OK

I'm interested in a brickboard poll:

how many of you have your pre-heated air pipe installed?

the way I see it - the pipe might be at best useless and at worst a potential cause for early AMM failure (if your air box thermostat fails leaving heated air blowing into your intake)

therefore why have it if its function is far less valuable than an AMM!

or do you think its function is of significant value?

I'm ignorant and considering reinstalling my pipe to see if it is a cause of my short acceleration bog during warmup but don't want to install it if it will just potentially destroy my AMM.

anyone?

As typical with other's here who have to go through visual checks, the hose is on on mine's, but there's a tennis ball plugging the inlet in the airbox. :)

Hey, it was the quickest thing I found ... I pulled it off the right rear tire.

-- Kane ... Corona rims with no caps ... you gotta have something to plug that center hole.
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

The first car I bought did not have the hose installed. I inspected the airbox and noticed the flapper was covering up the fresh air opening. The 2nd car had the hose and it too was covering the fresh air opening. Needless to say I took out the flapper, installed a K&N filter, and took off the snorkel at the front of the box on both cars. On the '91 I installed a new heavy duty hose from the pre-heat opening to a knockout just beside the passenger side front headlight. I don't know if it makes any difference but it looks pretty cool. I have not done this on the '93 and probably will just leave it alone. I was thinking of putting bug screen on the openings and securing them with radiator hose clamps. But I don't know if this is a good idea or not ... if it will clog up or restrict my air flow. What do you think?

Regards,
--
Bill Crump - ('91 245SE & '93 244 'Classic')

81 240: off
86 740: on (but will come off after inspection)
87 780 turbo (teenage son's car): who knows?

I disable the thermo control, leave it in the closed position, and then the metal hose accomplishes nothing -- except that I can still pass the smog inspection. Car runs fine in Ventura, California.
--
-- Bruce / '82 244 (298k miles!), '86 745, '87 760Ti, '94 854

I removed them and the thermostat gadget, then wrapped a golf ball with electrical tape till it was tight into the heated inlet and then screwed it into place.

For inspection purposes only like Don says.

dick
--
93-940T + 91-940SE + 87-740GLE = One Happy Volvo Garage!

"wrapped a golf ball with electrical tape"

OK. Hey everybody, Dick wins the most creative blockage idea....
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html

Gone with the cold air intake and header install - 244. The 965 just dropped the exchanger and I pulled the rest!
--
92 244 lowered, Bilsteins, IPD sways, Unitek cam/header, TSW Revo 18x8's - 94 965 Niiice MONEY PIT! - 76 Datsun 280Z lowered, modified head, cam, headers, intake

heater pipe was removed from my '88 by an independent mechanic; I pulled it off the '91 and '92.

I have had 4 volvo and my son has a 90 240. Pipes rotted, and never replaced. No problems, no inspections here. My father-in-law reattached my son's (thinking he was doing a good deed) without attaching the bracket holding it away (barely away) from alternator which missing plastic nut cover. You already know what happened. I had expensive replacement of battery and alternator for a flimsy cheap flexible pipe.

I guess you know what I think about it.

I have it and a new $7 thermostat to make sure no fried amm's.

I figure every little bit helps...I mean one car taking 30 seconds longer to warm up is no big deal, but 50,000,000 cars is a big deal.

BTW I found that I never had to wait more than about 5 minutes for inspections in CT.

Ian

In CA if the smog check technician is doing his job you won't pass without the pipe connected and in decent shape. I just put my 81 through its biennial smog test. There's a line right on the smog test form for it ("TAC", I believe ..Thermal Air Control?). Of course with typical SoCal weather, you probably don't need it, and if it fails in the hot position it can cook the AMM.

I used to live in Canada and put one of those little outdoor/indoor thermometers into the airbox with the readout inside the car. The setup sure works - within a minute or less after startup on a -10F morning the temp started to go up, and levelled off at about 60-70F after about 5 minutes.

I'm no expert so I sometimes look at an airplane engine to see what is not neccesary. Turns out there is a whole bag o' stuff.

3 cars, one missing, two broken off. The 740 still kind of has it in place enough for me to believe it's doing something. The 86 it's gone completely for fear of shorting on the alternator, the 87 it's just it's usual rotted self. They all warm up fine even on cold mornings in Connecticut... no negative effects to report. Our fairly stringent emissions test program never included a visual check except for a mirror under the car to see if you had a cat or at least something that looked like a cat. Now, we have no program "till March" oh wait "due to contract negotiations, at least July 2003". Yahoo! emissions tests suck and waste fuel due to 100's of cars stuck in line idling all day.
(Steps down off podium.)
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE: 625K total

"...emissions tests suck and waste fuel due to 100's of cars stuck in line idling all day..."

Yes, but look at all that revenue it raises for your state.

In our area (Georgia) the requirement was just increased from every-two-years to every-year. Will it do do much for improving the air quality? - Not much. But it sure will raise some money for our leaders to waste away.

Already fried one AMM years ago. Took mine off this summer. Temp guage to center time tripled from 3 to 9 minutes. Still get heat in less than 5. 2 minutes vs. the cost of a new AMM is a no brainer. I wish I knew about this site years ago. I could have added several hundred $$$$$ to the money it has saved me.
--
Regards,

David
1991 744 NA 140+K Miles

long gone

absolutely useless on a turbo

in fact since I have the B21Ft turbo brix PVC airbox modz - and no more heat shields - there is no place to hook it to!!
--
www.fidalgo.net/~brook4

Of course I have them installed!!!
Otherwise the cars wouldn't pass visual on the smog test.
Whether you have the hose or not, though, you REALLY should do something about the airbox thermostat; a piece of 1/4" tubing of the appropriate length slipped over the pin does wonders.

Still got mine on our 90 740NA. However, it's a Regina system, so there is no AMM to damage. Also, having the hose in place keeps the exhaust shroud from rattling. I don't know what the increased warm-up time would without it, but I'm an advocate of getting the engine to operating temperature as quickly as possible. I plan to keep it in place.

Mine are both intact. I don't think I will replace them if they fall off. No vehicle inspection laws in Indiana. Just lots of taxes.
--
Chuck B '89 245 DL, '85 244 DL

"how many of you have your pre-heated air pipe installed?"

Huh? All of mine rotted off years ago.

"or do you think its function is of significant value?"

Its significant value is only for getting an inspection sticker in states that are anal retentive about that stuff.

Without that flimsy aluminum hose in place, your car might run rough for 30 seconds longer on a cold morning. Otherwise, forget it.

Anyway, those first 30-60 seconds are when you're shaving and drinking your coffee and tying your necktie, so you shouldn't be accelerating hard. Install the hose only if the bucking causes you to spill hot coffee on your nu.... on yourself.

--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

I never thought of it before but I did blow TWO AMM's before I replaced the gizmo in the air box that closes the door.

I'm taking the hose off tomorrow! AMM's cost far too much and when they fail you are stuck. I'd rather run rough on a cold morning than ever blow another AMM.

Put me in the "NO" column.

Mine broke about a year ago and I never replaced it. I connected a small section of the broken hose to the airbox, turned it facing down and covered it with a nylon - believe it or not! - to keep major debris out of the airbox. Don't notice any difference at all except a slightly slower warm up in cold weather....