How much snow to fill an air box?

[lloydguy]

Buddy has a 06 chev 3/4 gas job.Starter wont work since the last time his boy
drove it.Comp. showed 3 codes lean bank 1, lean bank 2 and mass air flow
over voltage (or something like that).truck just click's when you hit the key.
After thinking about it for awhile and knowing the frame and fender well's are
packed full of snow ,I asked him to check his air box.I went over there tonight
and the airbox is FULL to the top with snow/ice,and the filter is a twisted/ mangled
block of ice.
Question- how many miles of how many feet of snow would it take to do that?

 

[Nytroman]

I left for work last wed am. About 1 mile of 25km/h breakin trail and lost my heater defrost. And another 20 km of following tracks and my 2013 f 150 started surging and quit. Pulled air box and plugged. So not far. This is about 20" of powdery snow

 

[1100]

I drove my 1 ton threw about 1 km of 20" snow breaking powder. And had to stop and clean air filter.

 

[sirkdev]

NOt much really, 4 trucks out of 20 last week were packed so tight we had to melt it out could not even change filter

 

[lloydguy]

So, another question.With the air box packed FULL ,how many miles could you drive it before you
are running so lean that you are possibly doing engine damage?
As it sit's right now, the engine is froze up.Crank won't budge.It's obvious there's water that
made it into the engine, is damage more likely from the freezing of what water that got in or the snow
it was sucking in while it was last running?
It's getting towed to a shop to thaw out for a few day's then I suppose we will fire it up and do compression
test on all of the holes.

 

[ippielb]

All the Chevy trucks air filters suck air from in the fender well. There's a hole that the foam goes around. I put on a cone filter on. Stop it from sucking through the fender. AFE makes good dry filters.

 

[Absledder]

So, another question.With the air box packed FULL ,how many miles could you drive it before you
are running so lean that you are possibly doing engine damage?
As it sit's right now, the engine is froze up.Crank won't budge.It's obvious there's water that
made it into the engine, is damage more likely from the freezing of what water that got in or the snow
it was sucking in while it was last running?
It's getting towed to a shop to thaw out for a few day's then I suppose we will fire it up and do compression
test on all of the holes.

Wouldn't less air make it rich and flood it rather than lean it out?

 

[dodgeguy]

Wouldn't less air make it rich and flood it rather than lean it out?

Mass air sensor will pull fuel delivery when there isnt enough air getting past.

Had a customer a few years back that had to put a new motor in his new GM because of this, he always carried a spare air filter after that.

Have seen an airbox so full of snow that the intake tube was full up to about an inch from the throttlebody...Ford halfer. Seen Dodge Ford and GM diesels with the same issue. Hell Ive seen cars with air filters packed with snow, barely running...driving through big storms.

Not just snow but the guys in the swamp too....seen chunks of skeg in the intake tube after the filter (which was so warped out of shape it wasn't doin anything.

 

[Summitric]

Yup, that ice snow plugging up the intake system will set the mass airflow codes and the oxygen sensor codes(lean), and good news is when O2 sensors sense lean condition, the computer tries to dump more fuel in which is better than actually running too lean and getting hot..... But only to a certain point. Too much fuel washes oil/lubrication from cylinders/Pistons and will cause damage..... Seen several air boxes full of ice/snow of all makes and types of vehicles....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[KevinA]

my dealer recommended to put frog skin on the entrance in the wheel well... haven't done it yet but will be. I also carry an extra air filter in the winter. I do lots of hwy driving and found all the blowing snow from passing semi trucks is a big culprit.

All the Chevy trucks air filters suck air from in the fender well. There's a hole that the foam goes around. I put on a cone filter on. Stop it from sucking through the fender. AFE makes good dry filters.

 

[Nytroman]

Plugged my ford again today. Just trying to get to my shop a few hundred yards off the road. Pulled filter right out of place this time. If it froze the engine up from moisture that cant be good.

 

[Puba]

Well, how big is the air box the we could calculate how much snow it would take to fill it.... lol
Ok, kids and daddy's trucks don't mix..... You know deep down in the pit of your stomach whats going to happen when you hand the boy the keys......

Buddy has a 06 chev 3/4 gas job.Starter wont work since the last time his boy
drove it.Comp. showed 3 codes lean bank 1, lean bank 2 and mass air flow
over voltage (or something like that).truck just click's when you hit the key.
After thinking about it for awhile and knowing the frame and fender well's are
packed full of snow ,I asked him to check his air box.I went over there tonight
and the airbox is FULL to the top with snow/ice,and the filter is a twisted/ mangled
block of ice.
Question- how many miles of how many feet of snow would it take to do that?

 

[lloydguy]

Boy say's he wasn't 4x4 ing just cruisin .Fender well's are packed,between block and frame
and on the bottom of the rad (between rad and block).Brand new bumper valance is also
broke(clip's).I'm no idiot.I know 100% there was some off road action going on.Boy also say's
the truck was running fine when he brought it home.I can't see how that is possible with the
air box being full of HARD packed snow.
Question is now,how much water got in,where is it and haw much damage has been done.