Fitting Air Filter

[harley 0]

So finally getting round to sorting out fitting the K&N on my 1.6 gti.

 

Sorry, I have had a look through the articles on the main page and tried a search but can't find anything covering this.

 

The last owner completely bodged it on and simply replaced the old airbox with the cone filter but also thought it would be clever to fit the special K&N adapter tube thing between the cone and the AFM, blocking the two hose attachment points with bolts!

 

So I've moved the adapter tube piece to between the throttle body and the afm and pushed the battery right back so the cone can fit in between the n/s headlamp.

 

Problem is the shunt box seems to be in the way! Is it ok to just remove the shunt box from it's bracket and then remove the bracket from the car so that the AFM can sit in it's place? Bearing in mind that this would leave the shunt box just suspended by it's connecting wires beneath the AFM?

 

Thanks in advance for the help, Harley

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

 

 

It should be able to stay where it is, if its mounted the other way, you may just need a different bracket. Mine is currently in limbo, it doesnt move much, so not really a problem, but ideally it does need to be mounted to the slam/headlight panel.

[harley 0]

thanks, yeah mine was mounted so that it was pointing lengthways towards the battery.

 

Will I be ok to use the car with it hanging untill I find a more suitable bracket?

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

Well mines been like it for months, one of those jobs you never get round to doing! Not had any issues.

[harley 0]

Thanks for that.

 

Also, in your pic it looks like your afm is sitting at an angle? This might be me being dumb but I thought that it had to be sitting level to perform correctly?

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

That pic is taken from the 'induction shortner' article on the main site, some people say it can have an affect, i've got mine flat, but personally, i've not noticed a difference either way.

[harley 0]

ok cheers mate, I'll get it all put back together when I get the new starter motor and have a little play about with it then!

[GLPoomobile 958]

I personally wouldn't leave it hanging. There is always the risk that your +VE connection on the shunt box are going to come in to contact with bare metal (such as the clutch arm).

 

It is difficult to move the shunt box becuase the wires usually give little freedom to ove it and are often tangled up and very hard from age. But see what you can do with it and try to get it bolted down somewhere. Making a simple bracket from some thin aluminium plate for instance, shouldn't be too hard.

 

On mine I had the luxury of putting it wherever I pleased as I made a whole new loom, and mine is now bolted to the front of the battery tray.

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

I can see your point GLP but tbh its situated in such a place it cant go anywhere near the clutch arm, the air filter and top rad house prevent it from going anywhere and it should have plastic sides which clip on to prevent it coming in contact with bare metal, so its not really an issue imo.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

IMO the angle of the AFM is immaterial to its performance, that picture is from my article & its sat like that to give maximum clearance from the radiator top hose so heat transfer isn't as great an issue.

 

Check on your slam panel because some have a little tab on the back of them for the shuntbox to fit directly to it with the bolts used to hold it to the bracket.

 

If not you can either bend your bracket so it sits like in the picture or cut the bend off & recrill your current bracket to mount it inline.

 

As said, I wouldn't want to leave it loose, even though there isn't any danger of it getting hooked or caught on anything its better when its secure & some MOT testing stations would fail it if its unsecured.

 

Graham.

[harley 0]

I have my AFM resting on the top hose, does the heat transfer cause problems? Think I'll do some quick adjustments tomorrow and position it a bit more like the pic in your article.

 

As for the shunt box I'll have a go at fashioning some sort of bracket on the weekend if I can bring myself to get the tools out again after the starter motor episode

[GLPoomobile 958]

I can see your point GLP but tbh its situated in such a place it cant go anywhere near the clutch arm, the air filter and top rad house prevent it from going anywhere and it should have plastic sides which clip on to prevent it coming in contact with bare metal, so its not really an issue imo.

 

On my first GTI I swapped to a K&N kit and, because I hadn't a clue what I was doing, I simply left the shunt box dangling. It never caused a problem in the time I had the car, but it was dangling very close to the clutch arm. And on my current Mi, before I made my loom the shunt box had been left dangling under the AFM again (not my work this time).

 

If the box is wedged in place somewhere so it won't move, and is in no danger of the terminals making contact with anything, then it'll be fine. But I don't like the idea of having it dangling about. How much of a risk it is will vary from car to car, as it'll be dependant of how much free play there is in the wiring etc. And whilst the terminals should be covered, there is always the possibility of the flap popping up or something making it's way under there while it's dangling about. Very slim and unlikely chances I'll grant you, but why be lazy and leave it to chance when it would be so simple to make it tidy?

[SurGie 54]

Unless the car goes over a big pot hole whilst changing gear.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Unless the car goes over a big pot hole whilst changing gear.

What's it going to hit in this instance?

 

As said by James, the two terminals direct from the battery are covered & the rest are plugged in.

 

Graham.

[GLPoomobile 958]

How times change then, eh?

 

I can remember a very early post by me (I did try to find it last night but couldn't) asking what I should do with the shunt box (it was this very topic at the time that taught me it was called the shunt box) as it was in the way of the AFM. I even went so far as to ask if I could do away with the box completely A number of knowledgeable people told me that I should NOT leave the box dangling. I'm fairly sure you were one of those people, Graham.

 

I think the points I've tried to make above are really all about just making sure there is no risk involved. It's all well and good saying that it can't come in to contact with anything, and that the terminals are covered, but that assumes an ideal situation. I'm telling you I've had two examples where it COULD come in to contact as there was enough play in the wiring. And it's perfectly feasible that the plastic cover over the terminals may have snapped off or have been left in the open position. Pug securely located the shunt box out of harms way and put covers over the terinals for a reason. All I'm suggesting is that anyone considering moving their box should make sure that it's not at risk of coming in to contact with something and shorting out.

Edited February 5, 2010 by GLPoomobile

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

As many other topics recently i feel this is starting to drift off topic!

 

Basically Harley, yes you can leave it as it is and the liklihood is you will do thousands of miles with no issues as im sure a few have including myself, however there is a small chance that it could possibly short out on bare metal. My advice would be to continue driving it and either put up a wanted post, or fabricate a small bracket to mount it on.

 

cheers, James

[harley 0]

Ok, cheers guys

[mr_exe 1]

I fitted one way back when to a friends Gti and moved the shunt box towards the n/s headlight so it was secured by only the one bolt instead of two.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

I can remember a very early post by me (I did try to find it last night but couldn't) asking what I should do with the shunt box (it was this very topic at the time that taught me it was called the shunt box) as it was in the way of the AFM. I even went so far as to ask if I could do away with the box completely A number of knowledgeable people told me that I should NOT leave the box dangling. I'm fairly sure you were one of those people, Graham.

I still stand by that answer, ideally you shouldn't leave it dangling but if its in roughly the correct place in the engine bay, the wires aren't subject to any movement & there is very little metal in the area that could cause an issue due to contact.

 

If it was the only thing stopping the car from being used with the inline filter (much better than with it over the exhaust manifold but argueable over the standard airbox & piping) as a temporary measure you ought to be OK.

 

I'm pretty sure if the police pulled you for any reason or as part of a random check with it unsecured, if they noticed they'd give you a producer or whatever the latest pull is which revokes your MOT giving you have seven days to get it fixed & having to pay an MOT certificate to get your car legal again.

 

Graham.

[shalmaneser 26]

Its no effort at all to bolt it to one of the holes in the slam panel, that's what I've done and TBH anything dangling around in my engine compartment makes me feel uneasy!

 

better safe than stuck on the side of a motorway in the pouring rain IMO.

[Baz 421]

Yeah i'm pretty sure you can easily modify the bracket so the shunt box sits tucked in on the slam panel, as a pic shows previously.