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      07-25-2011, 04:08 PM   #1
gobrigavitch
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Bugs in the air intake - Should I clean inside?

I've noticed on highway trips that lots of Dragonflies get sucked in through the left hood air intake. When I look under the hood it looks like this is the main air intake for the engine. Does the system have a way of spitting those out somewhere or should I be going into the airbox to take them out periodically? I just had the car in for service (oil change). Is that something the dealer would normally do at a routine service?

It seems a bit odd that the screen has such big holes in it as so many bugs just get sucked right in.
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      07-25-2011, 04:12 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gobrigavitch View Post
I've noticed on highway trips that lots of Dragonflies get sucked in through the left hood air intake. When I look under the hood it looks like this is the main air intake for the engine. Does the system have a way of spitting those out somewhere or should I be going into the airbox to take them out periodically? I just had the car in for service (oil change). Is that something the dealer would normally do at a routine service?

It seems a bit odd that the screen has such big holes in it as so many bugs just get sucked right in.
The air filter will stop bugs from getting into your engine, and you have to change it periodically. BMW changes it for you for free every 15k miles I believe, so don't worry. No, the dealer does not routinely pick bugs out of your air filter, they just change it entirely. It's non-reusable. Check your invoice, I believe that there should be work performed on your "air intake silencer" during your 1,200 mile service. That was the air filter.
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      07-25-2011, 05:04 PM   #3
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I clean mine once in a while especially in the fall you get a lot of leaves in there to.
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      07-25-2011, 05:06 PM   #4
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Eat them. They will make you stronger.
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      07-25-2011, 05:12 PM   #5
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Eat them. They will make you stronger.
Hahaha!! I can't breath !!
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      07-27-2011, 03:36 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LateBraking View Post
The air filter will stop bugs from getting into your engine, and you have to change it periodically. BMW changes it for you for free every 15k miles I believe, so don't worry. No, the dealer does not routinely pick bugs out of your air filter, they just change it entirely. It's non-reusable. Check your invoice, I believe that there should be work performed on your "air intake silencer" during your 1,200 mile service. That was the air filter.
I'm not worried about them getting sucked into the engine, but I am concerned that if enough get in to the airbox that it could plug up the filter and cause some restriction. In a 20 mile highway trip I've seen 5-10 dragonflies get sucked in there. If you've never seen a dragonfly they are about the half the size of then end of your pinky finger. Now I'm thinking if I do a number of these highway trips or longer highway trips that getting hundreds in there is likely. I'm not putting alot of miles on the car so it's likely that the air filter will get changed once a year or less. I wonder how many bugs can collect in there in that much time?
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      07-27-2011, 03:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Space Ghost View Post
I clean mine once in a while especially in the fall you get a lot of leaves in there to.
What do you do to clean it? I see a few screws on top of the airbox. Is it simply a matter of removing those and lifting the cover off?
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      07-27-2011, 04:08 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gobrigavitch View Post
What do you do to clean it? I see a few screws on top of the airbox. Is it simply a matter of removing those and lifting the cover off?
Yes. I assume by "clean" he means beat it against the floor to get loose things out, not like dip it in water and/or soap and clean it. Please don't do that. But yeah, along the side of the top of the air box there should be a few torx bolts, maybe 6 or 8, just loosen them (you don't have to remove them entirely, you'll know what I'm talking about when you start to remove them) and then pull the airbox up and out. Filter will be there, just push it against the spring/nub (again you'll know what I'm talking about) and pull the filter out. I'd just tap the hard plastic portion of it against the ground at an angle a few times until everything falls out. Install directions are reverse of the aforementioned.
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      07-27-2011, 04:24 PM   #9
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You probably don't even have to remove the filter. The bugs and what not will be laying in the bottom of the box. It gets really annoying in the fall because the leaves that end up in there will float up to the inside of the hood vent when you are driving.
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      07-27-2011, 05:49 PM   #10
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i clean mine as well..

1. take it out
2. tap it on the floor (repeat process on each corner)
3. put it back.
4. done.
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