Hey all,

I'm trying to put a new air filter in my 1997 Ram 1500 3.9L truck today. Should be a simple process, right? But how the heck are you supposed to get the round base of the upper part of the air filter housing back onto the engine and then get the upper part aligned and connected to the box that holds the air filter? There's not a lot of room to work there and I'm getting frustrated trying to align everything.

Thanks for any help!

 

Take the box off as one piece, change the filter, then put it back on as one piece. It just kinda sits on the stud in front there. Make sure the screw clamp is opened up good, and aligned correctly as well. Yes, It can be a pain....

 

Pics and procedure available in a Haynes manual, page 4A-8. You should have a Haynes regardless.

 

I tried to put it back in as one piece, but it seems to be impossible. The rubber grommet keeps interfering with the throttle linkage and rad hose up front which makes the entire assembly hard to push back over the throttle body.

 

It's a PITA with or without the Haynes manual.

 

Not to break topic, but...Stewie, did you go from stock box to the Spectre 14x3? If so, notice any difference?

 

Yes, I went from the stock box to the 14x3. As far as improvement I've noticed she's a bit more peppy, but I also did the plenum,timing chain,cap/rotor and plugs/wires the day before I put the 14x3 on, so it's hard to tell fully how much difference in between stock box and 14x3.

Also the 14x3 is a PITA to install too, not because of the "S" screw you have to make, but because there is VERY little room to work.

Most of us know how zman feels about the sucking noise, yup it's there, but between that, my radio, and road noise from the Wrangler Authority's, it all blends in.

 

I got it back on after about 45 minutes of wiggling and shoving. Had to pull the wiring harness out and move it aside to get enough clearance for the top section to push back towards the firewall. What a stupid setup, why wouldn't the engineers just make a simple removeable top piece to the air filter box that is held on by clips???

 

This way we'd be more inclined to take it to the dealer for basic maintenance.

 

Because it's under the cowl. And it doesn't need as much clearance the way they did it(as opposed to being 2 piece). I suspect your main harness has some broken clips, so it's not as tight to the cowl as it should be.

And the only reason I suggested the Haynes was for the pic. I forgot to add downloading the free FSM. A visual reference might help a bit more. You should have both anyway.