what is it? i've got a 460 and got a replacement one today by describing it like that. it's about an inch tall and 3 or 4" wide. mine was caked in crap and black and gooey. what was is it, what does it do, and do you think i'll notice anything while driving?

 

It's the breather filter.

It works with the PCV valve. Some combustion gases slip by the rings and build up in the crankcase. The PCV valve sucks them into the intake where they get burned again. There is supposed to be a negative pressure in the crankcase as a result, and the breather filter supplies filtered air to the crankcase.

If it's gummed up, either the PCV valve is not working (not so bad) or there is too much gas getting past the rings (really bad).

 

while i had the camera out...here's how it looks. i'd say it looks really bad, as in too much gas getting past rings. granted, i assume it's never been changed. think i should look into it further or not worry about it. keep in mind, changing a filter is about as mechanical as i get.

 

That's normal if it's got a lot of miles on it. That really isn't bad at all.

 

Where did you find that little bugger? I've never seen it in my engine compartment.

 

it's inside the air box, under the air filter (on the dirty side).

o, and side complaint: who's bright idea was it to have 4 2" screws holding down the cover instead of some easy to undo clamps? i had a 93 gmc that had snaps, obviously someone had it figured out by then.

 

Hmmm, well I don't have an air box anymore... K&N air filter... Now what?

 

k&n...now the inside of you engine looks like that just kidding

 

I totally agree. The worst is when the nuts get cross-threaded and then they spin out of the plastic they are molded into.

I need a new airbox for mine.

 

That's not bad at all, like pfogle said. If it were "really bad", it would be DRIPPING with oil, and you might even have a pool of oil in your airbox. Swap it out and don't lose any sleep over it.

Jason

 

swapped it out last night. looked bad to me, but what do i know. just took & posted some pics for fellow noobs to know

 

Can anyone comment on the fact that I don't have an airbox because of my K&N setup? The PO installed the K&N and removed the airbox so what do I do about this smaller filter that this thread is concerning?

-Chris

 

yea i'm not sure. the little filter is connected to a hose...forget where the hose goes. i think it went somewhere near the top of the engine. i'd be curious to see the other end of your hose...just sitting open?

although...could this only be something on the 460?

i took a bunch of pictures this morning (see my other gallery) for this exact reason. i don't seem to have caught either end of the hose in the pictures i snapped

 

If the airbox was removed, most likely the hose was removed too...

It used to go to the valve cover on the driver's side. Most likely the PO replaced it with some sort of breather.

 

The air box in my 93 150 didnt have one of those filters or a place for one even. Correct me if Im wrong but that may just be a 460 thing. Maybe you could post a pic of where you pulled that out of in your air box to clear some things up.