Monday, February 8, 2010

Water In Air Filter Assembly

Problem : Water in the Air Resonator and Air Intake
Symptom : Engine dies off while driving. Difficult to restart engine. Lots of white smoke from exhaust pipe once car is restarted.
Cause : Broken Clip on the Air Resonator
Duration of Repair : 2 Hours

I think the clip broke after I drove over a speed bump and the bottom of the car hit it. Even though I went over it slowly, I guess it damaged the air resonator clip.

 
When the clip broke, the air resonator tilted causing it to dislodge from the air intake pipe. Lots of water got into my air filter. It was dripping wet when I took it out. Here you can see the amount of water in the air filter hose 


Even the original sealant that was used to seal the air resonator together was leaking. My mechanic took out the whole air filter assembly. He modified the clip and resealed the whole assembly using silicone glue.

Here's the clip that broke. After fixing the clip, Hassan (my ultra cool mechanic) tested the sealant of the resonator by using pressurized air blown into the air resonator. Residue water left in the resonator was coming out thru the sealant.













That's when Hassan decided to seal up the whole assemble with silicone. All done and drying under the sun.
 

All fixed and good to go.




 Here is where it got dislodged
After testing the car for 3 days, driving in the rain, All is good. If you've driven over a curb or speed hump and the LEFT FRONT ( PASSENGER SIDE ) has hit the road, I would strongly advise you to have your air filter assembly checked.