D@#$ Airbox

[Paintman]

Ok guys whats the secret handshake here? ive been trying every angle imaginable to get this back in should i take off carbs slide in box then put carbs back on? ANY INFO GREATLY APPRECIATED LOL
john

[red bandit]

If you are trying to put the stock air box on you must remove the carbs. Then put carbs back on before you bolt on the air box.

[Larrym]

Motion Lotion

Leave the bottom of the airbox off until you've got the carbs installed in the airbox "boots".

I always lubricate the inside of the airbox boots with WD-40 before I put the top of the airbox inside the bike frame. Then it's a matter of seating the boot "lips" over the carb intakes from one side of the bike then moving over to the other side of the bike to do the other two boots/lips. When all is set then I get on top of the bike and wiggle the airbox as I push forward.

After tightening all the clamps and attaching the carb vents/crankcase breather tube I attach the bottom of the airbox.

I do all this with the carbs already attached/mounted to the engine. There is enough clearance but only just.

[Silent]

Airbox top goes in first, then the carbs. Lube up both sides of the carb and the boots they go into. It's a real pain in the arse, but it's doable. I seat the carbs into the intake boots first, then seat the airbox to the carbs. Lots of lube, and make sure the clamps are very loose. Once it's all in, then install the lower airbox.

[fredintoon]

Ok guys whats the secret handshake here? ive been trying every angle imaginable to get this back in should i take off carbs slide in box then put carbs back on? ANY INFO GREATLY APPRECIATED LOL
john

Hi John,
other posts have shown you the way but it's still a pain in the arse to do, eh?
But there is another way. Toss the effin' thing! Fit four individual pod filters instead.
Use the good ones that don't block off the carbs' peripheral air intakes.
I used UNIpods which work great but you gotta clean & re-oil them now and then.
My son got the pleated oval pods from MikesXS with XS stamped in their ends for his XS650 & XS750
They work fine on those bikes and I do believe some have got them on their XS11s too.
Make a support to hold up the back end of the carb rack and you are done.
I switched to pods not because there was anything wrong with the stock filter as such
but because it is such a swine of a job to get the carbs off to clean them with the stock filter in place.
Pods turn a half-hour of cussing and bloody knuckles into a five minute doddle.
And they are magic. Now that the carbs are real easy to remove I have not had to clean them.

[redbone]

i concur....that is a giant pain in the d!ck and a poor design by the japs.

[bikerphil]

I modded the air boxes on both my bikes by cutting the snorkel tube off 1" from it's base and getting rid of the upper center bracket. Now I can remove the lower half of the box, take out the filter, unbolt the 2 side mounts, and remove the upper half from the bike with the carbs still in place. Takes about 5 minutes to remove it this way with no wrestling. Performance seems the same without the snorkel.

[oseaghdha]

That's Nuthin

Airbox? Pfft.

Try changing the #6 and #8 sparkplugs on a '68 Firebird 400 with A/C.

[fredintoon]

i concur....that is a giant pain in the d!ck and a poor design by the japs.

Hi redbone,
nah, it's a superb design. It keeps the intake droning noise down, adds another part to put chrome panels on, deters amateurs from messing with the carbs and it'll work until the warranty runs out and perhaps for a short while longer.
Dontcha know you should go buy a new bike every third year rather than trying to keep one running for thirty?

[foreda]

Done that

Airbox? Pfft.

Try changing the #6 and #8 sparkplugs on a '68 Firebird 400 with A/C.

Pull the front tires off!! I had a 1968 Firebird motor that I put in my Dad's 67 Pontiac Excecutive after my brother burnt up the stock motor. Wanna talk about a "sleeper" but I hated working on that sob.
I've pulled the carbs off so many times I can do it in my sleep. Definitely easier coming off than on but if you loosen the screws about 2 turns, it is not too hard.

[Ivan]

Airbox? Pfft.

Try changing the #6 and #8 sparkplugs on a '68 Firebird 400 with A/C.

Cake.

Try an oil pan gasket on a early 90s T-Bird with the 3.8 supercharged engine.

Ok, now who can continue this hijack by topping that?

[Ehdrian]

Cake.

Try an oil pan gasket on a early 90s T-Bird with the 3.8 supercharged engine.

Ok, now who can continue this hijack by topping that?

I own a 1990 Thunderbird SC and there is nothing under the hood designed for ease of repair.

I have also had to replace the XS1100 airbox. Ran a screwdriver up through the holes to line everything up before sliding the long bolts down on top of it, then slowly pushed the bolts down as the screwdriver slid out.

I have not cursed an cussed as much since I had to change the water pump on the T-Bird SC.

I added the airbox stuff, so the thread remained somewhat related.

[foreda]

I give!! Uncle!!

[Paintman]

LOL after getting brain straight i got it in fine worse i did was doing a heater core on a 01 Transam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HobbyMan]

To remove and replace the carbs, the easiest way that I have found is as follows.
Removal. After disconnecting the fuel lines and such: Unbolt the 3 securing bolts to the airbox. Loosen all of the clamps on the car (all 8) slide the bands to the opposite ends of the joint. Slide the carbs back to separate from the intake manifold boots. Make sure the wire clutch cable clip is out of the way. While straddling the bike, rotate the carbs forward. stop when the intake boots are between the butterflys and the carb tops. Then the carbs should slide easily out by rotating them back and forth and a little elbow grease. Then the airbox slides right out.

Installation: Put the airbox in place. Slide the carbs in the way they came out. Put the carbs in the airbox rubber and then push the whole assembly forward so the carbs slide into the intake boots. I usually tighten the clamps and then put the airbox bolts in.

Once you do this a few times, it should only take you about 2 min to pull the carbs out or pull them in if the bike is already broken down (tank off etc...) Don't dump the air box just because it makes it seems like it is a pita to put the carbs in.