Cold Air Intake flowing to much air for 3.0 ??

[Trailrated92]

Hey guys, since Sunday was such a nice day, after I spent the morning putting my new Cobra Wheels on the Ranger, I still wanted to do some wrenching, so I splurged on a Cold Air Intake Kit.

1992 3.0 Automatic.

I installed it yesterday and the results were NOT GOOD !!!

She barely idled, stumbled, popped and fell all over itself till above 3k rpm and then smoothed out, but anything below 3k rpm and the same problems came back. I let her idle for about 10 minutes while I cleaned up my tools, thinking maybe the computer just needed to read new data for awhile before resolving itself.

Even after that and taking it for a blast down the street, the problems still existed and it was basically undriveable.

As soon as I went back to the more restrictive factory airbox and intake, all the problems went away instantly !

I never did get a check engine light or anything on the dash and Im now stumped.

I did the KN FPK Kit on my Dodge Ram 1500 318 4X4 and it ran beautifully as soon as I was done and havent touched it since.

I cant for the life of me come up with an answer other then to much airflow for the computer to compensate for.

My bother said he had the EXACT same problem with his '87 GT and wound up having to have his MAF recalibrated to the tune of $400

Since Im planning on doing a V8 conversion sometime in the next 6 months, it really doesnt make any sense for me to spend that kind of cash on something Im only keeping in the truck for another few months.

And to answer ahead of time for the most likely question. Yes I checked and the relevent vaccuum lines and PCV line were correctly installed on the cold air intake. The ONLY thing that was actually permanently deleted was the single vaccuum hose, metal convulted hose and air box piece running to the exhaust manifold, and I DID NOT put them back on when I went back to the stock intake and airbox.


Any ideas ???

 

[Hahnsb2]

You can't flow too much air.

Besides not really doing anything for performance, my guess is that there is now turbulence across the MAF sensor at low RPMs and is causing it to run poorly, assuming the filter is clamped right on the MAF.

 

[Trailrated92]

You can't flow too much air.

Besides not really doing anything for performance, my guess is that there is now turbulence across the MAF sensor at low RPMs and is causing it to run poorly, assuming the filter is clamped right on the MAF.

YEP ! Short piece of silicone "hose" to aluminum adapter with gasket and plastic spacer plate and then MAF and cone filter clamped right to opposite side of MAF

 

[Hahnsb2]

Another question, you aren't using an aftermarket MAF housing, are you?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Is it an oiled filter? Too much oil on it will cause coil to get on the MAF causing all sorts of issues.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Is it an oiled filter? Too much oil on it will cause coil to get on the MAF causing all sorts of issues.

Yeah but unless he cleaned it between reinstalling the new one then the problem should have persisted.

Did you plug every hole up and re attach everything?

 

[Trailrated92]

NO its NOT an "oiled" filter like my KN one on my Dodge. Just a regular pleated cone style.

NO I am NOT using an aftermarket MAF housing. I took the stock one off the stock intake and used the included adapter plate to install it on the cold air intake. Even cleaned it with aerosol MAF Cleaner before I installed it. And NO, I DID NOT touch or let anything else touch the resistor wires inside the MAF. Then put the SAME MAF back into the factory setup and it runs fine.

YES, as in the OP I put the relevent vac line and PCV line back exactly like they were on the factory intake in the new intake.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Well either way I would just get rid of it... it will actually cause your engine to lose horsepower. I would install something like underdrive pulleys if you want any type of gain.

 

[stmitch]

Did you remove one of the battery cables for a few minutes in order to reset the PCM? If the truck thought the stock intake was in place, and was suddenly getting more air, it would have lots of difficulty adjusting. If it were disconnected from the power source, and then reconnected, it would relearn with the new parameters.

 

[Rearanger]

If the truck thought the stock intake was in place, and was suddenly getting more air, it would have lots of difficulty adjusting.

Don't worry, it's getting the same amount of air. And if it's a cone, as he says, mounted inside the engine bay, he's gone from a CAI to a HAI, or at best a WAI (warm air intake).