appreciated, again if there is a post similar to this I apologize.

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Sounds like simply buying an injen intake will not only fix all the old modifications, but also improve your cars performance.

You would have to ingest a fair amount of water to notice it.

Many people run this CAI without issue, simply don't drive in a flood and expect the car to run.

 

[Cmezz331]

as for relocating,
Untitled by cmezz331, on Flickr
thats what i did... it works, but you gotta move the coolant. all i did was cut 2 inches off the turbo side of the intake, slapped the maf and the filterright on the end.

 

[josh182]

Brian:
yea occasionally i do get so much in there that I definitely notice it, id be driving on the high way and the whole car just jerks and loses alot of power, the next day tons of smoke (steam?) out of the exhaust. so hopefully a real intake will do wonders haha

Cmezz:
Im loving that blue that you did, thats what i have in mind for mine, a couple of things are already blue so it should look sick. Is that the Injen there? and you just moved your coolant over a few inches right. Also what do you have for your fans? The previous owner took one out and moved it over to the side so only half of it is in line with the radiator...not the best decision in my opinion.
I think im going with the Injen, should i get it off a certain site or is ebay alright as long as its a good rated seller?

thanks again

 

[josh182]

ill try that image?
msprotege381.shutterfly.com

 

[Cmezz331]

you can go ebay, just make sure its the right one. both my fans are in the same place and i can take a pic of how i did my coolant tomorrow sometime.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/INJEN-RD-COLD-AIR-INTAKE-MAZDA-SPEED-03-03-5-PROTEGE-/290603082709?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a94b23d5#ht_1547wt_1165

somethin like that

but for some reason my filter is HUGE lol. you might not have to cut piping with that filter

 

[IPitboy777]

I have trouble in the rain also, and I have the injen piping on K&N filter, and still my boost gauge fogs out when it rains and I get fuel cut when I boost, I wonder if Im sucking water, Im not even running the cold air, my filter sits right there where the coolant tanks is... any opnions?

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

The main thing I can see is that the Mass Air is getting wet.

We are talking about a lot of rain then...

The engine should be able to consume a small amount of water and function normally as long as all the sensors continue to work, take the example of meth injected forced induction. The only sensor that should be flakey is the MASS AIR. (unless we are talking about 1/2 cup being dumped into a running motor.

If you can keep the sensor dry it should be better

Making some sort of deflector to keep the water away from the sensor..

 

[josh182]

so the ebay link you gave is the one i need to get the filter off the ground. so ill get one of those. but whats my best solution to water in my piping to the maf sensor??
does anyone know about the hydroshield or should i not need it?
i wont mind doing some moving around and all I just want it to run better, and I cant wait till it does. thanks guys

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Normally, the air filter sits inside the front fender, in there it is never bombarded by water or wind directly.. It is completely enclosed. The only issue I have ever heard about it being in the fender is when a member tried to drive through a flood.

The Filter is very low, the engine is a huge pump... Use your imagination.

 

[josh182]

Alright I'm ordering a injen rd and a hydroshield and hopefully thatll fix it. Thanks for your help guys.

Any suggestions on a good boost gauge for under 100$ is prosport any good do you know?

I apologize my last post was kind of confusing since my bov and maf aren't in their normal spots hah. Thanks again

 

[josh182]

And yea I pull over and wait for the rain to stop. Nothing is worth blowing the engine right now haha

 

[mazdaspeedp]

I wouldent waste money on the hydro shield. Its just a gimic and if anything constricts the intake. It does not help with fuel cut. def dont order a prosport gauge i had one and it broke after 3 months just go with an autometer boost gauge. As far as fuel cut and the rain and blowing smoke my car does the same thing the next day. It wont damage anything just makes the car perform like s***. Im sure if there was a better tune on the car it would not happen cuz i drove allot of subarus in the rain and that never happend. I have my airfilter relocated too though into a sri cuz ist really close to the ground with the injen and if you go into a deep puddle you will probabley hydrolock your engine.

 

[josh182]

Alright cool, already had the hyrdashield, ill give it a try i guess.
Whats the easiest way to install the injen cai? did you guys pull off front bumper or go thru the wheel hub?
and does it make a big difference where i have my MAF sensor? most of the pictures i see have it on the cai, but the previous owner put it on the other pipe.
Thanks


msprotege381.shutterfly.com

 

[hornsfan10609]

If your MAF is relocated to the cold pipe, leave it there. You can remove the bumper or undo the lower splash shield to install the filter on the CAI. Or just put the filter on the end of the first pipe and make a RAI. Considering there is an intercooler, having the filter in the fenderwell doesn't really make a difference.