what is tie wrapped???

[iking3i]

if u notice in the picture i have tie wrapps that are holding the top together.. what is it exactly??? its right under the air intake tube.. if u need a nother picture let me know.. but what it is..what does it do??.. and is it really bad that its tie wrapped????

[CirrusSR22]

What a cute little pink air filter that is :)

Check this out. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CG83&mospid=47506&btnr=11_1659&hg=11&fg=50

It's the secondary air pump. It's for emissions control on later model cars. I think it blows extra air into your exhaust on initial startup. That somehow makes it run cleaner.

[iking3i]

its red... but anyway..so is it important that i need to screw it together.. or it really doesnt matter.. i mean when i start the car.. about 20 sec. or less i hear the pump sucking air becuase i hear the red filter whistling.. then it turns off about couple mins later when the car is warm.. are the tie wraps ok?? where can i find the bolts???

[cooljess76]

It's normally held together by 6 aluminum rivets. 3 of the 6 broke on mine and the thing leaked really bad. I went ahead and removed all 6 of the rivets and replaced them with bolts and nuts. Sealed up nicely and looks much better than nylon zip ties.

[DustenT]

It's an expensive part. Remove it, replace the rivets with nuts and bolts (available anywhere) and then reinstall.

The secondary air pump turns on when it's cold out. It pushes extra oxygen into the exhaust to help light the catalytic converter, thus helping to lower emissions.