ok, i just got back from a 4 hour ride and looked under the hood when i got back home and found my intake cone filter hangin half-way on! Who knows how long it could have been sittin like that! so my engine was obviously sucking in all kinds of nasty $hit. the car still seems to run fine, no differences i can notice, but i know that it was really bad for it to drive like that. is there something i can buy that will "reverse the damages" i've caused? should i just clean out the throttle body again? i feel like cleaning the throttle body isn't enough becuase all that dirt is everywhere in the engine now! help!

 

Don't worry about it. The MAF has a screen but it is far less effective and efficient then the normal air filter. I would wipe the screen simply because you probably have something lodged in it now. Cleaning the rest of your intake wouldn't hurt.

 

ive driven dozens of cars with no filter at all and they still remain fully operational. the filter helps clean ***small*** dirt particles in the air, which, even if they do enter your engine wont cause any harm. the bigger particles are what you are worried about and though the filter helps stop them too, its very unlikely that they will find their way into the intake path anyways. filters are simply an aid in preventative engine failure measures - they arent stopping things 100% of the time, more like 1% of the time.

 

If what you say were true, then there would be little need to replace an air filter, ever. But they're the simplest and cheapest way to improve fuel economy. Most cars today even have a filter for cabin air--does your 1% rule also apply in that case? Something that is only effective 1% of the time can be eliminated, such as insurance, etc.

 

The air filter is a important part of the engine, without it all the little bits of dust/sand/and other bits on the road can get sucked into your engine and act like sandpaper. It really depends where you drove, if you were driving through new construction sites, sand dunes and in through gravel roads then hope for th e best. If you were on the highway while the roads were semi wet then you are most likely okay. The screen on the MAF is there to prevent large bits from reaching your TB. Most likely you are fine, but id give the intake a good cleaning and probably change your oil and filter just to be on the safe side.

 

sure, they improve fuel economy, but this is at the expense of restricting airflow into the motor. from a performance standpoint, the more things you have blocking the airflow into and out of the motor, the more strain you are putting on the components (however low this strain may be) and thus, the more you are inhibiting performance. why does changing the old filter give you better fuel economy? because over time the existing air filter gets clogged and decreases the fuel economy. so in effect, you arent increasing fuel economy at all, you are just putting it back where it used to be after it has gone down. but, in comparison to stock, if you remove the filter you will be increasing fuel economy more than a new filter can. of course, the most major player in fuel economy is the driver - poor driving habits, such as getting too excited with a more responsive throttle can negate any effects from a new filter or an intake system with it removed.

its not a 1% rule, its a numerical analogy to summarize the effect of dirt particles on the inside of an engine, and the probability of said problem. the point im trying to make is that the filter may collect dirt over time, but unless you are driving in off-road or in a more dirty than the average suburban neighborhood, it is unlikely your intake path will be fed particles which can be a danger to the motor. most will be disentegrated into finer particles from the heat and pressure as it is - the only thing that would potentially cause a problem is that one in a million piece of dirt that just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. besides, your cabin filter isnt for stopping dirt from entering the motor, its there to make lazy americans feel special while breathing in more "purified" air than what is outside their car.

 

Ummmm..... Your rationale here is weak, I am sorry.

Something that is only effective 1% of the time can be eliminated...??? Such as insurance? WHAT? Insurance is not effective only 1% of the time. Perhaps it is only used a small portion of your life, but its effectiveness is not measured by how often it is needed or used. That is like saying that seatbelts only save the lives of 1% of the people who wear them, because only 1% of seatbelt users get into accidents...

I really don't see what you are getting at.

 

To answer your question, "No." There is nothing you can do to "reverse the damage" you have caused. As mentioned here, you can prevent further (albeit unlikely) damage by changing the oil and its filter. The oil would carry away some of the dirt and particles into the filter, but the junk in the air has already been burned and any damage has been done. Fix your air filter so it doesn't fall off again, and clean the throtlle body.

 

that's happened to me in the past with my other cars. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

Sounds like you need a new engine. 3.5?

 

DOnt worry about ive driven my ex car (integra) without and air filter for a couple days and nothing happened.

 

yea i could use a 3.5 definetly! got one for sale? haha

 

a few more threads like this and my work won't have to kill me..