How many people here mud with an intake? I have a MAC intake with K&N filter and am going to a little mud riding tomorrow. Should I swap it out for my factory intake or stick with this one?

 

I have, Got a K&N intake on my 01 screw. If you can get one of those filter wraps to help with the excess mud and water. Afterwards however you'll probably need to take it out and clean it, i did!

However its probably better to have the stock intake on because its inclosed in the tube and wont get mud/water/gunk in it.

 

i made alittle splash gaurd for mine, works great keeps all the water and mud off my filter

 

If you still have the original plastic, all I did was cut the end off, but the filter is still pretty much guarded.





It's kind of hard to see, but that's the best pics I've got.

 

98lariet thats a really good idea looks good

 

Here are some better pics:

 

That is a good idea that you have

 

Cutting your airbox like that will drastically decrease your water line. I would say use the complete stock system. It is much harder for water and mud to get in the upper area of the fender, than into the engine compartment. The inner fender creates an air pocket to draw from. When running into a wet hole the tires throw water on the back side of the bumper, and it ends up in the engine compartment, and that cut out section increases your chance of getting water or dirt in. If you have a 5.4L, I wouldnt worry too much about water though. Your intake manifold is two peices. The throttle feeds air to the lower plenum. You would have to fill the lower plenum with water before you would suck water into the motor. The lower plenum hold almost 1-1/2 gallons of fluid. So, other than getting dust and crap, I would worry too much about the water, but the modified is better for the street, and the stock is better for wheelin'

 

Been muddin' through some soupy crap, and haven't had a problem yet. I've looked into the K&N filter skirts, but until I notice either mud or water coming in, I'm not going to bother. I also drilled a couple of small holes in the bottom just in case water did get in, it has a chance to drain out rather than get sucked in.

 

Not to argue, but a stock 5.4L at 4000 rpm uses 475 cfm of air to maintain proper air fuel ratio. The water that even gets remotely close to the filter will get sucked in. My stock air box had a crack that I didnt not know about ~1/16th of an inch across and ~1/2 inch long. Enough water came in that small crack to hydraulic lock the motor. Just a little food for thought. The modifications that you did are good for the street, but there is a reason that offraoders use snorkels or closed ariboxes. Especially if the truck is not lifted to the sky.....A stock F 150 can take 36 inches of standing water and still run, but the problem is the water that is forded through the engine compartment.

 

It takes a pretty good amount of water to hydo-lock a motor. If you had a crack that small, and sucked in enough water to hydro it, you might consider taking the ferry across the lake next time. Like I've said, I accept that one day, I might be muddin', and something bad will happen to my truck. If you don't want nothing broke, stay on the road. However, I've never had a problem with this paticular mod. Hope I never do. But I'll definitely come back here and say, " Ok, you told me so", if I manage to hydro the motor.

 

I was going to say something similiar, you beat me to it.

Air gets sucked in far easier than water. In order to suck in enough water to hydrolock a motor, you're going to need to submerge the filter. Just getting a couple of drops in there isn't going to hurt much unless it gets on the MAF hotwire.

If you've ever looked at the way those AEM cold air bypass things work, you'd know that if any part of the filter was not submerged, then the air would go through there. I saw the test that SCC did where they installed one on a car, put the filter in an aquarium and the thing just breathed through the bypass instead. Take a straw and poke a hole in it and see how easy it is to suck up water.

 

So what is the fording depth on a stock FX-4? I've yet to find it in anything published . . . .

I've gone through short water holes where the "bow wave" was higher than the hood with no problem, but I'm still curious.

 

i have gone threw were it was a third up my door, was going real slow and it was only a short time, but got no water in the intake and no water leaked in threw the door seals ether, alittle got in threw the firewall tho

 

I have been through water that covered the wheel wells. Moving slowly it does fine. I would not push through something too deep with too much speed. Moving slowly keeps an air pocket under the hood. Too fast and the water displaces the air. I have never seen a fording depth, I would assume because it would be speed dependant. I had the same thing happen as BigTruck. No water came in through the doors, just a small amount throught the firewall right at the steering gromet. I also had a little come in throught the cab vents between the cab and bed. It is basically like russian roulette when driving through water. It is a good time, but you have to be ready to fork out money when the electrical system has problem, tranny included, hydro-lock, wet interior, all that stuff.