Hello -

This is my first posting to this group.

Something is causing the pleated air hose between the Air Mass Meter and the throttle body from too much suction.

Was doing my usual trip on the highway and the engine completely bogged down and would not rev up beyond idle RPMs.

Pulled over the car and opened the hood - this was at night and luckily the engine compartment light still works.

Well, I discovered the pleated hose had collapsed from too much suction.

Even the solid part of the hose that connects to the throttle body had collapsed inwards.

I have two suspects and I would appreciate hearing about any similar experiences.

1. an obstruction at the air intake tube behind the front grill that goes to the air filter housing.

Found no obstruction.

2. The air filter housing thermostat....this is ver suspect but not sure if it can restrct airflow. I thought it only diverted two sources of air.

engine and cold air.

3. Out mechanic (God) mentioned the pleated hose assembly can - over time - get enough oil inside it to soften up and lose its ability to hold its shape and collapse under higher suction forces at high RPMs, which is what happened. I was chugging up a long uphill stretch on the Interstate.

Anyway, something restricted the airflow enough to cause the hose to collapse and bog down the engine with air starvation.

I unclipped the air filter housing cover with the filter held on to the cover and the car ran fine enough for me to make it home.

This is after driving along the Interstate shoulder at around 35mph for about 10 miles until I could make an exit.

Because of the force of the suction caused by the restricted air flow, enough oil got sucked out of the flame trap and through the breather hose, sending it to the air mass meter and contaminating it so it will have to be removed and cleaned.

The car is running fine, by the way, but the mystery will have to be solved.

Enough information, I guess.

Any replies would be greatly appreciated,

Alan

'85 745 - 266,000 miles and still running like a new car until last night....