Airbox falling to bits!

[plipton]

Sorry if any one else has posted this before - did a quick search but found nothing similar. Anyway.... here goes....

:engagerantmode:

Only bought the Tuscan 3 weeks ago fresh from its 12000 mile service by (as no naming and shaming allowed) let's call them, er, Henry & Hemerage so as to preserve anonimity.

500 miles later and I noticed a bit of a backfire coming from under the bonnet. Removed said item to find this...



As you can see the front part of the airbox has split and, I assumed, was the cause of the problem. Having spoken to Fish the other day (thanks Fish) I removed the airbox as per his instructions to attempt a temporary repair with a drill and a couple of bolts/nuts/washers. Imagine my surprise to find this horror story at the back...




Obviously it was not sealing at all and, I suspect, was the real cause of the popping.

Anyone else had this? Surely at the 12k service they should have at least removed and cleaned the air filter and couldn't have failed to notice that the airbox was knackered FFS !! TBH it looks like some clown dropped it and tried to hide the evidence (badly).

What should I do? I'm sure messrs Henry and Hemerage will deny all knowledge!

Also, while I'm in rant mode, the pipe from the windscreen washer bottle was not connected and was, therefore, p155ing water everywhere except on the screen. Needless to say this too was "overlooked".

:exitrantmode:

Am I alone or is this a common part to fail?

Plipton


>>> Edited by plipton on Saturday 2nd August 21:51

[Nick Elliott]

There was another thread on this

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=49570&f=5&h=0.

It would appear the splits are quiet common.

Nick

[plipton]

Thanks Nick - I can't believe I missed that thread in my search!!

Have emailed Turbo100 and added my name to his list of people wanting decent replacement airboxes.

I'm gobsmacked by how crap the design is - a mechanic mate of mine was not sure whether to laugh or cry.

Plipton

[plipton]

I've just come off the phone after speaking to a few TVR dealers - seems this is a common fault.

I would recomend every speed 6 owner (Tuscan, Tamora, Cerbera, T350 etc) checks their airbox for splits (and/or drills and bolts the end flanges to repair/prevent the damage)

When the airbox splits, not only does it mean that unfiltered air is getting in to the engine but, more seriously, depending how bad the leak is the ECU will be fuelling for the wrong amount of measured air so will be running lean.

This could do serious damage to your engine!

[bbt11]

I have a cerbera s6 and the air box is different or is this big black box just the cover

[plipton]

bbt11 said:

I have a cerbera s6 and the air box is different or is this big black box just the cover

I have not seen under the bonnet of a Cerby 6 so assumed (wrongly it would seem) that the airbox was the same.

The pix above are of the connection from the air filter to the throttle bodies. If the cerby's are different I'll remove the post from the Cerbera forum.

Thanks

P

[fish]

They are made out of lightweight glassfibre and hus can be easily damaged if not handled carefully. How that was not noticed at the service is impossible it should have been noted and rectified. These boxes don't just break bits off themselves.

Very poor show from the dealer.

[andyvdg]

I presume that my dealer will check this every service and replace as necessary. What else am I paying them £700 for ?

[21tvr]

Yup this is how they are held together - Hungarian boggies mixed with John Smiths

Also you see in your pic the small pipe that comes out of the side, please be careful when you remove the rubber hose from this one and the one at the rear. Twist the rubber tube do not pull, they snap off easier than set of mexican spanners

let us know if you are going to repair it or replace it. I suggest have a go with black silicone - no more nails or similar as long as it's not a fire hazard !!!!!

simon

[plipton]

andyvdg said:

I presume that my dealer will check this every service and replace as necessary. What else am I paying them £700 for ?

So you'd think - the 12000 service cost the previous owner over £1000 (on 8/7/3) and it must have been like this at the time.

My advice - if the waranty has expired and you're reasonably competent with a drill and spanners, drilla 4mm hole in each end flange and either rivet or bolt yours as a preventative measure. If it's under warranty check and point it out to the dealer if there's asplit starting to show.

[plipton]

fish said:

They are made out of lightweight glassfibre and hus can be easily damaged if not handled carefully. How that was not noticed at the service is impossible it should have been noted and rectified. These boxes don't just break bits off themselves. Very poor show from the dealer.

Thanks for your help the other week, Fish. Without your input I'd probably not have noticed it until it was too late.

P

[plipton]

21tvr said:

let us know if you are going to repair it or replace it. I suggest have a go with black silicone - no more nails or similar as long as it's not a fire hazard !!!!! simon

I've written to Mike Penny at the factory to see if they are prepared to give/sell me a replacement top 1/2 of the airbox - the whole box is £165. Basically the servicing dealer isn't really interested other than to sell me a new one (which I suspect they broke as, as said previously, they don't break themselves!)

Meanwhile I'm going to try bridging the missing bit with fibre glass until a replacement can be found. I'll post the finished pix on here.

Edited to add pix of repaired airbox

Right, I attacked the problem with some super glue, self tappers and a fibreglass repair kit. Here's the result. Not pretty but should work. Time will tell how long the patch lasts!






Basically, I super glued the 2 halves back together and used the self tappers to put pressure on the new glued joint and to take the tension off of the joint after it set. The fibreglass fills the gap.

I won't start the motor until the FG has had a couple of days to cure.
If it lasts I'll leave it as it is but otherwise I'll drill and bolt the replacement airbox to prevent future failures.

>> Edited by plipton on Thursday 7th August 22:11

[st george]

Good pictures. Good advice. My rubber pipe connector has also broken, does this affect the mix? The dealer just pushed it in the remaining hole, although he did tell me that what he had done?


Terry

[heightswitch]

Sorry, but the more I see of TVR equipment the less surprised I become. A lot of kit car manufacturers out there are putting this product to shame, I love TVR and the fact that it is a proper Brit sports car but at the price you have quoted for a fibreglass replacement, I would seriously consider doing what I am doing during the installation in my TR6.

Get one fabricated using Tig welded aluminium and silicone turbo hose plus stainless jubilee clips. It will look a lot better than the standard item too.

Neil Russell

[plipton]

heightswitch said:

Get one fabricated using Tig welded aluminium and silicone turbo hose plus stainless jubilee clips. It will look a lot better than the standard item too. Neil Russell

How much?

[Mark.S]

If theres demand for replacements, has anyone approached ACT to fabricate them?

[plipton]

Mark.S said:

If theres demand for replacements, has anyone approached ACT to fabricate them?

See this thread - TVR100 has a source of CF airboxes but needs at least 6 to make it viable.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=49570&f=5&h=0.

Result, BTW. Got a call from TVR yesterday and they are replacing the airbox free of charge (apart from freight costs) as mine's not long out of warranty and the problem was missed by the dealer at its 12000 mile service 1 month ago.

I'll pop some bolts in to prevent cracking and, if it lasts, then I'll be a happy chappy again. If not ACT might have some available.

[Gaffer]

Amazing whos reeding isnt it

Claire
(i think there is a spelling mistake in there but I am so cant figre it out).

[BCA]

Take a look at the airboxes on any 4.5 Cerbera :-) if it isnt cracked like mad down the top edge of either side then its never been used. Any chance of a freebie replacement for that?? Or should we all just stick to using sealant??

I have spoken to Tim Lamont (ACT) directly at Pistonfest about this and he needs a car for a few months and significant interest for the 4.5 AJP8 one to go ahead, im sure he'll say the same for the S6.

[tvr totty]

so just a quick re-cap, the airbox being split like this could cause what kind of damage????

not that i am panicking!!