Hey gang,

I just installed this air intake system:

eBay Motors: 97-02 FORD F150 EXPEDITION V8 AIR INTAKE SYSTEM 4.6/5.4 (item 180282690498 end time Sep-01-08 10:33:23 PDT)

in my 97 F150.

Also installed a throttle body spacer, but I took that out as a part of the troubleshooting process.

The Problem.

Problem is, earlier in the day, the truck ran fine, although idling in the 500-1000 rpm range.

Later in the evening, it will now start, but won't stay running unless I'm giving it gas.

I can take pics of everything tomorrow if that helps, but any assistance to the noobie is greatly appreciated!

 

could be the iac, they can be problematic on these trucks

 

Just read elsewhere that the MAF could be dirty. Can I clean that with a blast of compressed air?

Could that be the case?

 

no use maf cleaner, you can get it at an autoparts store

 

if it was running, then you worked on it for an hour, i would guess you might have a vacuum hose left off somewhere.

 

Sounds like a vaccum hose popped loose, should be two running off the intake tube. Follow both of em and make sure they're connected.

 

I'll try the vacuum tubes tomorrow. Too dark outside to see anything

 

Could be that high quality $25 kit. Looks like a HAI (hot air intake) to me with no shielding to keep under hood heat away from the filter which will rob power. Cool air is what you want.
Sounds like a vacuum leak to me. You can clean the MAF with brake parts cleaner. I use it all of the time. It doesn't leave a film. Do not touch the filaments, they break easy.

 

After seeing the guy jury-rig an intake with PVC, I figured I'd ease into it with a cheap kit and get a K&N later down the line.

The quality of the kit isn't bad (unless you've seen one before?), especially since I have nothing else to compare it to. Maybe the K&N kit comes with a spent plutonium pipe and pixie dust packet (for when things go wrong.)

Downsides of this kit:

*Zero instructions
*Non-responsive vendor (takes them days to respond to emails. Paid for the kit on the 1st, they sent the tracking number on the 9th, which is the day it arrived...)
*Packaged by monkeys apparently. Seriously, my 2 year old puts her toys in boxes better.
*vacuum tubes with the kit were cut by the same monkeys that packaged it. The ends look like they were cut with teeth. Perhaps monkey teeth, perhaps human.

Really it's just a starter kit anyway

 

Now students, this is why we do not buy auto parts from China. Next time, lets go for a genuine brand name item, there is a reason this was cheap and the brand names cost more.

 

Thanks for the help there Bear....

 

Sorry, it's not that I'm trying to make anything worse. There is a possibility that the MAF may have become contaminated, which is part of the reason I never use that type of air filter, common problem. I won't use K&N anymore for the same reason. Yes, you may have a vacuum leak or a disconnected line. Or yes, the idle air controller may be dirty or defective (that is a common problem regardless of what kind of intake you have, it just happens).

In theory, the Chinese can make good stuff, but that defeats much of the price advantages of the chinese product. In China, the ethics code is very simple. If it makes you money, it is ethical. I'm serious, they do not think like we do. When they develop a product such as this, instead of researching all aspects of the product, making sure it fits right, making sure the manual is it accurate and thorough, and has correct grammar, they instead opt to copy a competitors design ,so they probably never saw the vehicle it actually fits. If you have problem with a product, support is thousands of mile away, and speaks little or no english. This is assuming they have any support at all, remember, they have to see a potential for making more money by offering a support service.

And yes, the kit you bought, I, and many others look at as a power robbing hot air intake. A short ram intake looses many of the benefits of a proper intake system. For maximum power, you want the air to come from the coldest place possible, you want the outside air drawn into the engine, not the already overheated air from under the hood. Also, you want a certain minimum length in the tube for proper induction. If it is too short, you loose low end power. The same physics that apply to exhaust system design to some extent apply to the intake as well, the difference is that what is a vacuum driven system, the other is pressure driven. But both are undergoing the same flow dynamics.

Sorry if I come across the wrong way, I want to see your problem addressed and your truck running at its best. You should have asked us about the kit before you bought it, there is nothing wrong with asking, we are all here to help. For use that choose to buy more expensive intake kits like AFE, Airraid, Volant, etc, it's not a prestige thing, we don't buy brand names as a status symbol, its because we know that whichever top brand we choose, we know they have researched the fit of their products, and that they offer good support if you have any problems. The Chinese on the other hand, are often the master counterfeiters of the world. They are capable of great things, but instead of innovating and creating new and unique stuff, they choose cheap knock-offs. I have been to the AAPEX show a couple years back, they have a whole floor devoted to Chinese product. And if you walk around and look at their stuff, you will notice that many of them are selling almost exactly the same thing. And almost nothing is a new unique product, almost everything is an attempt to make cheap aftermarket replacements to various components. Some of the stuff looks really good, but the Chinese understand that they must look good to make a good impression.

I don't meant to run on a rave. Just try cleaning the MAF with a good MAF cleaner from the local part store, clean the throttle body and idle controller, and if necessary, replace the idle air controller. Double check for vacuum leaks, use nylon clamps if necessary to make sure the hoses fit snugly and don't come off.

 

Thanks Bear

I'm swinging by an auto store in a few minutes.

I suspect your opinion regarding the chinese is largely influenced by the field that you're in, however I've been to China and I can tell you that there is quite a bit of innovation regarding technology there.

 

Got it running again!

Took it all apart, checked the MAF, looked extremely clean. Took a peek in the throttle and that looked nasty as hell, so cleaned that, put everything back together, started it up, and it still stalled out.

So then started it, gave it gas to get it running, used a screwdriver to hold it open a bit, for a few minutes. Then took the screw driver out and let it idle for a half hour.

Right now I'm letting it completely cool down and then I'll test it again.

 

You have actually been to Chinese factories and actually dealt with Chinese tech support? Their idea of innovation is to copy. Occasionally, they build imitations that are better than the originals, but not in consumer goods. Their highways are very impressive, a major improvement over our own.

Overall, if you want good products from China, I have found what you have to do is insert an American supervisor into the companies to keep an eye on quality. If you do this, they will build stuff to the most exacting specification. The real key is to use their greatest asset against them, the abundance of labor. You let the workers know that if they deviate from their job at all, that there are hundreds or thousands ready and willing to replace them. By doing that, you can get very good quality. However, most of the companies out there are being run by like minded Chinese people, and if they can get more money by cutting corners, they will.

The stainless steel tips we carry are made in China (however, so are everyone else's). We maintain the quality by having American supervisors. That way, the product is made to our specifications without deviation. Some of our product a couple years ago was made in different factories, but we had a lot of quality issues until we got good supervisors to run things over there.

If I say bad things about China, I am not criticizing their people, just their business ethics in general. The people there are great, and their work ethic is good, its just the business practices that I loath, I've just had too many bad experiences.