Water in the airbox :(

Sylvester

Sylvester

Member
Hi guys, during the heavy rain 2 days ago, unfortunately I drove through a puddle, which turned out to be much deeper than I thought, covered probably the whole wheel. My A2 drove through great, no light came on either.
Yesterday I had this whistling noise from the engine, so I've checked the airbox and of course,
20221026_112548.jpg
the middle section was full of water :( Just when I've had spent quite a chunk of money of it. Not good at all.
The airfilter seemed dry at least.
What shall I do now?
Cheers

PS: There's a hole on the bottom tray of the airbox, (God knows why??) so even the smallest paddle of water can get inside the airbox! So avoid puddles like a plague!
 
The noise came from the broken hose. Nothing happened to the car. The small hole is there for water drainage as Catnip64 mentioned. The amount of water in the filter cover is nothing major. Do you have engine cover the the bottom?
 
Looking at the parts diagram the bit that has sheared off is part of the airbox. Wonder if gluing it back in place (at the correct orientation) has any merit.

Andy
 
Agree with Andy...
Clean the joint areas then dry fit to check the alignment. Using a marker or paint draw a line across where the pipe and air filter box perfectly align. Use a quality super glue and apply around the face of the pipe and press onto the air filter box. Hold it there for a few minutes to let the glue dry - even better use an accelerator for that purpose. Leave for half an hour then apply a little bead of silicone sealant around the join area to ensure fully air ( and water ) tight.
No need to go crazy as this pipe is designed to break off rather than hopefully damage the air filter box. That said make sure that you check the air filter box carefully to make sure the mounting lugs have not been cracked or sheared off as that will allow air and water in.
 
BigBang said:
The noise came from the broken hose. Nothing happened to the car. The small hole is there for water drainage as Catnip64 mentioned. The amount of water in the filter cover is nothing major. Do you have engine cover the the bottom?
Click to expand...
The middle part was actually full of water when I took it off, but that's what I'm hoping for as well. Yes I got a cover but as I've been sorting things out, its been off. Cheers
 
Andrew said:
Looking at the parts diagram the bit that has sheared off is part of the airbox. Wonder if gluing it back in place (at the correct orientation) has any merit.

Andy
Click to expand...
Yes I'll try to as a temp repair, but I might get another one, as I dont wanna keep looking if it has come off again or not. Thanks
 
audifan said:
Agree with Andy...
Clean the joint areas then dry fit to check the alignment. Using a marker or paint draw a line across where the pipe and air filter box perfectly align. Use a quality super glue and apply around the face of the pipe and press onto the air filter box. Hold it there for a few minutes to let the glue dry - even better use an accelerator for that purpose. Leave for half an hour then apply a little bead of silicone sealant around the join area to ensure fully air ( and water ) tight.
No need to go crazy as this pipe is designed to break off rather than hopefully damage the air filter box. That said make sure that you check the air filter box carefully to make sure the mounting lugs have not been cracked or sheared off as that will allow air and water in.
Click to expand...
Yes I'm gonna do that, Loctite seems the best option and some sealant on top to be sure. I'll check mounting lugs too, especially as it looks like its gonna rain a lot. Thanks.
 
Is the pipe the inlet to the box or the outlet? If the outlet, don't try gluing it as you will have to make it airtight. Apart from that, the area of contact is too small for any adhesive to work well. Otherwise you will be bypassing the filter.

RAB
 
It is on the clean side. From here goes filtered air to inlet manifold.

Even if you manage to get it glued together as it broke off, 1.4TDi will shakey shake it off quite easilly. Only way how to "temporarily" solve it is by adding some reinforcing, e.g. metal L shape brackets fixed with screws (rather bolts and nuts like M4 for example) and then sealing it completely with silicone...

Sylvester said:
The middle part was actually full of water when I took it off, but that's what I'm hoping for as well. Yes I got a cover but as I've been sorting things out, its been off. Cheers
Click to expand...
So if it was off during this water accident it may be also the cause why it cracked...
 
RAB said:
Is the pipe the inlet to the box or the outlet? If the outlet, don't try gluing it as you will have to make it airtight. Apart from that, the area of contact is too small for any adhesive to work well. Otherwise you will be bypassing the filter.

RAB
Click to expand...
Yes it the outlet, I'll try to glue it temporarily, so I don't have to cycle when raining and probably gonna order a new one next week. Cheers
 
BigBang said:
It is on the clean side. From here goes filtered air to inlet manifold.

Even if you manage to get it glued together as it broke off, 1.4TDi will shakey shake it off quite easilly. Only way how to "temporarily" solve it is by adding some reinforcing, e.g. metal L shape brackets fixed with screws (rather bolts and nuts like M4 for example) and then sealing it completely with silicone...


So if it was off during this water accident it may be also the cause why it cracked...
Click to expand...
My A2 is 1.4 petrol but the shaking is still there too, it might've been cracked a tad before, but the deep puddle caused it to come off completely. I'll try to temp fix it but probably need a new one later. Cheers
 
Sylvester said:
My A2 is 1.4 petrol but the shaking is still there too, it might've been cracked a tad before, but the deep puddle caused it to come off completely. I'll try to temp fix it but probably need a new one later. Cheers
Click to expand...
Allow the loctite to cure for 24 hours to get full design strength at the joint don’t be tempted after a few minutes .
 
kp 115 said:
Allow the loctite to cure for 24 hours to get full design strength at the joint don’t be tempted after a few minutes .
Click to expand...
Yes I've cycled to work again for that reason. Hopefully its gonna last at least till I can replace the whole section. Cheers
 
Wilco does a 'hard plastic glue' which melts the surfaces together (good for rejoining the two halves of glove box lids) or join with some layers of superglue and bicarbonate of soda (makes a flexible polymer - proper life hack!)
 
Surely a replacement air box from one of the club sources is the best option - I can’t see any glued solution holding long-term.
 

413 said:
Wilco does a 'hard plastic glue' which melts the surfaces together (good for rejoining the two halves of glove box lids) or join with some layers of superglue and bicarbonate of soda (makes a flexible polymer - proper life hack!)
Click to expand...
Try and find the part number, and alongside, you'll see the material code. If it's ABS, or ABS P, you can use acetone as a solvent to "weld" the parts together.
Mac.
 
Have only just seen this conversation. Rather than trying all ways to stick it back together like a jigsaw puzzle, why not just buy a complete used unit from me?
 
A2Steve said:
Have only just seen this conversation. Rather than trying all ways to stick it back together like a jigsaw puzzle, why not just buy a complete used unit from me?
Click to expand...
Hi Steve, yes I've mentioned it above I'll need another one soon, I actually wanted to ask you first next week, but I need the car now so needed a temporary fix. I've glued it down, but there isn't a lot of room to see if its all good, I'm gonna try it tomorrow and if it lasts a week thats already good. How difficult is to remove the airbox? Thanks
 
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