Anyone else have this problem? Stillen Intake...

Darkaeon

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.

kdo2milger

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...

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Denny McLain

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?

cotizi

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

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Past - 2009 Silver 6MT Sport 370Z
Current - 2012 VW GTI 6-Speed

Darkaeon

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.

cotizi

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

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Past - 2009 Silver 6MT Sport 370Z
Current - 2012 VW GTI 6-Speed

Darkaeon

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.

Zsteve

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

dcrew1x

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





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





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



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.

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2009 PG 6MT Sports Stillen Gen3 CAI | Stillen CBE | AMS Short Shifter | Nismo Brace Kit

Darkaeon

[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.

Darkaeon

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

kannibul

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.

kannibul

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

dcrew1x

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

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2009 PG 6MT Sports Stillen Gen3 CAI | Stillen CBE | AMS Short Shifter | Nismo Brace Kit

kdo2milger

use chafing tape like this...

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