. . . Gasket.
I was rotating tires, changing oil, and had been hearing the tell-tale whistle of a misplaced / misaligned air cleaner the last several months (including during my 3500 mile road trip) and when I decided to rectify the problem, I see this:



Where the heck did it go???

I'm a little concerned but the engine has run perfectly the past 4000 miles so I'm sure it's fine. Weird though. What is your thought? Did it break apart and blow away (off the engine)? There's a little chunk stuck to the lower left side. Maybe the rest fell off the manifold. I removed the Fastman throttle body and checked inside and all I saw was oil residue and a little pooling in the back (separate concern with the Hughes but oh well) but no gasket pieces.

Weird, huh???

 

doubt it fell in probably laying on the motor or blew away

 

I sure hope so!

 

I bet if you check the valley between the valve covers and intake you'll find pieces of it

 

It's just a paper gasket, so, even if it it was ingested into the engine, it would burn off right quick.

 

Did you tighten the clamp the last time you had it off? Is that a piece of it in the pic(front left)?

 

Yes and yes. It must've dislodged a little when putting the airbox on. Easy to do. Only done this a billion times since 2001!