LoveMySaturn
04-24-2004, 10:18 PM
I hadn't seen a write up on this yet, and I just thought I could help out some other people by doing this since it was my first mod ever on any car. It is extremely simple, and I will try to give as detailed instructions as possible. I'm not sure which other engines this will work with, but My car is a 96 SL2 DOHC with a manual transmission. Anyway, here goes:
Tools needed:
rachet
rachet extension
10 mm socket
8 mm wrench
Dremmel or something to cut (explained later)
Small screwdriver
Cardboard or other material (also explained later)
First off, when looking into the engine bay, you see your air box on the right hand side. Between the headlights and on top of the radiator, there is a small black box that is held in with one plastic screw. This is the resonator that simply muffles sound, and thats about it. I'm pretty sure it is legal to remove it, and it will do no harm if done right. Now, the first thing to do is use the 8mm wrench to remove the negative terminal on the battery (black). This will reset the ecu to ajust to the new air flow when the resonator/tubing is removed. Next is the resonator. Take a small flathead screwdriver and pry under the little plastic screw until it pops out. When it does, the whole resonator box will be freed. Pull it out, store it just in case or whatever. The next thing I did was remove the air box. There are 4 clips holding the top half in at each corner. Undo them, and pull away the top to reveal the lower portion and the air filter. Now that the top half is pulled away, there are 3 screws holding in the lower section. 2 next to the battery, and one up front. Use the rachet with extension and the 10mm socket to do this. When they are all out, you will want to unplug the temperature sensor that is located on the tubing that goes into your air box. It is coming in the right side and is a small connector that can be removed from the sensor by squeezing in on the sides. Once unplugged, remove the whole box. Now the fun part. Get your dremmel or other cutting tool (a saw would probably work) and get ready to cut off some plastic. On the side of the air box opposite of the incoming tube is the hole where the resonator was. Above and below these hole are little clips that held the box in place. These are close to the radiator hose, and should be taken off just in case they rub against the hose. After those are filed down, you can keep cutting at the tube coming into your airbox so the air flow is better. I cut mine about an inch past where it enters, maybe cutting off about 4 or 6 inches. The best way to do this is to get the small screwdriver and pry away the little metal screw holding the tubing to the air box and break it off (don't worry, you won't need it later.). This will free up the pipe to make it easier to shorten. After doing this, you may want to rig up something to fill the hole that the resonator left (about an inch and a half diameter) with cardboard or something that may work better. I just used 2 layers of cardboard and crammed them into the hole. This will keep the engine heat out of the airbox hopefully, and keeping the cooler air in. Then everything is pretty much finished. Put it all back together and plug the air temp. sensor back in. I have read that it doesn't matter which way to plug it in, so no worries there. Reconnect the battery and start up the car. Let it idel for a few minutes let the ecu adjust to the new airflow, then listen to the new sound of your intake! You should reset the ecu because when I did this, one of my spark plugs fouled (coincidence maybe?) and so I went ahead and replaced them all. If you have any questions, email me at larimeao@muohio.edu
I hope this helps some people when first starting to mod their Saturns!
Tools needed:
rachet
rachet extension
10 mm socket
8 mm wrench
Dremmel or something to cut (explained later)
Small screwdriver
Cardboard or other material (also explained later)
First off, when looking into the engine bay, you see your air box on the right hand side. Between the headlights and on top of the radiator, there is a small black box that is held in with one plastic screw. This is the resonator that simply muffles sound, and thats about it. I'm pretty sure it is legal to remove it, and it will do no harm if done right. Now, the first thing to do is use the 8mm wrench to remove the negative terminal on the battery (black). This will reset the ecu to ajust to the new air flow when the resonator/tubing is removed. Next is the resonator. Take a small flathead screwdriver and pry under the little plastic screw until it pops out. When it does, the whole resonator box will be freed. Pull it out, store it just in case or whatever. The next thing I did was remove the air box. There are 4 clips holding the top half in at each corner. Undo them, and pull away the top to reveal the lower portion and the air filter. Now that the top half is pulled away, there are 3 screws holding in the lower section. 2 next to the battery, and one up front. Use the rachet with extension and the 10mm socket to do this. When they are all out, you will want to unplug the temperature sensor that is located on the tubing that goes into your air box. It is coming in the right side and is a small connector that can be removed from the sensor by squeezing in on the sides. Once unplugged, remove the whole box. Now the fun part. Get your dremmel or other cutting tool (a saw would probably work) and get ready to cut off some plastic. On the side of the air box opposite of the incoming tube is the hole where the resonator was. Above and below these hole are little clips that held the box in place. These are close to the radiator hose, and should be taken off just in case they rub against the hose. After those are filed down, you can keep cutting at the tube coming into your airbox so the air flow is better. I cut mine about an inch past where it enters, maybe cutting off about 4 or 6 inches. The best way to do this is to get the small screwdriver and pry away the little metal screw holding the tubing to the air box and break it off (don't worry, you won't need it later.). This will free up the pipe to make it easier to shorten. After doing this, you may want to rig up something to fill the hole that the resonator left (about an inch and a half diameter) with cardboard or something that may work better. I just used 2 layers of cardboard and crammed them into the hole. This will keep the engine heat out of the airbox hopefully, and keeping the cooler air in. Then everything is pretty much finished. Put it all back together and plug the air temp. sensor back in. I have read that it doesn't matter which way to plug it in, so no worries there. Reconnect the battery and start up the car. Let it idel for a few minutes let the ecu adjust to the new airflow, then listen to the new sound of your intake! You should reset the ecu because when I did this, one of my spark plugs fouled (coincidence maybe?) and so I went ahead and replaced them all. If you have any questions, email me at larimeao@muohio.edu
I hope this helps some people when first starting to mod their Saturns!