North American Turbocoupe Organization



K&N - Front Mounted
andrewjs18 Offline
Administrator
#1
K&N Filter Install through the Radiator support wall
by Pete Dunham email [email protected]

Materials
12" length of 3" diameter rubber hose from truck supply place
4 hose clamps to fit above 3" diameter (most auto suppliers don't stock these large size clamps
3" diameter piece of tin segmented heating duct from Lowes, Home Depot or heating supply place (see picture below)

Here is the install procedure on the K&N air filter for mounting it in front of the radiator support wall. I've included some pictures I have and I'll reference them as we go. Parts needed 1. get 12" of 3" diameter rubber hose at a truck supply place. Get 4 hose clamps to fit hose while your there (Most auto supplies don't have hose or clamps this diameter). 2. Get a 3"diameter piece of tin, segmented heating duct from Lowes, Home Depot or a heating and A/C supply place. By segmented I mean it is made upon 4 segments that can be turned in any direction so that whole piece can go from straight to forming a 90* bend and anywhere in-between. Cost me $1.29 at Lowes. It's about 9" long when straight

Step 1.  Unplug the wiring connector to the VAM. Remove the nuts on the VAM mounting bracket holding the VAM to the bracket. Remove the 4bolts holding the bracket to the fender (2 on top, 2 tucked under the VAM. Remove the stock air box, feed tube from the fender and lower tube from air box to VAM. You will have to remove the air line from the charcoal canister to the tube under the air filter box. That clears out the old stuff2.

Step 2.  (Optional). Some people just let the VAM lay on the shelf underneath it. Since there is wiring there, I chose to modify the original bracket to slightly lift the VAM and give it some support. Look at the picture file named "Cold air install.jpg" to get an idea of what I did. Basically I cut the bracket so it was flat while retaining the upper part that mounts to the fender on top. I cut off the part that goes down beside the VAM and wraps underneath it, leaving only the surface that faced up and mounted to the VAM with three nuts. You should have to make 2 cuts. I originally had to cut the ear off where the nut to the front of the car goes to clear the filter when I had it mounted directly on the front of the VAM. You can use a hack saw as all cuts are straight lines. I used a Dremal with cut off wheels and rounded sharp corners on a grinder. Paint if desired and set aside to dry, you won't need it again until everything else is finished

Step  3.  Now the fun begins. There is a hole in the "wall' that the radiator support brackets mount to. It's directly in front of where the stock air box was. This is where the piece of heating duct, bent to almost 90* will go through. The 3" dia. rubber hose will need to be cut to 9", but don't do it just yet. Put a hose clamp on the K&N and put the K&N up into the area between the radiator wall and the front fascia from UNDERNEATH the front bumper at the front of the wheel well. It's tight but it will go up and in with a little twisting and turning (I have done 2 so far).

Step 4.  Now take a trial run at fitting the heating duct through the hole in the wall, it will be need to be at almost a 90* angle. Whenever thing is fitted and hooked up it will point down and slightly toward the passenger side of the car. the tricky part is getting to clear everything around it be about an inch so that when you clamp the K&N to it the big end of the K&N clears everything. All this up to now can be done by one person and the rest can be also but another pair of hand at this point will make it easier

Step 5.  Cut the rubber hose to 9". With the heating duct in the approximate position, insert duct into hose and snug up 2 hose clamps at this point. Don't fully tighten clamps until your sure the clearances for the filter are right. This is where the extra set of hands is helpful. The first one I did the wife kind of held things together from the top while I worked from underneath the car to place filter on heating duct then tighten air filter clamp. The second one did by myself working from the top, tricky but can be done. After filter is in place and clamped, tighten clamps at heating duct to rubber hose. Lubricate the other end of the rubber hose with soapy water or Windex (DON'T use oil or grease), put a hose clamp on it loosely, work it on to the front of the VAM and tighten clamp. Don't worry about moving the VAM around to get the rubber hose on it.6. If your modified the mounting bracket, mount it to the VAM with the original nuts. Now you should be able to bolt it back into ONE of the original holes on the inner fender. It will be slightly cocked, that's OK. If you want to use two bolts you will probably have to drill the fender for the second bolt. Your done, go for a drive and enjoy the 7 to 10 extra HP over the stock air box. Also relish the sound of the turbo spooling up

   

   

   

   
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88turbomajor Offline
Member
#2
(03-01-2019, 12:55 AM)andrewjs18 Wrote:
K&N Filter Install through the Radiator support wall
by Pete Dunham email [email protected]

Materials
12" length of 3" diameter rubber hose from truck supply place
4 hose clamps to fit above 3" diameter (most auto suppliers don't stock these large size clamps
3" diameter piece of tin segmented heating duct from Lowes, Home Depot or heating supply place (see picture below)

Here is the install procedure on the K&N air filter for mounting it in front of the radiator support wall. I've included some pictures I have and I'll reference them as we go. Parts needed 1. get 12" of 3" diameter rubber hose at a truck supply place. Get 4 hose clamps to fit hose while your there (Most auto supplies don't have hose or clamps this diameter). 2. Get a 3"diameter piece of tin, segmented heating duct from Lowes, Home Depot or a heating and A/C supply place. By segmented I mean it is made upon 4 segments that can be turned in any direction so that whole piece can go from straight to forming a 90* bend and anywhere in-between. Cost me $1.29 at Lowes. It's about 9" long when straight

Step 1.  Unplug the wiring connector to the VAM. Remove the nuts on the VAM mounting bracket holding the VAM to the bracket. Remove the 4bolts holding the bracket to the fender (2 on top, 2 tucked under the VAM. Remove the stock air box, feed tube from the fender and lower tube from air box to VAM. You will have to remove the air line from the charcoal canister to the tube under the air filter box. That clears out the old stuff2.

Step 2.  (Optional). Some people just let the VAM lay on the shelf underneath it. Since there is wiring there, I chose to modify the original bracket to slightly lift the VAM and give it some support. Look at the picture file named "Cold air install.jpg" to get an idea of what I did. Basically I cut the bracket so it was flat while retaining the upper part that mounts to the fender on top. I cut off the part that goes down beside the VAM and wraps underneath it, leaving only the surface that faced up and mounted to the VAM with three nuts. You should have to make 2 cuts. I originally had to cut the ear off where the nut to the front of the car goes to clear the filter when I had it mounted directly on the front of the VAM. You can use a hack saw as all cuts are straight lines. I used a Dremal with cut off wheels and rounded sharp corners on a grinder. Paint if desired and set aside to dry, you won't need it again until everything else is finished

Step  3.  Now the fun begins. There is a hole in the "wall' that the radiator support brackets mount to. It's directly in front of where the stock air box was. This is where the piece of heating duct, bent to almost 90* will go through. The 3" dia. rubber hose will need to be cut to 9", but don't do it just yet. Put a hose clamp on the K&N and put the K&N up into the area between the radiator wall and the front fascia from UNDERNEATH the front bumper at the front of the wheel well. It's tight but it will go up and in with a little twisting and turning (I have done 2 so far).

Step 4.  Now take a trial run at fitting the heating duct through the hole in the wall, it will be need to be at almost a 90* angle. Whenever thing is fitted and hooked up it will point down and slightly toward the passenger side of the car. the tricky part is getting to clear everything around it be about an inch so that when you clamp the K&N to it the big end of the K&N clears everything. All this up to now can be done by one person and the rest can be also but another pair of hand at this point will make it easier

Step 5.  Cut the rubber hose to 9". With the heating duct in the approximate position, insert duct into hose and snug up 2 hose clamps at this point. Don't fully tighten clamps until your sure the clearances for the filter are right. This is where the extra set of hands is helpful. The first one I did the wife kind of held things together from the top while I worked from underneath the car to place filter on heating duct then tighten air filter clamp. The second one did by myself working from the top, tricky but can be done. After filter is in place and clamped, tighten clamps at heating duct to rubber hose. Lubricate the other end of the rubber hose with soapy water or Windex (DON'T use oil or grease), put a hose clamp on it loosely, work it on to the front of the VAM and tighten clamp. Don't worry about moving the VAM around to get the rubber hose on it.6. If your modified the mounting bracket, mount it to the VAM with the original nuts. Now you should be able to bolt it back into ONE of the original holes on the inner fender. It will be slightly cocked, that's OK. If you want to use two bolts you will probably have to drill the fender for the second bolt. Your done, go for a drive and enjoy the 7 to 10 extra HP over the stock air box. Also relish the sound of the turbo spooling up



Hi,  I did this yesterday and it worked.  It's a tight fit for sure.  I needed an extra set of hands to help guide the parts into place and to have the ability to tighten the clamps.  I gotta tell ya... it has a noticeable change in mid range power.   I caught myself with a bigger smile on my face!    Loved the increased turbo sound spooling up, and you can hear the air coming in.   Now...it's an A/T and I wasn't expecting much, but it did give me a pleasant surprise.   She's got a bit more giddy up.  On to the Gillis boost controller! 
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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