» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | | | 11-14-2012, 09:22 PM | #1 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | Air filter replacement Hello, sorry if this is in the wrong section since I am new here. Anyways, I own a regular 1997 318i with a very easy to replace air cover like this (too lazy to get actual photo from it). I have replaced the air filter before with relative ease. However, my 1998 318ti has a box like this. (actual photo from my car) I see a no way to slide it out or anything and there is a hose that (with my limited car maintenance history) I don't know anything about. I don't want to be prying off anything I don't understand so step - by -step instructions would be helpful. | | | 11-14-2012, 11:44 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,464 | Your '98ti should have an airbox that looks something like this: You will need to remove the plastic intake to the left of the actual box (denoted by the orange arrow), then there are four clips (see arrows) that release from the bottom and hold the top lid on the box. You may also need to release the two clips holding the MAF sensor to the lid and gently pull the MAF sensor away from the lid to allow enough room to get the lid out of the way. Once the four clips holding the box together are released, the top lid should lift right off. Air filter is located inside the box. Ensure that the filter is installed correctly and fits properly into the box before replacing the lid and fastening the clips. Easy as pie. | | | 11-15-2012, 12:47 AM | #3 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | Thanks for that, but there is this hose that I need to remove in order to open the lid, which is not in your picture. My car is, sadly, an automatic, in case that makes any difference. It's stuck on there tight so I'd like to know what it is before I remove it. | | | 11-15-2012, 01:41 AM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,464 | That hose goes to the secondary air pump (the large, round, plastic unit adjacent to the strut tower). If it has never been removed, it might take a little work to break it loose (I'd recommend removing it from the side with the screw clamp and using hose pliers if you have them - just don't break the plastic elbow on the pump or the fitting on the airbox!) but removing it will not otherwise cause any harm or damage to any other components, just replace it when you're done. | | | 11-15-2012, 04:32 AM | #5 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | Alright, thank you. | | | 11-19-2012, 08:09 PM | #6 | Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Louisiana Posts: 56 | been there, done that 12 times in 14 years with same issue. Easiest way to get that hose off is to grip it tightly by hand in the curve toward the rear of the car and semi gently tug it off the connecter at the back end of the hose. It is a slip fit, no clamp/barbs/ridges etc. If you grip it correctly with your thumb on the inside of the curve the hose will gap away from the connector a bit and you can push the inside of the curve back toward the driver's door and pop it clear of the connector. The only other way is to remove the clamp etc on the front end but that connection is much tighter for some reason. Good luck RAS PS. In the pic with all the arrows (nicely done BTW) my car has another clamp, about halfway between the orange arrow and the front of the alternator whcih you can just see in the arrow pic. I snake my left arm under the intake box and in front of the alternator to get that one. One very good idea on reinstall is to get that clamp on first - if can be a bear if left to last. Also, note the filter itself only fits one way - it is almost, but not quite, square. Last edited by ryszardsh; 11-19-2012 at 08:13 PM. | | | 11-19-2012, 08:34 PM | #7 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | How does one remove the plastic intake? Maybe I'm partially blind but I can't see any clips or screws. Do you just pry it off? | | | 11-27-2012, 07:10 PM | #8 | Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Louisiana Posts: 56 | Quote: Originally Posted by CameronN How does one remove the plastic intake? Maybe I'm partially blind but I can't see any clips or screws. Do you just pry it off? | Unsure what "plastic intake" you are talking about. If you mean the parts that bring the air to the top of the filter box, then yes, sort of. On an M44 the air enters the intake immediately to the passenger side of the radiator, then crosses the top rear of the radiator in an insulated plastic tube that enters the filter box. You might go look at an exploded diagram on RealOEM.com ( http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...17&hg=13&fg=20 ) to see it but basically the crossover tube is a push fit into the filter box. Take the plastic cover off of the top of the radiator and you can see it all. If you mean that odd shaped plastic item that is toward the center of the car from the air filter box and behind the radiator cap in the pics above, that is a resonator and I have never understood what its function is...but it sort of just hangs there. Removing the resonator from the air box is not necessary to change the filter on my car. RAS | | | 11-27-2012, 07:32 PM | #9 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | Quote: Originally Posted by zoner ...You will need to remove the plastic intake to the left of the actual box (denoted by the orange arrow)... | Referring to this one, and I'll try to see if I can get around it. Sorry for my limited auto repair experience . | | | 11-27-2012, 09:37 PM | #10 | Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Woodbridge, VA Posts: 19 | Thanks for all the help, got it replaced with just a bit of fuss (the main tube wouldn't come off no matter what I did so I just slid the filter in without the best cleaning). | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Thread Tools | | Display Modes | Linear Mode | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |