Turbo health, DIY intake, etc.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sun Jan 23, 2011 7:05 pm

Took the factory airbox and tube out to mock up plans for a DIY intake kit. Discovered that the inlet to the turbo is 2 and 3/8" and that is too small to use the universal kit parts that are commonly available. Another issue is that the viscous heater plumbing is immediately in front of the turbo and so the tube MUST immediately make a 90 degree bend. So the bottom line is, it's not worth it to try and make a new intake tube from scratch. The OEM hose is about the best you can do.

What you CAN do, however, is to buy a conical filter of your choice with a 2.75" inlet and use that with the OEM intake tube in place of the factory airbox and filter. This may be enough to provide a little more airflow, as well as a hotter charge that would be beneficial in Winter.

I noticed that my factory intake tube was FULL of oil, so my EHM got hooked back up and will STAY hooked up from now on.

I also noticed that my turbo fins were in PERFECT condition, and the shaft has ZERO play in it side to side or front to rear. My turbo appears to have a perfect bill of health with 96,000 miles now on the odometer. I contribute this to the previous owner likely using the proper oil and having it serviced regularly, and obviously I've babied it since I bought it.

Now I will search for an air filter. Any thoughts on what to go with? I'm leaning toward AEM because those require no oiling.

racertracer · **Posted:** Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:31 pm

Good tip.

duramaxxed · **Joined:** Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:30 am **Posts:** 15

Amsoil makes Universal Dry Filters as well.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 12:29 pm

We already established that the factory intake tube is the best you can do. Nothing aftermarket would work any better or increase flow any more. So I ordered AEM DryFlow air filter part number 21-201BF-H. It has a inlet internal diameter of 2.5". This makes the outer diameter of the inlet almost 2.75", which is perfect for sliding it into the factory turbo inlet tube. So basically, I was able to remove the entire factory airbox and both sensors, and replace it all with a simple AEM DryFlow air filter. This resulted in a cleaner looking engine bay, and hopefully will give a slight bit of spool-up and turbo whistle...not to mention I'll never have to buy an air filter again so it'll save $$$ over the long run.

Total cost of this mod: $52 bucks.

Pics:
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_ima ... _large.jpg

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_ima ... _large.jpg

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_ima ... _large.jpg

The only reason the tie straps are there is for a temporary security brace until I can fab up a little bracket of my own to help keep the filter from flopping around. But overall, it's secure and looks/works good.

dthdcrd · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 1:18 pm

NICE! I have been thinking of doing something like this. What did you do with the sensors? If they are still hooked up, but not in the intake track will that have any adverse effect?

Thanks,

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 4:43 pm

The GDE tune makes the sensors useless. :mrgreen:

So I taped them to keep dirt and debris from getting inside the connectors, then I tie-strapped them up so they wouldn't be dangling around.

This was literally a 10 minute mod. There is some extra noise inside the Jeep now and some folks will not like this.

The only issue is going to be fabbing up that bracket I was talking about. I really need to come up with something to secure the filter end of the system other than a plastic tie strap. The tie strap isn't going to hold very long due to the excessive vibration of the engine.

racertracer · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 6:45 pm

Nice Mod, I would like to know if you experience any improvement from standard OEM air filter change.

woodtick · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:59 pm

I would be interested in any performance change. Both positive and negative.

TJ2 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:51 pm

I, too, am interested. This time of year (cold) I can see advantages. OTOH, I thought during spring, summer months the goal was to get cooler intake air?

Don't you get a CEL with the MAF unplugged?

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 8:58 pm

TJ2 wrote:

I, too, am interested. This time of year (cold) I can see advantages. OTOH, I thought during spring, summer months the goal was to get cooler intake air?

Don't you get a CEL with the MAF unplugged?

No, like I said above, the GDE tune makes both airbox sensors useless.

So far, the seat of the pants feel is not significantly stronger. Obviously it will take time to know for sure if there is any MPG difference. I suspect the overall improvement will be minimal, because the factory intake system is not all that bad really. It's pretty efficient. Time will tell.

The only negative so far is the added turbo noise inside the Jeep. You can hear the "whoooosh" as the tranny shifts through gears. Again, some folks will not like that...especially if your wife rides shotgun a lot. :mrgreen:

geordi · **Posted:** Sat Jan 29, 2011 9:32 pm

Time to change the co-pilot then for someone who appreciates the sound of a turbo for the AWESOME that it is. :mrgreen:

Got any pics of this mod, and how it looks under the hood? I need to replace my airbox lid anyway, as somehow the connection to the tube has gotten crushed and broken just past the MAF, and the airbox tube is rotten at the turbo end b/c of the oil contamination from 60k of CCV yuck. Even the SPARE airbox hose I got with the replacement engine is rotten there. What a crap design.

Anyone know if the airbox lid is the same between the CRD and any of the other non-sexy-diesel KJ engines?

Turbo health, DIY intake, etc.

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