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Some of you have seen the Minivan Hater in various automotive magazines and all the different tech articles that poor truck has been through. But in some cases it was a necessity and you know the truck is 19 years old so, yeah it’s got some aches and pains, kind of like the owner. HA!
Here Tito is has already taken the hose clamp off and has removed the old intake and is removing the MAF sensor and IAT sensor. Be careful when removing these sensors as over time they become brittle and could break off when pulling on them.
One of the key items on any engine that seems to get overlooked is the air induction system. That mentality is more prominent toward engines that don’t have any modifications and is just an everyday kind of truck.
Here is a good look at the old intake. It served its purpose well and after years of dust dirt and grime, it was time to Spectre this thing out.
But if you’re looking to improve gas mileage, horsepower and just looking badass, then an air intake is definitely a item you want on your truck to enhance its performance.
There are a lot of air intake systems on the market today and some are awesome and give you noticeable performance and some are, well, they look awesome.
Which brings us to Spectre Intake Systems, or as they like to be called SPEED BY SPECTRE. We like both names because it has Spectre in the title. We also wanted to mention that Spectre is part of the K&N Engineering family so you know that you’re getting quality performance here folks.
Once you’ve got the MAF sensor and hose off, you should inspect the protective screen. Because ours hadn't been off for years, it needed a good cleaning. Make sure you use only MAF sensor spray cleaner or you run the risk of ruining the sensor.
This kit P/N 9903K comes with a black filter. We chose Black for a couple of reasons. One it looks cool, and until a darker color comes around we have to settle for black. This kit can be used on any 96-99 GM vehicle with a 5.0 or a 5.7 engine. The MiniVan Hater happens to have the 5.7 350 cu in. motor.
The beauty of this kit, is that it can be installed by almost anyone if you have some mechanical skills and some hand tools. Probably the hardest part of installing this kit is removing your old stock induction system because it’s been on the vehicle for a number of years and in some cases has been neglected with caked on dirt and can make it hard to remove. In some cases we have taken a vehicle to the local car wash and degrease the engine and made it all nice and shiney so that when we install the new intake it all looks fresh and new. But that’s just us.
Here is the fun part! Install the rubber connector and make sure that there is equal amount to connect the intake tube. Once it’s in place use the supplied hose clamp and start tightening it down with a standard flat screwdriver. Attach the MAF sensor and proceed to tighten that down as well. Once everything's in its place check for loose fittings and move on to the fender bracket install.
Align the two mounting holes in the shield with the two holes on the inner fender. Then install the supplied M8 bolt, washers and lock nuts in the remaining hole. Tighten the bolt and lower lock nut on the vibration mount from the fender well to secure the heat shield.
We’re lucky because the MiniVan Hater pretty much always has a clean engine bay and so we didn’t really need to prep for the install other than just open the hood.
As talented as we think we are we couldn’t hold the camera and a screwdriver at the same time so we enlisted the help of automotive wizard and “Keeper of the tools” as he likes to be called.
Using the included 5mm Allen bolts, lock nuts and washers, assemble the heat shield as shown. Install the Allen bolts from the top and the put the flat washer and the lock nuts on the back. Once all the hardware is installed use the included hex key wrench and an 8mm (5/16” will also work)wrench to fully tighten all of the lock nuts.
Tito can fix anything, we call him the Latino McGyver of the Inland Empire! As we mentioned Tito has a mobile automotive repair service which means he comes to you if you need any kind of auto repair, but in this case we went to Tito, cause he has a garage with all kinds of cool stuff to look at!
So, there you have it folks, we just installed a SPECTRE COLD AIR INTAKE 9903K with the black filter and it looks awesome. The MiniVanHater once again get’s a breath of fresh air and we can hit the open road again. As for Tito, he keeps following us around so he can tell everyone he did the install. Please share this with your friends, folks, because we are running out of places to hide from the keeper of the tool!
Whew! Now you’re done and you can stand back and just stare at this thing of beauty! Now if you’re anything like we are, and we’re not saying to do this but we like to polish the chrome tube once a month or so and a little “TRIM SHINE” by Stoner, available at your local parts store to keep the rubber fittings looking new and clean. But that’s just us. More importantly, clean your filter maybe at every oil change to keep it running at its best. K&N offers a cleaning kit that’s also available at your local parts store or check online for you millenials that like to surf the web!
