Aztek Fan Club

[0aztek3]

Took out the airbox today and examined it.
In case anyone hasn't done this before, or would like to know about it here's how to do it:
Tools Needed:   6in long Flathead screwdriver/10mm socket/13mm socket/12in+ ratchet extension

Ok, I wish I had a digital camera, but I will explain this as best I can.
To even gain access to the airbox you have to move the cruise control module(if equipped), coolant reservoir, and drivers side diagonal brace.

First, I used a flathead screw driver to pry up the black plastic push pin that holds the coolant reservoir to the radiator support. Then simply pull up on the reservoir and place it to the left, its held to the diagonal brace by two c-type clamps and gravity.

Second, I removed the cruise control module(fist sized black box with cable running to throttle body) by flipping up the plastic holder and lifting it straight up out of the bracket, move this to the left as well.  The cruise control bracket is held to the inside of the drivers side fender by two 10mm bolts. Remove these and pull up on the bracket its also held to the diag brace by one clip same way as the coolant reservoir.

Third, I removed the diagonal brace. Its held by two 10mm bolts on the radiator support and a 13mm bolt on the strut tower.

Now you can easily access the airbox.

There are two long 10mm bolts on the airbox towards the back of it. Remove these. You can now lift up and remove the top cover. The shiny big metal thing you see is the PCM, pick it straight up and move it to the left(held by gravity).  

Now you can see that our engine sucks air from the fenderwell through a tennis ball sized hole. At this point I wanted to get a better look at the fender area, so I removed the drivers side headlight. I could see the odd peanut shaped hole of the end of the intake, it is facing vertical and takes a 90 degree turn into the airbox. From my experience it would be easy to gut this airbox. Simply remove the plastic just in front of the filter. Our puny horn is also behind the headlight, I plan to upgrade this(airhorn hehe).

To completely remove the airbox, use the flathead screwdriver to loosen the last clamp in front of the MAF(this screw was hard to get to, I had to use a 6in flathead and maneuver it under the upper radiator hose to get at it) Now remove the panel with the air filter access clips attached to it. Now look inside the airbox, there should be three silver 10mm bolts holding the airbox down remove these and maneuver the airbox out.

The minor problem I see here about upgrading the intake is where to relocate the PCM, I ran into the same problem with my IMP(PCM in airbox too) so I decided to play it safe and gut the airbox to keep the PCM sheltered. The Grand Prix guys have come up with creative ways to protect the PCM, fabricating trays etc.  There is a good amount of play in the wires that lead to the PCM so relocation shouldn't be too much of a problem.

[HotRod01]

Great Job.  Thanks for describing all the steps.  Will increasing the size of the inlet be too much of a problem?  The one in the fender.  Can you cut open the inlet to say 3in circle?  I am thinking a 3in pvc pipe run directly to it through the existing airbox.  Inside the airbox a cone K&N filter could reside.

Just throwing ideas out there.  

[0aztek3]

Thats a great idea and it shouldn't be a problem opening up the hole a bit(Dremel). The only problem is that area in the fender is very thin it would be a tight fit I think.

I noticed that a very small area on my air filter was dirty(tennis ball sized) too.
I'm planning to gut out the interior walls of the box and matching the hole in the fender, then put a K+N drop in filter. Its good that our intake already draws air from the fender well area.

Now that i'm thinkin about it, it would be possible to block off the fender well hole and drill a hole in the front of the box then connected that with ducting hose to the slot under the hood(RamAir). Hmm...

[HotRod01]

Now that i'm thinkin about it, it would be possible to block off the fender well hole and drill a hole in the front of the box then connected that with ducting hose to the slot under the hood(RamAir). Hmm...

You might not want to completely block off the hole if you do that modification.  I am sure snow could easily block the ram-air slot we have under the hood.  Then you would get no air.  Do they make large valves that we could close off an alternate path while the ram-air is working?  A by-pass of sorts.  This way it would still get air from the fender if it can't suck enough through the ram-air opening.  It would have to be automatic, say spring operated.  Hmmm.....  

[rylowe]

maybe a blow off valve? might think about a retrofit of the grand am GT ram air?

[tanktek]

hmmm... the ideas keep rolling in. Keep talking , I'm taking notes. I've  wanted to add a K&N from when I got the tek but didnt know how hard it would be to actually to get to it, let alone how. Thanks for posting it in such detail!
Elisha ( olive green 01 tanktek)

[0aztek3]

Thank you! I'm glad to help!
Changing the filter isn't as involved as removing the whole airbox though. It is a PITA as there's not much play once you unhook to two quick release clips. I would recommend loosening that last clamp just after the MAF and slide the hose off, then completely remove the panel to change the filter. It will save your hands from getting all scratched up and prevent damaging the filter trying to squeeze it in otherwise.

[AZteXtasy]

A couple points of interest

The K&N do flow more air, and require less changings
But
They DO allow small particles like sand to leach thru
so even though you change less, it is important to clean and re-oil on a reg basis
I would not recomend one for someone who lives in a dusty area or on a dirt road :cry1:

As far as the airbox mods>>> good research :lolu:
BUT
The engine will draw only so much air
This is why there is only a certain size hole in the fender well
[my 2002 5.3 V8 has a hole about 4-5" and guys that have opend them up have not had a significant performance increase
In fact,
The engine requires a certain amount of air saturation, off idle
When you take a contained space [airbox,] and modify it to be a strait shot
you may develop, low speed hesitation when the throttle is opened

This is generally where you hear>>>BAAA-WHAAAAAAAA
because the intake has to draw from far away

The ram air has potential [except for drawing in moisture]
But generally are best in top end area
not sure if many members run in the 4000+ rpm range

Sorry for the BUTTS
Just trying to let my past experiance, keep all informed
Rich