Anyone else have this problem? Stillen Intake...
 

So last thursday my AC stopped blowing cold air, I took it in today to have it looked at thinking everything was fine since it's obviously still under warranty. Well it turned out that my stillen intake that I've had on the car since the end of Mar has gradually rubbed/burned a hole in the aluminum AC tube. I guess over the last several months with all the driving and such that the vibrations and the heat from the intake caused this to happen.

The dealer told me that since the "hole" was caused by an aftermarket part they cannot cover it under warranty and it is going to cost me $350+ dollars to have it replaced and for them to fabricate something to keep these two pipes from bumping into each other. Oh and then after that they hit me with the, "since your problem ended up not being covered under warranty, we now have to charge you the $95 dollar vehicle assessment fee".....LAME!!!! Fortunately, I spoke with the manager of the maintenance department and had him actually show me the hole and he was kind enough to waive the assessment fee. Thank god I was in uniform...lol!

So Im just curious if anyone else has had any issues. IF not I'd definately say it's something to be mindful of if you have an intake on your car. I put my intake on around 600 miles on the car and am at just over 13,000 now so it definately took a while for it to happen. Im also gonna try and call Stillen today and see what they have to say about it, since I've been looking at other peoples pix posted of thier installs and it's the same as mine and Im thinking it could become a problem for others as well.

Thanks for sharing this important info...

there are a lot of folks here with the gen 3, so i would be interested to see how others are faring...

Seriously, thanks for the heads up and time to look to see if there are any rubbing marks that would eventually lead to the same problem. Boy, Stillen seems to be on one hell of a roll. What's next?

hmm I don't remember my intake touching anything. This is on the passenger side right?

It is on the driver side, it rubs against the bulge in the pipe as it goes through the wall there, and then it can sit on the tubes up under the platic part where the filter is right before the pipe makes that final bend before extending to where the filter sits. It's really hard to see without the front clip removed, but I think I got a few good pix, if not then this weekend I guess I'll be removing the front facia to get better angles to send to stillen if need be.

so the area in question is "outside" the area where we punch thru the factory plastic ducting?

Yes, it is up under the fascia area, but there is also the part right as the pipe runs through the wall that it rubs against as well.

I would say that if you installed it according to the instructions then you should ask Stillen to cover the repair costs.

I think I know exactly what you're talking about...

If that's the case, I'm going to need to buy some heat shielding tape to wrap around the AC line wherever it meets the intake.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a thin heat shield for a small portion of the line? would electrical tape work?

BTW here's a few pics of my installation to give some people an idea:


On the driver's side you'll notice a thin black wire extending down over the pipe and routed near the air filter; and I'm not talking about the big already shielded line that goes across both intakes

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...x/DSC01736.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...x/AClines2.jpg

In this pic you'll notice I unbolted the top front support which has the ac line clipped to it

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...x/DSC01722.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...1x/AClines.jpg

Here's a pic of Snakes709's installation for another reference:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...709AClines.jpg

I'll probably stop by lowes this weekend to inquire about heat shielding tape or material to wrap around a few inches of ac line where it touches the drivers side intake. The rest of the line is fine and does not touch anywhere else.

[IMG]C:\Users\Owner\Pictures[/IMG]

This shows what Im talking about if the image works. The pipe rests on the tubs there and over time the vibrations caused the hole.

Or not, guess I don't know how to post the image from my photos folder.

Those charges all make sense. Did you install the intake, or someone else?

If it was someone else, go to them about it, and tell them they screwed up and to make it right.

Even then the instructions say to wrap a small piece of hose around the AC lines to protect them.

Most of the time the $95 fee is waived if you have them do the work - that was a bit high...did they tell you what it was beforehand? If not, you can get them to waive that if you take it up with the GM.

Get some radiator or heater hose and wrap the AC lines, then zip tie them off.

Thanks Kannibul; I'll definitely do that this weekend and thanks Darkaeon for bringing up a potential money pit problem :tup:

use chafing tape like this...

http://www.adlinsulflex.com/var/plai...rosil-tape.jpg

another example...

we use this on our aircraft in the army so its pretty tough stuff...

http://www.eggenfellneraircraft.com/fwf_termend.jpg

UNI-WRAP SILICONE TAPE

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...s/09-30450.jpg

Thanks Kdo2milger. All I have is this at the moment:

Duct Tape and Electrical Tape :p
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...x/DSC01742.jpg

Definitely need to stop by Lowes for the long haul and for peace of mind.

I work on aircraft too! and I'm in the army! I work on UAV's specifically lol :tup:

Oh and +1 to you Darkaeon!

Sorry to hear about your problem; thank you so much for sharing. You definitely saved me money and a headache in the future! :tup:

serious!













































not!

Thanks Darkaeon, for the heads up, I will keep this in mind when I my order my set very soon and thanks Kdo will try something like that when the time comes..

buy pipe insulators, like the black foam stuff........ this issue is quite common to the G35 peeps, the repair cost came out of peeps pocket. dealership denied warranty on it and aftermarket companies did not pay up either.......

regular foam pipe insulator isnt going to last long...

I had a similar problem on my turbo Mazda. I fixed it by cutting up a section of heater hose and zip tying it around the areas that rub. If you can't see the area this is a great fix - will cost you about $2 and last for years. If you can see it though you'll have to live with it looking pretty ghetto.

On my racecar, I constantly have vibrations, and stuff contacting other stuff. What I use, is this stuff called "rainbow packing" which is a gasket material used in the plumbing industry. It is readily available at Home Depot, comes in a ~5x5 inch orange square, is cheap and works great. I use zip ties to hold it onto the various hoses etc. It is a dissappointment to hear these issues.

Well I am glad at the least I was able to bring this to other peoples attention before it became a problem for them. Unfortunately Im gonna learn the hard way to the tune of $350+ dollars...lol! Oh well, I sent the pix to Stillen anyways just to hope that maybe it will help some how.

Yeah let us know how that conversation with stillen goes...I have had 2 discussions with them about issues with the intake and i can some up their end of the conversation in one word....DISINTEREST......

oh but you need to buy our exhaust was the next words out of their mouths.

Good luck and again thanks for the info....AND YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY!!! :tiphat:

at the least they can put a warning notice on their instructions for future customers so others don't go through this experience and expense.

Yeah, thanks for sharing this, I'm sure it will save a lot of people headaches & money :tup:

The only time you'll see it is if you have your front fascia removed, which should be next to never.

Stillen has it in their installation instructions.

Someone missed a step.

do they? can you scan it...

From their website:

http://www.stillen.com/product_files/402852~inst.pdf

Step 12

ah yes, it does tell you may have to use hose line to wrap the ac line...

I missed that step as well. Time to take the front bumper off again...:shakes head:

Yup...Clearly Installer error. No point in blaming Stillen here..

I wasn't really trying to blame Stillen so much as I was trying to make this aware to others that might have this problem in the future. I guess I did overlook the part where it says to cover the AC line, but when you install it, it initially it doesnt seem like your going to run into problems. It took several months and miles of vibrations for it to move into a problematic position.

Taping the AC tube will not protect it against the rubbing and eventually it will rub through. There should be no contact against any part in the engine compartment IMO.

things are going to touch. Even if it touches after its wrapped with a quality product you wont have any problems.