RE: A4 -- install air filter

[Justin Fidler <justin@codeboy.net>]

>I have a new filter to drop in the air box......should be fairly easy.  I
>spent about 45 minutes on it and was unable to lift the cover enough to
>allowclearence to remove and replace filter.
>My question is :  How much of all that connected baggage do I need to
>remove from the cover to allow clearence ?
>I looked at JETS archives but was unable to find what I needed.

Ahh, here's something I attempted just last weekend, so I have it fresh in
memory.  I had been meaning to write to the q-list about it.

There are directions on installing a Ramair filter on the Wetterauer site
(www.chip-tuning.com).  They're well-done, but a lot of the steps are
unnecessary.  Here's what I did (facing the engine):

1. pop the two covers that provide access to the air filter assembly
2. pop the two left-side (facing the engine, remember) clips on the air
filter.  these are easy.  then, for the clip closest to you on the right
side, stick a long flat-blade screwdriver down between the hoses/wires,
and pop that clip.  for the far back, right clip, wear a glove (that heat
shield is sharp, but it's more of a pain to remove it), and pop it (with
your thumb is best I found).
3.  now, lift the airbox from the left side.  it will come up about 1 1/2
inches, which is exactly enough to slide the paper air filter out.  this
is a real pain, because the paper filter is too tall.  you basically have
to give it a big tug and pull the filter out at an angle, pulling the
short side out of the long side of the box.

You don't have to undo the intake hose or the clamp -- there should be
enough room anyway.

So, my experience was with putting in the ramair.  The problem is that the
thing is so flexible that it literally falls into the intake (is that what
it's called?).  You have to make it "rest" on top of the box, then clamp
it down.  The first time, it fell in, and the car would not start
(surprise, surprise).  Then I put the paper filter back in, and it STILL
wouldn't start (any idea why?).  So I let it sit for an hour or two, and
it started perfectly.  I'm not sure why it wouldn't start when I put
the paper filter back in.  In the midst of putting the paper filter back
in, I managed to detach the clip that holds the air filter.  Naturally, it
was the clip in the far right location, so there was about 1/2 hour of
cursing and wiggling until I got the thing back in again (this is why I'm
a software guy and not a hardware guy -- dexterity).  Next weekend I'll
try to put the ramair back in again.  Does anyone know if the ramair will
"dry out" if I leave it out in the open air for too long?  It's covered
with some sort of sticky goo, which I'm sure will evaporate, though I
imagine that's just as likely to happen while it's operating as an air
filter.  Just to be safe, I'm storing it in plastic until I attempt it
again this coming weekend.

Justin
Washington, DC
97 A4tq