Missing Air Intake Tube

amhest · Post by **amhest** » 22 May 2010, 12:25

My 2004 V70 2.5T(115K) has had two rounds of significant front-end body work requiring complete grill replacement. I've since moved 6-hours away from the body shop. Overall I was very satisfied with their work.

The idle has been a little uneven for a year or two. I am not sure that it started for sure with the second round of body work. Last fall the dealer replaced top motor mount, timing belt, plugs and cleaned throttle body. This seemed to help a little but the iffy idle came back. Shortly after the car had obvious fuel issue on cold start. It threw a code, the dealer replaced the fuel pump and starting returned to normal. Last winter it threw a P2188 (too rich at idle) after driving at 3500-4000 RPMs up a steep hill in heavy snow. A foreign car shop replaced the MAF. A few weeks later it threw the code again under identical stress. I waited a few days and the code cleared itself. It has not returned in several months but the car has also not experienced similar stress. The mechanic was exceptionally skeptical that the stress or moisture could have caused the p-code, it could be a coincidence. As far as I know the air filter has not been replaced for a few years.

The uneven idle remains. It might be slightly worse when the engine is warm.

This morning I noticed an interesting thing and I am writing to see if it could be relevant to the idle or my past code issues. There is a large plastic tube which runs from the bottom of the air filter box to the inside of the grill just above the radiator/fan. It appears that there is a vacuum-cleaner-like gusset just behind the grille chrome. I noticed this morning that there appear to be clips on both tubes which would imply there is a missing piece of tubing with a wide rectangular cross section, about 6 inches long in between them. It would be within reason for the body shop to have missed this component when the grill was replaced. I also noticed recesses and holes in a piece of supporting steel which appear to be designed to support a missing piece of tubing with plastic clips of some sort. Interestingly there are rings of salt-like crystals in both recesses; presumably these crystals would be sucked into the air filter box or are evidence of air flow through those holes retaining moisture.

I attached a couple of photos.

Is a piece missing? If so, is it possible that the missing piece is causing issues with the air intake system by reducing the back pressure or increasing the air temperature (the tube currently could be pulling some hot air from within the engine compartment) that could cause idle issues or throw a 2188?

Also the routing of the wiring harness for the MAF is missing some retention clips and is clearly not correct. I read elsewhere that this can cause a 2188 or other issues with the MAF is this true? Is it expensive to replace?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Regards, Evan

jda2000 · Post by **jda2000** » 23 May 2010, 15:02

Yes, there is a piece missing i the area you outlined, secures the long intake tube piece to the frame above the radiator area. I don't believe this is causing your problems since is just for securing the longer piece.

Wrap a plastic tie around the MAF connector, to secure it as constant vibrations can make it come loose. Also I don't believe this is causing your problems.

amhest · Post by **amhest** » 25 May 2010, 12:53

Thanks, is the missing piece a tube or just a bracket? Is it connected to the gusset inside the grill?

jda2000 · Post by **jda2000** » 25 May 2010, 14:08

the missing piece is a flat rectangular piece of plastic, like 2"x5", that the longer piece snaps into.