Pollen Mayhem!! Big problems In my CAI !

[OEMPL+S]

Hey

Got what I'd consider a major problem here.

I posted a thread over on Golf R engine technical section about my smoking on cold starts ....
This morning before I started my car I took off my IE V2 CAI and installed the factory intake. WHEN REMOVING the IE CAI, inside was what looked like pollen build-up right above the turbo turbo inlet on the inside of the silicone connector.
BIG WORRIES!!! I do not think any pollen should be getting inside the intake.
Where do y'all think it's getting in?
It's seems to trace back to the filter as there's pollen looking dust all the way into inside the Cone filter.

Now this intake probably has 6000km that I've run it on the car and the filter looks pristine. Ontario is having the worst pollen in years apparently.
BUT I also run a Injen hydrosheild over the cone filter, so in theory it shouldn't be allowing pollen inside anyway.

I'm really confused and quite worried as I don't wanna wreck my R's engine.

I can probably assume that there may be a leak where the cone filter mounts onto the bellmouth mount on the intake. As that's the only guess I have but I had that done up tight. All clamps are tight. But what appears to be pollen, traces all the way to the cone filter so I am quite confused.

Do cone filters usually let in crap and dust?
I'm running a clean cone filter and a Hydrosheild, so that's dual screening basically so I don't see how it could possibly get through that.

How effed is my engine now? Should I change the oil to be safe? And will it have damaged my oil rings or compression rings?

I never had pollen inside my CTS intake, so I can only assume there is a leak somewhere, because of a design flaw as everything is tightened a lot and positioned right.

Also maybe this is why I had smoking on start up? Arg!!!

Why I was changing to the factory intake is because it's still under warranty and I wanted to bring it in for issues.

Appreciate responses.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Strange problem. Just show the dealer and see what they say.

 

[Al_in_Philly]

Almost all "high performance" air filters allow larger particles pass through, into the engine--some worse than others. That's the only way to increase airflow, unless you increase the filter area (as S&B intake systems do). Apparently, your filter element is letting pollen in, regardless of the secondary filter element. It may be a gap in a seal somewhere, or just that the pollen is smaller than the filter pore size. Anyone who changes from a factory filter runs the risk of letting more particulate matter into their engines. But doing some research can help mitigate this. Some Wix replacement filters provide increased airflow with a minimum of filtration loss, if you want to try and have your cake and eat it too.

Is your engine toast? Maybe yes, maybe no. Pollen is less abrasive than metallic particulates, but all particulates have some abrasive qualities. What makes matters worse is that we're all running turbochargers that are both spinning at insane speeds and exposed to everything which our intake filters let through. Those bearings need to be taken care of by staying clean and well lubricated. Me? I'd change the oil and put the original air filter back, perhaps dropping the snow grate (at least in the summer) which is the part of the OE intake which does any significant limiting of the airflow, and see if the smoke goes away and keep an eye on my oil consumption. Sometimes your the bug and sometimes your the windshield. You might be fine.

BTW, that knowledge comes from many years of motorcycle building and racing, where I've seen quite a few guys toss on high-flow filters and then have to relpace their rings after just a few thousand miles.

 

[Escape Hatch]

If it reduces knock send it!

 

[GenX Retread]

We've got it bad in Alberta too. It's like there was a pollen storm over the last few days... I've never seen anything like it.

The car wash across from work had a BOGO on monthly passes, so I folded and signed up.

 

[Keehs360]

I took mine apart the other day and didn’t see any pollen. I have the injen intake.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I took mine apart the other day and didn’t see any pollen. I have the injen intake.

You're not in Canada.

 

[Keehs360]

You're not in Canada.

Ah. Gotcha. Didn’t realize it was a Canadian thing.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Ah. Gotcha. Didn’t realize it was a Canadian thing.

Yeah the two guys in the thread that said they had a severe pollen problem this year are from Canada.
But I don't understand how it can get past the filter that bad.

 

[RisingFallens]

North Carolina had some pretty bad pollen this year and I run the same intake as you! I didn’t go any deeper then the cone, but I didn’t see any pollen built up! I saw some on the silicone pipes, but nothing got past the worm clamps

 

[Keehs360]

Yeah the two guys in the thread that said they had a severe pollen problem this year are from Canada.
But I don't understand how it can get past the filter that bad.

It’s all in the filtration rates. As the dry intake cone filters age, filtration rate drops. I’d argue one should swap their cone filters out at least every 5-6k miles.

now the oiled ones, they have their own issues.

 

[OBP]

Strange problem. Just show the dealer and see what they say.

LOL... You’re one funny guy (even if you aren’t trying to be)

 

[OEMPL+S]

Just an update.

It definitely seems to be because of the pollen storm. I cannot find any leaks. And I don't know how it's gotten past two elements .... I gotta study the intake more just to make sure it's not leaking somewhere.

And photos. First one (I think) is right near where it connects to the plastic TIP.

 

[OEMPL+S]

North Carolina had some pretty bad pollen this year and I run the same intake as you! I didn’t go any deeper then the cone, but I didn’t see any pollen built up! I saw some on the silicone pipes, but nothing got past the worm clamps

Wow so I've definitely got something wrong .... Not sure where on earth it's coming through but it only seems to be coming the filter. Maybe there is a crack. I checked and can't see any cracks.
As you can see by the photos, I've definitely got something wrong.

 

[Keehs360]

Just an update.

It definitely seems to be because of the pollen storm. I cannot find any leaks. And I don't know how it's gotten past two elements .... I gotta study the intake more just to make sure it's not leaking somewhere.

And photos. First one (I think) is right near where it connects to the plastic TIP.

How old is the cone filter? Their filtration rate goes to hell quickly.