gms0623

Hey there guys, i put a "cold air" intake into my 01 XJ last week, it does not have heat shield in yet but it is a cone filter on a 45 degree angle pvc pipe. As of right now i have it set in the bottom half of the stock airbox. (I will post pix from my phone in the next post after this...) I also have a picture of how the top of my airbox looks after an average day of wheeling. There is a decent amount of puddles where i offroad and i am concerned with the hazards of getting my brand new cone filter really dirty or how likely it is to suck water into my engine. last year i was in deep enough water before i put a 3" lift and 31"s on my xj and managed to get some water into my intake, it was visibly damp, and my plugs too wet to start. I dont want to risk anything like that again so i guess i am wondering what options i have to protect my filter from water or mud and to protect my engine as well.

gms0623

Pictures :

DirtRoadXJ

You wouldve been better of going with a cowl intake. You can also put on a pre-filter to keep stuff outta your filter.

Tom95YJ

If you are worried about sucking up water , Get a snorkel or do a cowl intake, or a Hummer style intake.

xj_maniac_newb

I dont recommend a cowl intake with the filter in the cowl.. Just went that route about 3 days ago and im back to my CAI. I actually saw a slight loss in power compared to the stock airbox, the cowl is just too small to allow the filter to pull enough air IMO. Some have had good results with them.. but unless you actually have a use for the extra space where the stock airbox is then i would just go with a cowl intake ported out the back of the stock airbox. Seal all screwholes and the front inlet and your good to go..

99 Purple XJ

I dont see how you lost power my truck feels like it gained power thru the cowl intake

xj_maniac_newb

A cowl intake made with full 3" would be a different story, but on mine i used a stock TJ intake tube to the firewall (something like 2.5") then ran that to my cone filter. My intake was also routed directly over the hvac (going in in the center of the firewall and going left) So that did take a toll on the surface area a bit. Only problem i have with the cowl intake is how so many are ran.. Right over where the heat from the exhaust manifold rises up.

Spooner

I just bought a K&N Air Filter for the stock air box. Works great in my opinion. I noticed a little more horse power. It's essentially the same thing as a cold air intake. The filter pulls so much more air through. Also I dont know about other years but on my XJ, but if your looking at the rectangle where the air box sucks in air, In front of that about 3" is a rectangle hole in the metal there about the same size maybe a little bigger than the air box hole. it had a plastic shield over it blocking air. In order to take this off you have to nearly take the whole grill peice out. what i did was took a chisel broke off the 2 screws holding this plate on and took it out. so air flows directly from behind the headlight through this hole right into the airbox. air dont get much colder than that.

gms0623

I'm not worried about how cold the air is or horsepower gain, i did the cone and it's staying but I want to know how at risk it is for water or mud stopping it up...?

cdn_xj

Depends on the kind of wheeling you do. with the air intake no longer being shielded or contained by the airbox the risk of ingesting water is ALWAYS greater. That's why snorkel intakes are up high.

Every time you modify something on a vehicle, regardless of what the vehicle is, there's a tradeoff. If you're running a so-called cold air intake (I call then hot air intakes, 'cause that's what they REALLY are) then be aware that you can't just go splashing through water holes like everyone else. That's the tradeoff.

Personally, I think the hot air intakes look racy (and ricey for that matter) but don't do a whole hell of a lot since they suck in the nice hot air from the engine bay. Food for thought: that hot air in the engine bay is the reason so many of us have seen fit to cut holes in our hoods and install vents.

I would never install an open filter after having seen first-hand the amount of heat that escapes through the hood vents on my XJ. I never would in any case, but that's not the point.

gms0623

Well I plan to do legit heat shielding and channel out behind the headlight but I also want to see if it's possible to divert water... I might just pick up a spare rubber elbow that goes on the TB from the JY and take the cold air section off to wheel, just throwing a stock air filter in and the top of the box on. Makes the most sense to me

sandaddik2

as long as the oil and other fluids dont get water in them id say youll be okay. iv gotten water in mine and it ran like crap til it passed the water thru. its not good for your engine by any means but it shouldnt kill it either.
if you do hydro it just pull the plugs and crank the engine til water quits shooting out of the cylinders then change the oil and other fluids, re install plugs and start your engine and try it again lol.
i had to do that to mine about 30k miles ago....

xj_maniac_newb

Not always fullproof.. Trying to compress water puts ALOT of strain on your internals, and in the time the engine is still running before you shut it off, it could do some serious damage.. However, i've went through water up to my bumper at speed.. and ive got a CAI. The bottom side of the filter was brown, never missed a lick either. Personally i would seal up the stock airbox along with the front inlet and fit the cone filter in it. Then get some flex tubing from walmart/autozone and run the air inlet up to the cowl.

DirtRoadXJ

i ran through a river where the water was half way up the radiator with the same setup you have minus the box. no heat shield and it was fine. for mud though you should def look into a pre filter to keep chunks of mud off your filter.

basegrinder

>Trying to compress water puts ALOT of strain on your internals,

because you can't compress water