Air intake busted, anyone have a spare? Could a girl replace it?

R

reprogle

Member
:
Mazda Protege5
Hey guys,

Yesterday I was doing a routine replacement of my air filter ('02, 137K miles) when I saw that the corrigated tube into the plenum from the air intake manifold has been worn through really bad, there's a gash that opens up about half the pipe, plus some additional rips (can you say, mpg drop?). I asked my dad (I live away from home), and he said duct tape was a very temporary fix. I'm planning on replacing it this weekend

Point being, I was wondering the following,

a) Do any of you have a stock air intake from adding a cold air intake? I know a lot of people do mods like that (especially given the stock looks like it can't breathe at all!).

b) I'm looking into simply replacing it with a cold air intake myself... where could I get one cheap, is it worth the money, and is it easy to replace? I'm a 5'1" girl, am proportionally weak, and could easily hurt myself wrestling with with any tough parts. It looks like it'd be a pretty straightforward replacement, any advice?

Thanks!
 
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It's just tubing and a filter so no need to spend big $$ IMO. I got this from ebay for about 30 buck I think. When the filter gets dirty I plan to toss it and replace it with a K&N filter. Installation is easy, YOU CAN DO IT !!

DSC_1297.jpg
 
Hey, thanks a lot! What brand CAI did you get, or are they all built well enough? At $30, the worst case scenario is you just get another right? Good to know its so cheap (and as easy as it looks like it'd be).
 
Or you could just buy a new one from the dealer - it's about $50, and if it lasts about 100k miles, that ain't too bad IMHO.
 
Well im up here in lansing and might have that piece your looking for... I sold my mp3 but still have the stock intake stuff in the shed. Just LMK!!

I just re-read ur location... are u in chicago or flint?
 
I figured a replacement would be more than $50 at the dealer, I was going to call around today to see. Good to know it might be reasonable though.

I'll look into the ebay CAI too, though, a little more hp and mpg never hurt anyone... plus knowing that the hose can fail makes the metal piping look better.

Posted a WTB too.
 
Really, the brand of a cold air intake doesn't matter. Its all about the filter. Most of the pipes are all the same, some may be a bit thicker, but from the sounds it it, you aren't looking for performance. Get a cheap one from eBay and when the filter goes bad, just pick up a decent filter.
 
A stock replacement can be had pretty inexpensively, either from a forum member, or from your local dealership if you're in a hurry. When i bought my P5 used, i took it to my local mazda dealer and had them look it over carefully for anything that might be a problem. One of the things they noticed was the cracked rubber tube like you describe.

As for difficulty, it should be a pretty simple replacement, some hose clamps to undue, maybe some clips to unfasten and replace!

I commend you for getting your fingernails dirty, you greasemonkey of the fairer sex!
 
I switch between school in Flint (Kettering) and working at Argonne in Chicago every 3 mo. I'm working in Chicago right now, but am traveling to Flint tomorrow... shall PM
 
Haha, thanks for the kudos...

Although, in all honesty, it'd be easier to change the headlights on the Proteges if they'd just caulked off the whole gromit - those things suck.
 
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Alright, looks like I'm getting one from martispeed tomorrow - thanks for all your help, guys!

And, Scratch I did see that. I'll be careful, though you have a good point, of course.
 
Lol...you must not of seen the first one, cause of the 3 PM's I had when I logged in, there was not a single one from you...

No Seriously...
 
Haha, just saw that one... yeah, A+ on being a super-creeper.
I'd watch yourself too, besides being pretty unclassy:

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

Please be respectful.
 
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WOW Scratch, I didn’t even notice what u said...

This is why sooo few women take part in the car scene and forums. Seems like every guy is an eleg humper and couldn’t get laid if his life depended on it. And scratch this is not directed at you so please don’t take it that way! It’s just ridiculous that every time a girl/woman post here everyone is sooo disrespectful!!!
 
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