A true CAI for 01+ 2.3L....a little something I wrote up.
For those of you who want a true Cold Air Intake for you duratec 2.3L. Basically what I did was was flip the intake tube to the other side of the engine. You need to have a K&N cone filter or one similar for this to work. Before starting this, make sure you disconnect the negative battery cable.
Here's the steps:
1. Take off the plastic resonator near the throttle body. It's there to help keep the intake quiet...who wants that. You'll have a hole in the intake tube where it was attached, for some reason some models had two connections to the resonator...in that case you'll have two holes. To patch these holes I used something called a "Galvanized pipe plug" they sell them at Lowes in the plumbing supplies. I used the 2" plug...all it is is a piece of rubber between two round metal plates with a bolt through the center...when you tighten the bolt the plates squeeze the rubber and it expands. I had to put a little oil on the plug to squeeze it in the hole..you gotta work it in there. Here's what the resonator looks like.
2. Next we have to relocate the powersteering res. After you remove the plastic resonator you will notice that it was mounted to an aluminum bracket...this bracket is where the PS Res. will be moved to. All the holes on the bracket line up perfectly with the PS Res, the mounting holes and the threads for the bolts are the same. Remove the PS Res. from the black bracket that it is on and move it to the old Resonator location...you just reuse the bolts that were holding it on. I think the aluminum bracket was meant to be a PS Res. mount originally because it fits perfectly.
3.Next, loosen the hose clamp that holds the intake tube to the throttle body and also unplug the breather hose from the intake tube. Then unplug the MAF harness. Now that that is done just flip the intake tube to the other side of the engine bay (over by the battery) and bend the tube at a 90 degree angle and stick it down by the frame. Now plug the MAF harness back in and make sure you zip tie the MAF wires to the intake to keep them away from the fan and belt. In order for the breather hose to reach you will need about 12-18" of vacuum line to extend it, you could also use some rubber tubing from lowes.
4.Now retighten the clamp that holds the intake to the TB and make sure everything is connected correctly. Check all the bolts and make sure they're not loose. ie: the PS Res. bolts. Give everything a good look over and tidy up...reconnect the battery cable and YOU'RE DONE!!!
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