Custom air box pic request and K&N warning.
So bouncing around ideas since I need a new airbox. Would*love to see pictures of what you are running. Cannot for the life of me figure out what to setup or build but did learn something that might be valuable in who not to use for air intake parts and filters!
K&N does not sell replacement parts for their kits!
K&N has terrible customer service that I experienced just yesterday.
A little background, I have sold auto parts in chain stores, dealerships and even worked on performance vehicles for my customers in various ways since 2004 including custom swaps and*builds in my own shop space. In that time I have used, recomeended and sold hundreds of K&N and Spectre filters, parts and complete intake kits.
I am working on my 1997 Express van that is in good shape and have the 383 under the hood. The factory GM airbox basically crumbled and not looking to stick a generic cone filter on it and have it bouncing around under the hood while drawing*hot Texas summer air off the radiator.
I looked on GM Parts and its discontinued. Tried the local treasure yard and found several in the same shape or worse than mine. Looked at an 01+ and picked one up. Would not clear the fan shroud. Tried to find an aftermarket CAI kit. I have found NONE on the market.
Now enter the negative K&N customer service part of the story. In my searching I discovered K&N makes a kit for a Kodiak 4500 with the 6.6 diesel that shares the same firewall as the van. Called K&N to try to buy just the heatshield and the filter from them. The woman on the phone was absolutely not*helpful at all and rude to boot. Seems the only way you could get the part even if you already had the kit and needed a replacement part would be to buy the whole kit again. She suggested I look at Spectre for something "universal" despite making the product I need and wanted to buy with debit card in hand. Never will buy or suggest K&N or Spectre parts again after having run their filters in all my vehicles over the past 18 years and suggesting and selling hundreds of K&N and Spectre products to customers. Their current customer service was that bad and I have zero faith I could get a replacement part for my customer short of buying the whole $350+ kit again. Its ashame because they already make the perfect shaped heatshield and perfect sized filters for the 96+ Express vans. The filter is even a 3.5" like my OEM MAF. Could literally fabricate some mounts in about 30 minutes and bolt it in. Still scratching my head as to why one of the most common vans ever built does not have a K&N CAI kit made for it anyway yet a limited production run of Kodiaks built for only a year or two does! Absolutely zero chance of me paying $350 for a stamped metal heatshield, a few bolts and nuts and a cone filter even though it would fit and look great. Even more puzzling is that K&N builds an intake kit for an Econoline van with the modular V8s. I see 3-4 Express/Savanna vans for every Econoline on the road and GM has had a much longer run than Ford.
So be warned if you ever buy a kit from K&N for your vehicle regardless the make and need to replace only a portion of it that becomes damaged or lost you will have to buy the whole kit again!!! I have stripped a MAF screw hole on a Volant and Volant sent me a replacement intake tube the stripped grommet was built into free of charge. I have lost a T-clamp on a HPS post MAF intake tube set on my Infiniti and HPS sent me the clamp free of charge. K&N will not even sell you the item!!!!
The Kodiak stamped metal heatshield and air filter must be made of unobtanium and plated in gold at K&N to only sell it as part of a $350+ kit! Keep in mind the intake tube and other hardware is worthless to me since they failed to create the application specific kit in the first place and would rather pawn you off on generic Spectre junk.
