DIY: JRCAI repair

[— kung fu jesus —]

I found these pics stashed away in an album on my computer. I had picked up a used Jackson Racing Cold Air Intake about 6-7 years ago for $100 or less. The plastic was already cracked, which is common. It's probably more prevalent on the 1.6 motors because you have to bolt the MAF to it. The plastic is thermo pormed and gets brittle from the heat in the engine bay. Coincidentally, I have re-used the cast elbow from this kit that goes from the throttle body to the air box MANY different times for other intake configurations over the years. It has been really useful! Anyways, I used this kit to stay CARB legal in California. The plastic kept cracking, even after using Gorilla glue to repair it. I have a little fiberglass experience, so I used some left over chop mat to coat the lower half of the airbox for structure. It's a little sloppy because I rushed it, but it held up great and allowed me to keep using it as needed. The extra thickness also provided insulation from the engine bay heat. No one sees it because it sits down in the engine bay. Another addition from this kit is the thermostat spacer. It lifts the thermostat and the cap with the fan switch up about 1.5-2". It really helps making it easier to remove long stock intake tracts and chambers, like the ARC chamber.


So, it started with this piece breaking off. It's not critical, but it helps hold the lid of the box down (see the theaded riv-nut)


The MAF bolts to his part and was developing spider web cracks.


Just a close up of the missing piece I was getting ready to re-attach.


Gorilla glue works well for plastic like this, you don't need much and it cures a bit slow, but it is still holding up to this day.


Matching it up.


I chamfered the broken edges with a box knife to promote a stronger bond and allow the glue to fill in the space.


Glued and waiting for it to cure.



Getting ready to glass the box, I cut some extra fiberglass into workable strips.


Thin strips make it easier to lay them over compound curves.


Gloves for safety. I hate fiberglass rash.


I worked over a plastic bag because it will peel away clean from the resin.



I over-estimated the amount of resin I had. Ideally, it would have bled through the fiberglass and not looked white/beige like this. Feh.



Another view. I alternated between pouring a little resin on the form , adding fiberglass, and spreading the resin over it with a cheap, $.99 paintbrush.



Once the resin started to harden, I placed it in the sun to cure.


Sexy evening shot, glistening in the golden light. Ooooo!


Another view.


Okay, at this point I realized I made a mistake. I needed this face to be be smooth to mount the MAF to it. I carefully cut the fiberglass and peeled it away from the plastic.



What I am about to do here, and can't find the pictures of it, was to glass a cheap, aluminum MAF Ebay adapter I had laying around to the face of the box. It would help me mount the MAF to something more structural and reinforce the spider-webbed plastic here. It worked!



More of my ham-fisted glass work showing were I started to run low on resin. It still hardened fine.


The view of the box from above, as it would sit in the engine bay.


The glass was pretty thick and solid when it was completed. It never cracked again.


I painted the recessed lettering on the lid and installed it.


The forward edge of the lid rubbed the underside of the hood (common issue with these and the Racing Beat version). I trimmed it back a little later on. I will post pictures of it's
current state the next time I pull it out of storage.

As for the cast elbow? I still have it. I have used it with a cylinder filter stuck on it as a short-ram intake when I ran a link ECU n/a. When I use my Megasquirt, I add it to the end of my ARC chamber. The elbow has two NPT tapped holes that have brass fittings in them. In stock form, the fittings would accept the breather hose from the valve cover and the air bypass hose on the throttle body.

I changed the fittings to accept my IAT sensor for my Megasquirt and just used a brass plug on the other hole. I might use that plugged hole to attach a support to lift it up off the engine bay a little.

In the mean time, here is a video using that elbow with my ARC chamber and MS: