Lower intake boot replacement

[dabdibridgep]

No, no lights... Ever

hm.. if you had a significant crack/hole in your intake boot, a light would get thrown off....

do a nice thorough check for cracks/holes before you replace it... don't want replace something that doesn't need to be replaced....

[Jamesfogarty05]

Well I'll be in that vicinity, cleaning my icv so I'll probably swap it anyways, if it's only $20

[mightymouse777]

I don't know though. My boot was nearly dry cracked in half and I never had any lights that came on. Maybe mine was just one of those one in a million times that it does't happen though haha

[dabdibridgep]

I don't know though. My boot was nearly dry cracked in half and I never had any lights that came on. Maybe mine was just one of those one in a million times that it does't happen though haha

dry cracked in half? so was there a FAT hole in it or what?

[mightymouse777]

yea it was HUGE! only reason I knew it happened was I could hear the air being sucked through the crack from the inside of my car and saw it plan as day when I popped the hood. SUPER easy fix though!

[dabdibridgep]

Haha.. i cant believe u didnt get a light... how did ur car drive after the fix...

[mightymouse777]

well i fixed it in a day of it happening but it seems to have a lil more get up. when i drove it to get the hose it was awful tho haha

[dabdibridgep]

oh ok... nice..

the whole/crack i was referring to is a small sneaky little crack that messes with your car and how it drives....

yours was a serious puncture wound or something.....

[mightymouse777]

yea i had a buddy that had that happen. idk what happened to mine but i was like wtf!? haha

[dabdibridgep]

ya man no joke... i wish you had some pictures of your old boot, that would be gnarly.

[mightymouse777]

i never even thought of that! dang! oh to top the whole thing off, my power steering pump went out on my way to go get my boot! was the WORST day ever lol not only was my car running like sh*t i could barely turn the wheel haha

[howton22]

Roland - WOW, this is the message I've been looking for....saw you lived in Spring and have an indy shop that replaced your intake boot for $65. CAn you provide me with a name of the shop. I live over in Cypress and have yet to find one over here for less than $250....dealership was well over 3 bills.
Thanks for your help.

[mikecullin]

My dealer is charging me $280 to replace my intake boot. They're about $20 from Bavarian Motorsport. I'm getting screwed, right?

[TJQMaster]

yep....I had mine changed when the Vanos was done. you COULD diy, even.

[Jetblack2000Ci]

Wow, I remember reading a couple of these threads not too long ago but this one has convinced me 100% to pop the hood and have a look. I don't have any lights on but I do have a stumble at idle, a sort of suction sound when turning the car off, and sometimes when I'm on the throttle I hear a whistling sound that goes away the moment I get off the pedal. Tomorrow after work I'll have a look.

[danewilson77]

Check and clean the ICV also.

Pop the disa out and have a look for a busted flapper.

Also.....check yer belts and look for power steering leaks.

[d3v0]

Also seems plenty of BMW enthusiasts like the challenge of the repairs, especially when it can get very pricey to get simple things done, even when they can be quickly figured out. I suspect most of our day jobs are continuous, and never really "get done". Something like this boot is diagnosable, has a cheap part, and when you "figure it out", like a puzzle, you get the "ah-ha" satisfaction, along with something broken being fixed, done, and not likely to return for a long time.

This ^

I work for the government, case in point

[Lydia]

Thanks for this, my car failed the emissions test so I took it into my dealer to get a diagnosis. They said there was a rip in the intake boot and they could replace it for a mere $373, so I said eff that and bought the part off them for $15.

It was pretty easy, I just removed the adjuster unit then cut off the old boot with a knife. I got the clamps off with a regular ol' screwdriver at some uncomfortable angles. Hopefully it will pass the test now, that was the only problem they could find.

UPDATE: It passed!

[newtoe46]

Ya, the clamps on like upside-down/backwards/reversed/impossible to get to.... Making it a pain to work with. Oh and it's deeeeeep....

Ya this is a problem i keep seeing and hearing about, i swear it's one of those things that inevitably goes wrong on our cars.....

It's not so hard once you take out the DISA Valve, then i just used a 6mm 1/4 inch drive socket and ratcheting wrench to loosen it... piece of cake. then reinstalled everything by spraying some silicone spray on the boots for a smooth as butter application and retightened with the same 1/4 ratcheting wrench.

[Beachumz]

ok... i finally got the time to take apart a few thing to get in there and look at the boot. the smaller one had 2 smallll cracks in it when i looked. my hands are not small enough to reach up under or anything to get at the rest. so, ima just order a new one anyways and cut that old one off to try to get at it. lol.

also... that "suction" noise when shutting the car off... thats from the hole right? Or could it be from the new CAI? lol.

I also took out the disa today just was kinda curious... how in the heck do i tell if its bad? the flap moves and pops back into place with a little "popping" noise i guess you would call it... is that normal? other than they from just general looks it looked ok.

[danewilson77]

I believe that is from the secondary air pump, and is normal. This discussion came up some time ago......I was one of the only one's (when I had the TiAg), that did not have this sound.

Disa is prolly fine. Typically the butterfly valve will not operate....or, as in my case, was not even connected.

[GR330ZHP]

Yeah that boot is very common. I found slight cracking on mine at about 48k with a mirror and replaced it...

[sDinelli]

i just replaced mine too and i cut as much as i could away and then got big one off but the little one was impossible so i just removed the whole icv with it attached and removed it after

[Beachumz]

ok...is the icv what they both attach to??? lol

[TacoEater]

You would be surprised how many people have this and don't know it... It's like HIV

Any way, A tear in your intake boot usually throws off codes, but not always.... In my case it did, untill i taped it up nicely and cleared the codes.... In most cases a tear or crack in your intake boot DRASTICALLY reduces torque in your car as well as overall performance, distribution of power, low end torque, etc....

In this case, i had a crack and a gigantic tear in my lower intake boot, i temporarily duct taped it until i got a new boot to replace my old one....

Many E46 guys get hyped up about VANOS and the seals replacement, believe me, if you have a crack in your intake boot, VANOS is the least of your problems, you won't even feel the VANOS job until your intake boot is replaced.....

In addition to replacing this boot, I replaced a couple of key vacuum hoses (sorry for no pictures) which tend to get soft, brittle, and over all just don't work as well...

I also cleaned, lubed, and put sealant on the internal parts of the adjuster unit as seen in the below diagram. The seals on this unit are not replaceable as they are built in the unit, they didn't seem in perfect working condition so i just put some sealant on them before i put it back into the intake manifold.

It is Number 7 in this diagram...




I also replaced a pulley which is infamous for making noise on our cars, the old pulley was loose and spun easily, the new pulley was tight and stiff, the new pully doesn't make any noise.....

These are pictures of the torn intake boot.






I rebuilt the Vanos just before this and noticed a slight difference. After replacing the boot and the vacuum hoses however, my car drives completely different. Low end torque has increased drastically, i notice this especially on the freeway. The VANOS works better also, i was driving it pretty rough and had a nice wide smile on my face after i shifted into second and the car jerked like a SOB

Moral of the story: check your intake booted gentlemen, get a flashligh and reach deep in there.

Signs of this that i was having before hand:

1. Obviously a service engine light
2. fluctuating cold idle (up and down up and down)
3. power surges after 3K RPM's (similar to VANOS issue)
4. Dampened torque especially on low end
5. Uneven and sometimes random distribution of power
6. A loud suction sound after shutting car off

If you have similar issues, definitely have this checked out, its murderous to the performance and overall well-being of your car...

Very Respectfully,

David Abdi

I have that sucking sound on shutdown, I also have cosed P0171 & 74, and have replaced the boot because it was cracked and still have the ck eng light on.