Raised Air Intake Grille - Lost

[Craig]

It appears my raised air intake grille is somewhere between Perth and Margaret River...I see someone else lost theirs on first off road trip, but mine hasn't been off the tarmac yet! I will try to get a replacement under warranty. If this is a no, any ideas for replacement?

 

[grnamin]

I think this is the second or third RAI grille lost that's been reported here. Is it press-fit only?

 

[rovie]

It appears my raised air intake grille is somewhere between Perth and Margaret River...I see someone else lost theirs on first off road trip, but mine hasn't been off the tarmac yet! I will try to get a replacement under warranty. If this is a no, any ideas for replacement?
View attachment 7853747

HI @Craig if you can't get the grille as a spare part, the only thing I can think of is 3D printing. There may be a similar pattern in the databases that can be adapted to the base area.

 

[grnamin]

Might be overkill, but I've attached bungee cord just in case.

 

[Catpaw4x4]

Might be overkill, but I've attached bungee cord just in case.
View attachment 7853838

If the Bungee cord keeps you from loosing it - no overkill. Previous post indicated that "part" was not sold separately of the RAI unit. Smart action!

 

[Craig]

Is this a candidate for 3D printing ?

 

[bbq4133]

It appears my raised air intake grille is somewhere between Perth and Margaret River...I see someone else lost theirs on first off road trip, but mine hasn't been off the tarmac yet! I will try to get a replacement under warranty. If this is a no, any ideas for replacement?
View attachment 7853747

I'm the one that lost it off road. The grill is not available separately, at least not in the US. I chose to get the pre-cleaner cyclonic intake as I believe it's fastened a bit better with the metal collar.

 

[Craig]

Thanks for that. I will ask the dealer about it when I take the car in here in West Aus.

 

[bbq4133]

I never tried the warranty route since it could have been a branch, but the intake itself is spotless. Yours falling off confirms my suspicions it's just not very durable.

Good luck.

 

[Tazzieman]

You could of course protect the intake in a very fashionable and appropriate way.
Them snorkel socks are all the rage.

 

[DaBull]

Might be overkill, but I've attached bungee cord just in case.
View attachment 7853838

Hi Grnamin, I also have a raised air intake. I am wondering if there is any reason to ever pull the grill off of the RAI. It there is no reason to do so, then perhaps simply caulking it or gluing it on would keep it from ever falling off. Anyone like to weigh in on this. DaBull

 

[grnamin]

@DaBull , I think yours is a simpler and elegant solution.

 

[Craig]

I will be adding some black automotive Sikaflex to the replacement grille.

 

[Craig]

Dealer did the right thing and replaced the top half of raised air intake under warranty, no questions asked. I asked for it to be mailed to me and sorted it myself (very simple).
Took the opportunity to add superglue where the cover was not a tight fit. Also added in a zip tie to reduce the risk of losing another!
To do this I melted a couple of slots opposite the zip tie position and where they aren’t easily seen, cleaned up the plastic with a small file and secured the zip tie.

 

[bbq4133]

Dealer did the right thing and replaced the top half of raised air intake under warranty, no questions asked. I asked for it to be mailed to me and sorted it myself (very simple).
Took the opportunity to add superglue where the cover was not a tight fit. Also added in a zip tie to reduce the risk of losing another!
To do this I melted a couple of slots opposite the zip tie position and where they aren’t easily seen, cleaned up the plastic with a small file and secured the zip tie.

I should ask them about this the next time I go back, I feel like it randomly falling off is antithetical to the "purpose."

 

[bemax]

You could of course protect the intake in a very fashionable and appropriate way.
Them snorkel socks are all the rage.
View attachment 7853916

That has been my idea right away as I read the post. But I thought about a different style.