FINALLY, an update! I’ve been stressing about this intake issue for so long, that I thought I wouldn’t be able to come up with a solution for it! I haven’t touched on it much, but this is basically what happened - when mounting the air box, in order for it to clear the hood, it had to be installed perfectly flat, as the height available in that area is limited compared to newer trucks. I didn’t think this would be an issue, but it “tilted” the airbox outlet enough that it misaligned about 10 degrees compared to the intake tube - it doesn’t sound like much, but the couplers available were so short and rigid, that it would pop the airbox out of its mount after sitting for a few minutes. This facilitated the need for a flex joint, but this would mean the MAF would need to be removed in order to create the room for a flex joint, but this left a 4.25” to 3.5” size difference between the airbox and intake tube. Not a big deal to delete the MAF (I had only retained it for the internal IAT sensor), but finding any combination of 3.5” flex coupler and 4.25” to 3.5” reducer has been eluding me…until now!
Today, the solution fell into my lap completely unexpectedly, and on the last vehicle I would expect to find it on - I picked up a 96-98 Chevy SCSB 2WD for another project. It came with a junk V6, but sitting on top of that engine was a perfectly sized 3.5” flex joint - also with a grommet-mounted IAT sensor! To say I’m more stoked about an intake part over an entire new vehicle is an understatement!
The 4.3L V6’s intake system:
The stock filter gauge and grommet removed, the 4.3L’s IAT and grommet installed perfectly in its place!
And finally, the 3.5” flex joint cleaned and “installed”. I still need a reducer, but reusing the MAF’s rubber coupler, I can buy a 4” to 3.5” exhaust reducer and join the two together! I will order the reducer, along with an IAT sensor extension harness now that I know where the sensor will be mounted, from Summit in the morning!
