Removed Air Silencer!

[pro-five-oh]

Hey all,

I popped out the air silencer from under the fender (I was rotating tires, so I might as well) and boy, what a difference!

I already have a drilled out airbox and a K&N, but going from a 1-2" silencer tube to a 4-5" straight shot from the air box makes a nice difference. The car growls with authority...and I could almost swear that part throttle acceleration is better.

If you haven't done this yet to your Mark, DO IT! :D

[ZGR8MK8]

Agreed..makes a world of a difference in the sound of the intake..my 8 sounds like my 7 used to.

[franco]

Now Pro, what are you doing getting your hands dirty?
Thought you left that to the PROfessionals.
:)

[pro-five-oh]

That depends on how PRO-fessional the job actually is. :D

[nazareth]

pro.....Where is the silencer located and what is it`s function? What does drilling out the air box mean? what benefits do you get from this? I have a 95 Mark VIII with the K&N filter and plan to use the car 35k miles per year and am looking for increased gas mileage.thanks NAZ

[pro-five-oh]

The air silencer is a funny shaped plastic thing that bolts to the underside of the body (opposite of the airbox under the hood) and restricts the intake stream from 4" to a meager 1.5".

It effectively cancels out resonance at around 3000-6000 rpm. It also makes the engine suck for air through a straw.

Drilling out the airbox helps negate the effect of the silencer, but it is still somewhat quiet...simply remove the airbox, drill holes in a grid pattern on the part that faces the headlights and you have "drilled out the airbox" I used a drill bit and then a Dremel polishing bit to make the holes smooth and even.

But removing the silencer made a huge difference in sound. Fuel economy? Maybe no difference at all. smile.gif

[ April 24, 2003: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[DJensen]

Hey, Pro!! You guys are talking about these on the Mark's.
Do Continentals and Town Cars have them?
Particularily 1995?
Thanks!!
:cool:

[pro-five-oh]

Probably. I think all TC's and Conti's do. And they are about 3x the size of their Ford and Mercury counterparts. smile.gif

Take out the air box from the intake tube and look at the sheetmetal down there. If you see a big plastic thing on the other side of the air box, viola!, you have found your silencer.

[nazareth]

Pro five
Thanks for the input, I am going to remove and drill also certainly can`t hurt to breath a little better.Naz

[pro-five-oh]

Yeah, go ahead and pull it out. You will have to jack up the car, remove the tire, unbolt the three bolts holding the silencer to the body (from under the hood) and then pry and wiggle it out from under the fender liner. Use a fork shaped tool to slide out the plastic pin that holds the fender liner to the frame, and remove its 4(?) screws on the front end and fender.

Not sure if drilling the airbox is necessary with the silencer out, might want to do that later. smile.gif

Since you are already there, you might wanna consider replacing the fuel filter...its on the other side of the wheel well.

[LSCGODDESS98]

hi all,
regarding drillin any holes, and takin things out...here in NYS we have inspections we have to do, im not sure what states you all are from...my question is...what happends when u go for an inspection, doesn't that effect your passing results,in getting that inspection sticker put on your windsheild?
im about to invest in some high preformance thing to be installed, but im also conserned about passin inspection too.
smile.gif

[pro-five-oh]

Since you are using a stock airbox, I SERIOUSLY doubt they will give you any crap about a drilled out box. Its real hard to see when installed. Texas has emissions testing (complete with a retarded dyno) and I have passed every year.

And they will never go under the car to see if the silencer is there. Besides, these don't change the emissions of the car, they just make it roar more. smile.gif

[ZGR8MK8]

Right on the nose Pro. Don't worry about the air silencer and drilled airbox. I have all the above including the chip and have no problems passing inspection at any station.

[JSev22]

Pics!!!! I want to see pics of this airbox drilling! What kind of K&N filter are you guys using? Conical with an adapter?

[ZGR8MK8]

I am using the direct replacement for the OEM filter. I will take some pics for ya today.

[pro-five-oh]

Same here...just a K&N panel filter. The LSC Netherealm has a good shot of the airbox opened up...http://lsc.netherealm.net/MK8box.html

Still, I wonder if drilling the airbox is worth it when you remove the silencer.

Anyone near Houston wanna trade airboxes with me??? ;)

[ April 28, 2003: Message edited by: pro-five-oh ]

[UDL]

Did it the "easy way" in my '98 Mark. Took the front end of the airbox out and drilled 4 ea. 1-1/2 in holes with a hole saw. Plenty of open area now.

In my other Mark ('96) I plan to do something a bit different. I am going to remove the silencer and route a flex duct to the area under the bumper, in front of the air dam and see if I can pick up a bit more air flow (and cooler air too).

[Speedycat3]

D-JENSEN...
Town Cars do not have a silencer like the marks do... they merely have an air restrictor that looks like a horn in the front side of the air box.
I remeved it and cut the front and bottom part of the air box with excellent results, acchieving pretty much what PRO described.
Rgds
Angel :cool:

[pro-five-oh]

quote:Originally posted by Speedycat3:
D-JENSEN...
Town Cars do not have a silencer like the marks do... they merely have an air restrictor that looks like a horn in the front side of the air box.

That's sort of what the Mark VIII has...except the horn looks more like a military surplus flame thrower attachment.

I saved mine, might paint it sliver and try to make it look like an army weapon for Halloween. :D

(yes, I am that screwed up)

[BLUECOLLAR]

I think you can park a small car up in there with that thing removed!