Cold air intake routing

[dremu]

So I'm still contemplating how to route cold air into my dual-input air cleaner on my healthy big block. Jeez, I think it's been in there a year... but I've done all the other stuff, and this project has been kind of waiting on finding an elegant solution.

On my K5, I ran the duct from the air cleaner (just one) to a hole in the core support. Took some hacking and it barely fit. The core support wasn't set up for the ducting (it's a '74; I donno if any that old came with the duct port up front, but this one didn't.)

Regulatory pix:

And yes, it has a grille on it now to block debris.

The truck I'm asking about here is the sixpack in my sig. It doesn't have the duct port either, and since it has the AC condenser and associated plumbing up front (never mind the aux tranny cooler I installed, etc) getting through the core support would be a royal PITA, especially on both sides as there are two intakes. (Which the truck may or may not NEED, but they're there now so I may as well use 'em.)

I have a spare hood or two, so I debated cutting one up and seeing if I could make some sort of functional induction on it ... but that's a LOT of work, I hate sheetmetal work with a passion, and opening the hood would be a mountain of fiddling with the plumbing. I'm a big fan of KISS -- not the Jon R Pickens variety, well, them too, but the SIMPLE variety. Plus any mods to the hood would block visibility -- a member here used to have that ginormous hood scoop, looked absolutely ridiculous IMHO and left a blind spot in front the size of Rhode Island =))

I suppose I could run the ducts from the air cleaners down below the core support or inside the front bumper or something. It's not a 'wheeler so I won't be playing U-boat Commander in it, but I still worry about water down that low.

The one idea I like, is cutting a hole in the wheel well (inner fender, whatever you call them) for the air duct. It would be a short run, would be easy to plumb and there's not a lot of crap in the way.

The one concern would be water flying up into the ducting, but in the rain, the water should flow off the back of the tire, right, and not go up directly *above* the tire. And as above, obviously I'd put a grille across the intake to filter out debris.

Again, since this thing isn't a 'wheeler (come on, it's 2WD ... it's my tow and utility rig ) I don't see doing a full-on PVC snorkel or the like. This is about getting cold air into the engine so its runs nice, nothing more.

Thoughts or other ideas welcome.

-- A

 

[4X4HIGH]

Drive that gas guzzler over sometime and we'll hair brain an idea and put that idea in motion.

 

[BGKYK5]

I vote you go into the inner fender above the wheel well. As long as the plumbing runs downhill from the air cleaner to the fender, I think you'd be Ok (as long as you aren't fording rivers that come up over the tires )

 

[kgblazerfive]

See that junction block next to your A/C stuff move that and then cut a hole and get cold air from there, If it doesn't have a working a/c make that box smaller and you can do a real big hole. Wheel well is not a good spot its not a positive air, the cowl is.

 

[dremu]

See that junction block next to your A/C stuff move that and then cut a hole and get cold air from there, If it doesn't have a working a/c make that box smaller and you can do a real big hole. Wheel well is not a good spot its not a positive air, the cowl is.

Mmm, interesting point about positive pressure vs vacuum.

Problem with the cowl is , can I get a hole big enough ... in fact, can I get two of them?

I want to keep the AC, unfortunately.... grrr. It's just not simple ... but on the K5, just getting cold air instead of hot air made her run better and helped stop her dieseling, so I'd like to do the same for this truck (not that this one diesels.)

-- A

 

[kgblazerfive]

You could do a long one that should be able to work maybe put two attach points in it

 

[dremu]

You could do a long one that should be able to work maybe put two attach points in it

Yeah, though if I'm gonna do that much work I keep coming back to the hood scoop idea Since the damn thing SOUNDS like a muscle car it may as well LOOK like one too, right?

-- A

 

[kgblazerfive]

Yeah a cowl induction would work fine too

 

[dremu]

Yeah a cowl induction would work fine too

Yeah, but they're spensive. S'pose I could do one myself... right now I'm contemplating a coupla those ricer stick-on hood scoops from JCWhitney or Pep Girls, a substantial amount of Dremelling, and some way to couple the hood to the air cleaner inputs when the hood is closed, but that disconnects when it's open, so as to avoid the dryer vent hose...

-- A

 

[4X4HIGH]

Aaron, you could have drove over here and we could have had it done already.

 

[dremu]

Aaron, you could have drove over here and we could have had it done already.

True dat... but I had some other projects, including a light fixture replacement, that took precedence.

Plus, I donno, you might come after my truck with a Sawzall =))

You got something specific in mind?

-- A

 

[4X4HIGH]

We can just cut a hole in the same location as my 89 blazer and one opposite on the driver side.

 

[dremu]

We can just cut a hole in the same location as my 89 blazer and one opposite on the driver side.

Ahhh. See, your core support is different ... these have a square tube in front right about where we'd want to cut, plus the factory PS cooler is in the way on the driver's side and I think the AC condenser plumbing blocks the passenger.. I really don't think there's enough room to cut a hole through the core support on this truck. See the second pic of the K5 in my first post here; in that pic, it's to the right of the duct. On the pickup, things are tight enough I think we'd have to go *through* that reinforcement, which is a lot of work and just seems ... wrong.

The K5 has less crap, i.e. no AC, so it was simpler.

-- A

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Subscribed.


Trying to figure out where on Big Ugly to do a hole into the cowl or at least somewhere to get cold air from. Problem I have is being a CUCV it has the rear battery in the way and all kinds of diesel and 24--->12 volt related stuff back there around the firewall.

 

[dremu]

Ah, now on my M1009 there WAS a hole in the core support, on the passenger side:

So it was easy to plumb up. I forgot about this one, 'cuz I sold the truck.

A little rubber tubing from the PickNPull (off a Dakota, IIRC):

And she breathes pretty well.

Assuming your '08 is like my '09, you should have the hole, or at least a knockout for it. I seem to recall having to really beat on it with a BF screwdriver to get it out, 'cuz I was too lazy to pull the brushguard.

There's one of the driver's side too, but the horns are in the way (you can just see it behind the upper horn.)

-- A

 

[AJMBLAZER]

What did you do to mount the tube to the core?


Ever find any water in there? Just makes me a bit nervous.

 

[dremu]

What did you do to mount the tube to the core?

Pushed

Seriously, it just friction fit into the hole, plus I had to squeeze it around the battery, IIRC, so it's just sitting there.

Ever find any water in there? Just makes me a bit nervous.

Well, I didn't keep the truck long after that, and I've not run my other K5 on the street much, so I've no real world experience.

Seems to me that rain wouldn't get in there much, as it's covered by the hood, etc, and water would prolly mostly get caught in the ribs of the tubing. Huh, maybe that's why it's ribbed like that, to act as a baffle ... along with making it more flesible and easier to bend, of course.

Anyway, that's why you've got an air filter, right?

-- A

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Once had a tide mark on a K&N I owned...


I'll have to give this some perusing...hopefully tomorrow. I do remember seeing on the 62-65 diesel forum that GM did make some sort of "cap" to go there that the intake tubing on some trucks was supposed to connect to.

Notice any improvement after this was done?

 

[dremu]

Oh yeah, there's a plastic gizmo for that... I think I didn't bother 'cuz it would also have required removing the brushguard. I have a couple somewhere, including one Scott was kind enough to give me; if you can't find one local I can hook you up for shipping costs.

-- A

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Cool, I'll let ya know.