Ok, changing an air filter should be simple right? Well a simple job turned into a nightmare. I loosened the two bolts on the right and finally worked the top out of the groves on the left. After some struggle I got the new filter in and tried to fasten the two bolts. They would not tighten and when I took a close look at them they weren't a bolt at all. It was just a bare bolt (no threads). When I looked down at the air filter body I could see threads. Can anyone tell me what I'm looking at? And why the bolts have no threads?

Also, in my frustration on getting the air filter compartment lid back on I broke of the small hose that was attached to the front of the lid. Can anyone tell me what I've screwed up by braking this part?

Thanks

Totally Frustrated

 

If it were me I would be down at an ACE Hardware being very creative to reattach that hose...Look at things that could be attached to the housing that the hose could be slipped onto...A little creative work would save you big bucks. That top housing is around $300 to replace...Epoxy and whatever would be my wallets friend...Maybe a piece of Copper tube with expoxy....think out of the box.

 

Pictures mate...then people will be able to help you quicker.

 

Wow! I dont know how hard you tried to fasten the bolt but if you stripped BOTH down to smooth then you shouldn't be touching a wrench. As far as the front vacuum hose nipple you broke since you didn't pull off BOTH hoses before removing the air box lid, that is a whole other issue. When that front hose is disconnected, your car will run fine and will not throw any dash lights. When I bought my car, I found this hose broken and disconnected for a whole week and I didn't have any issues. I took it to Lexus and they said although my engine is running fine without that vacuum hose connected (no check engine and nothing is wrong), they put in a new air box. In your case, I'd buy a new air box since you destroyed the threads to keep the lid closed. If you want to fix that front vacuum nipple, I found that those red coffee stirer straw fits in that tiny hole and you can slip the broken nipple over it and super glue over it. Its kind of like a reverse cast where the straw sits INSIDE the hole. Once its dry, slip the vacuum hose back on. Good luck!

 

I had this problem when I first changed my engine air filter. The bolt would not catch and start on the threads.

What I found is the 10 MM socket and drive ratchet I was using had to much of a gap on the socket side. So when you push down on the bolt with the socket the bolt doesn't go far enough down to catch the first thread. Because the socket is hitting the air box cover.

On your socket. Push some tape or a piece of paper inside. Where it fills up the socket. So when you press on the bolt. The paper or tape will compress and give you enough space to catch the bolt. But will give you just enough length to catch the treads.

 

Koric,
Thanks for your suggestion about the coffee stir straw. That sounds like a solution.

Just for clarification, I did not strip the threads on the bolts holding the air filter compartment lid on. I just got the Lexus back from the dealer on a wheel alignment and they told me the air filters needed to be changed so I know they had the air filter compartment off. I was never able to get the bolts started because there are no threads on whatever I'm looking at. Hopefully I am successful at submitting a picture of what I have for a bolt. I'm still not sure what I'm looking at.[IMG]https://www.clublexus.com/gallery/sh...140532&cat=503[/IMG]

 

I figured out my bolt situation. The threads were covered by the collar on the bolt. Duh! I'll just chalk it up to a senior moment.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

I laugh as I could have written the first post. I had the exact thing happen when I tried to change the filter myself. I broke the tube as well. I like the suggestion of using the straw, but in the meantime, does anyone know what is the purpose of that tube? What happens if it is not connected? The check engine light did not come on, so I assuming it is not too ominous.



Thanks for any insights.

 

the washer on the bolt slides into a slot. if the washer is not in the slot, the bolt will not reach the thread