Should this hole in pipe be blocked?

[duffbeer911]

Hey there,
The local mechanic guy here was fixing some things on my 4runner the other day and then saw this hole that he said needed to be blocked. (see photo attached) Currently you can feel air coming out of it. He said he would attached a short pipe to the hole and then block the end of the pipe.... does that sound right? I just want to hear your advice before he does this.
Thanks very much!

 

[mmml4]

Uh; no it should have a hose connected to it. Maybe the one in the red circle.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

yeah looks like the hose laying down in the picture should be there, right now you have yourself a grandiose vacuum leak.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Well, it's not a vacuum leak but it's letting in unmetered air and will make it run very lean (lots of spark knock I would guess). Yes, there should be a hose attached to it, probably running to a valve cover.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

ah yes, duh. no vacuum happening there yet but the unmetered air is just about as bad.

 

[Brian757]

Well, it's not a vacuum leak but it's letting in unmetered air and will make it run very lean (lots of spark knock I would guess). Yes, there should be a hose attached to it, probably running to a valve cover.

He said he can feel air coming out of it, so its not letting in ANY air, let alone not "un-sensored" air. It is air being pulled by the cold air intake system but isnt passing by the MAF sensor..

Are you assuming spark knock because you think "hot air" is being sucked in at that location, overheating the motor? Because as it blows outward, he should not have any noticeable symptoms of that hole.

 

[Swede]

Not to mention the fact that dirt and dust will enter your intake from there and kill your engine!!! Plug to now! That hose that is in the red circle is supposed to plug into that port. There needs to be a bung that has a nipple on it that attaches the hose to the intake tube.

 

[98OzarksRunner]

He said he can feel air coming out of it, so its not letting in ANY air, let alone not "un-sensored" air. It is air being pulled by the cold air intake system but isnt passing by the MAF sensor..

Are you assuming spark knock because you think "hot air" is being sucked in at that location, overheating the motor? Because as it blows outward, he should not have any noticeable symptoms of that hole.

He is probably not feeling any air coming OUT of that hole because it is the intake line (there is NO pressure to blow OUT of the hole - it's sometimes hard to feel whether air is going in or out). At idle, it won't have much (if any) vacuum since it's before the throttle body, but it will have some vacuum when the throttle body is open, sucking in unmetered air (coming in AFTER the MAF) so the engine will be drawing in more air than the MAF says it is, making the mixture lean (the ECM calculate the amount of fuel to supply based on the amount of air being read by the MAF, which in this case is incorrect). The ECM will correct for that (using feedback from the O2 sensors) during normal driving but at WOT it will be lean, probably causing spark knock (detonation) and could damage the engine. It will probably also have a pretty rough idle and likely will 'hunt' (surging as it tries to get the mixture right with very little airflow).

 

[Stockwell45]

Block it off, stick a PVC cap in there and call it good. Everyone who does the ISR mod blocks this off anyway.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Block it off, stick a PVC cap in there and call it good. Everyone who does the ISR mod blocks this off anyway.

No you don't. The ISR mod hooks up the intake boot in front if this. This is still in place when you do the ISR mod.

As other have said, there is a plastic fitting that goes into the intake boot and that hose that is circled attaches to the fitting. Fix it. (And clean your engine too)

 

[TRDteen]

Mine is definitely connected. even with the new intake. Hard to see, but you can see the tube connected to the intake pipe. In your picture, it looks like it is just laying to the side unconnected.

 

[Stockwell45]

No you don't. The ISR mod hooks up the intake boot in front if this. This is still in place when you do the ISR mod.

My mistake, forgot there were 2 ports there. Had to go out and check for myself.

 

[mmml4]

Forgot to offer some advice, get a new mechanic.

 

[duffbeer911]

Hi, thanks for all the help. Indeed that other pipe just plugged straight back in.... 30second fix. I should have looked closer originally. Anyway, I'll see if that makes it run better... Seemed to be running fine, but going through a lot more fuel recently.

As for getting a new mechanic... we don't have much choice of mechanic where I am in Sierra Leone ... so with the help of this forum im slowly getting better at doing things myself. And the dirt gets cleaned off monthly... Another symptom of driving in Africa !

Thanks once again for the help