Air Filter Housing/ Accordion Snorkel

[Brad Sewell]

Of all the cars and boats I have ever been around I have always thought that the best way to best way to learn about it was to clean it. I mean rally clean it.

Today #454 got a 50 Q-tip touch up under the hood. And it still needs 500 more.

But I did discover that the snorkel that mounts between the air filter housing and the air horn (am I right so far?) does not connect squarely to the housing closer to the front of the car. Upon further inspection it looks like the seam in the air filter housing is splitting, so I am sure this needs to be replaced.



I loosened the hose clamp and tried to reposition the snorkel 4 or 5 times, but each time it just popped back off.

After some searching I read that the snorkel needs to be replaced with a solid or held open with a sleeve.

I also read that it will not damage the engine if the snorkel pops off completely while driving. Performance may suffer, but the engine will not be damaged, correct?

Since the housing and the snorkel need to be replaced, are most of you using oem parts? Or is there a slick little aftermarket upgrade that you like better than the stock setup.

Thanks for your help on this and the other questions I have posted. This forum enhances the enjoyment of owning the car.

[VetteMed]

If the "air bridge" duct pops off while driving, it will allow unfiltered air, including dirt or foreign material, into the engine, causing potential harm.

There is a Samco aftermarket duct, it's around $180. Used OEM ducts pop up from time to time.

The OEM ducts are prone to collapsing, which is the purpose of the stiffeners that are sold for inside the duct. The Samco duct is not prone to collapsing.

[Kevin]

I think i have some spare oem ducts kicking around

[MikeGolf]

What I did to keep it from slipping, was to take three small self tapping screws and screwed 2 into the side and one on the top and then covered them up with the clamp. No more slippage.

[Paul Workman]

From my own experience and reading posts for a few years, it seems both of those are pretty much SOP. Replacement might be an option, if you can find one, but as Mike said, self tapping screws solved that problem for me as well (and I add some black RTV to help seal the joint).

And, while you have the black RTV out, you can use some on that crack in the seam - massage it into the crack with your thumb, and then use a paper towel wipe off the excess. After the shine goes away, you won't even see it anymore.

Note: If your acordion tube is not internally supported already, it may be collapsing. This too will pull the tube from the air cleaner housing, at the least, or choke the motor down above about 5000 rpm at worst. Either some wire hoops from Marc Haibeck, or you can make an aluminum sleeve can be made and inserted to do the trick (and smooth the air flow too).

P.