Guess what I discovered a few minutes ago…


Guess I'm gonna be driving like a grandma until I can get a replacement.
Has anyone else out there seen this happen?

 

What CAI?

 

realoem just calls it a 'rubber boot', which is fairly non-specific, so I called it a 'CAI rubber boot' because it's a rubber boot that directs filtered air from the cold air intake.

 

Ohhh nice, now you can get a real CAI.

 

what year? that would be a warranty issue if still covered. unless you have an early 07 (got mine in October) you should be covered

just checked my 07 and it looks fine

 

It's a 2009, but my warranty was done after about 20 months.

 

Maybe its from taking the hose off too many times (I remember reading about you experimenting with the diverter valve spring a while back).

 

I've only taken it off once or twice. The most recent of which was a few weeks ago to check the rubber diaphragm in my diverter valve for cracks. I believe what caused this issue is a combination of me torquing down that hose clamp way too much (I think this made a small cut) and an odd torsion on the part from an aftermarket CAI (I think this pushed that small cut wide open). I've since replaced the rubber boot part, manhandled as best I could my CAI to minimize any torsion forces, and did not tighten down that hose clamp very much (I'm waiting on a brand new hose clamp to replace it with).

I guess what really surprises me is how easily that thing split wide open. Even when I was replacing the boot with a new one, that split tore the rest of the way open with very little effort.

Side note, my gas mileage usually sits in the 28-29 mpg range, but for my first fill-up after making this discovery I only got around 25 mpg. Quite a significant effect a gaping hole in that boot causes, eh?

 

Based on personal experience, ALL rubber (OEM)/silicone tubes will fail due to heat cycling and constant flexing when the turbo is boosting. The OEM was done for at 17K. It was so soft I could squeeze it closed with my hand and wouldn't stay attached to the turbo. The silicone replacement did the same thing after 12K. It got replaced by a JCW hard tube, but after 20K it would no longer stay attached to the turbo. Currently running Alta's new hard tube and so far it seems to be staying put, but only have 1K on it. Fingers crossed!

 

Perhaps you should give the DoS narrow clamp a try:http://defendersofspeed.com/store/pr...?id_product=19

I've been using it with a JCW hard tube for around 12k miles now and no signs of it causing any damage or loosening.

 

I had the narrow t-bolt clamp on the JCW tube.

 

Good to know. I'll watch mine more closely now.

 

that looks nasty

 

That rubber boot is the biggest pain in the bum, every time I do any work on that section of the car, it takes me 30 mins to put it on properly. You have to use a bit of brake cleaner or denatured alcohol and slip it on while it's still wet. Repeat until successful.

 

I agree with Dwight's observations. Most of the OEM molded rubber hoses on the R56 are garbage. I have seen this very tear on MINIs that run the stock intake and on cars that run aftermarket CAI's.

There's a hot spot from the turbo right there and it eventually degrades and self-destructs the hose at the hose clamping area for the hose.

As for the narrow t-bolt clamp. Dwight posted pictures in another thread showing his JCW filtered air inlet tube. There was a sharp burr at the edge of the plastic on his tube. That burr cut through the flange for the rubber tube insert (at the turbo inlet). This allowed the rubber insert to get pushed into the JCW filtered air tube and away from the turbo inlet clamping surface. This had less to do with the clamp itself and much more to do with a manufacturing defect on MINI's part + fragile rubber parts. (Dwight can get more specific than I can, but this was what I gleaned from his posts and pics).

At the end of the day, this drives home how important it is to give your engine a once over from time to time. The older our cars get and the more we tweak and upgrade our engines, the greater the need to look for potential problems and defects.

-Clint