I bought a used mac CAI thats in good shape for 50 bucks off craigslist and I got it installed and all but the check engine came on and was idling very strangly. I disconnected the battery to get rid of the check engine for now and the exhaust still sounds weird. Its only at idle and it barely noticeable but it sounds almost as if its choking. I was thinking the MAFs thrown off and needs tuned (which ill be doing in 2 weeks along with 4.10s anyways) or something but not sure. Any ideas?

 

Is it the CAI that uses the stock MAF housing or the one that has it's own housing and you just youse the stock sensor? Did you remove or leave in the screen that sits in front of the MAF? By chance is one of the vacuum lines loose on either end?

 

Its the one that i use the stock MAF. I didnt leave the screen in because i couldnt get it to fit right when i transfered the MAF into the new piping. Heres a pic of it

 

I have almost the same kit, ram air instead of cai. Try checking all of your connections and hoses again to make sure they are all seated properly. It could also have something to do with the bend in the airflow before the MAF throwing off the sensor. How long since you installed it has it been running bad and is it just at idle or throughout the entire RPM range?

Unless it's really bad and the car feels like it's going to stall, I'd just wait till you get it retuned when you have the 4.10's installed.

 

to me looks like the PCV connection on the tube isnt working out for you...if you dont knwo what im talking about its the connection on the intake tube that goes onto the passenger side valve cover.

 

I just installed last night but after we disconnected the battery the check engine lights off and its normal except at idle. And its not bad at all almost like a hiccup or choking once in a while

 

The new tune should fix that.

 

Im pretty sure I know what your talking about because we had to improvise with that because the guy we bought it from didnt give that to us and we used rubber we had laying around but its not completely tight. Do you know where to get that piece?

 

You forgot to mention that... YOu can call up Mac and get them to send a replacement part, for a fee of course. Or maybe just get them to stell you what size tube you need and get some local.

 

i would go to a hardware store or napa and look for some hoses that will fit.

 

Yea im going to autozone tonight to do just that. Thanks for the help

 

When I installed my JLT CAI I had to buy a 1.25" tubing to connect over from the plenum to the intake...I had tp get it from like lowes

 

I bought the tubing and clamps for the tubes to ensure they had no gaps and the cars running alot better. It still has a tiny "choke" but its barely noticeable and not an issue at all. The tuner im hoping will clean that up when it comes in in the next week. Again thank you everyone for the advice