Intake alignment pin snapped... "Maint. Req." light on. Help please.

Hi guys -- I desperately need some advice.

I drove 166 miles in one shot for camping -- at the end we went down a pretty gnarly rock road / some wash outs / some boulders. NO 4WD was required to get through it. Speed was regulated for the obstacle, no real jarring occurred. It was probably 1.5 miles of this. We check out a campsite, it sucked, so we went back. Totaling 3 miles of this.

We drove back along a dirt road to the other site about 1.3 miles away, parked, hiked and camped for 3 days, then came back to the car.

I started driving the car and about a mile or so into the drive the 'Maintenance Required' light came on [EDIT - I now know this is for 5K oil changes only -- DeadWeasel needs to RTFM more]. I stopped and the first gas station and check it out.

The top half of the airbox / intake had shifted towards the front of the car by about 1/4 inch. It snapped the alignment tab that runs past the MAF grounding wire. I could see about an 1/8 inch gap where it snapped but noticed the whole seam was gapped at about 1/8-1/16 of an inch.

So I had driven along a dirt road for 2 miles (nobody in front of me, no noticeable dust in the air) then 45 mph on paved roads for a mile until this was discovered.

Being out in the middle of BFE and it being memorial day, there was no dealership, no shop open, etc. I had to superglue the alignment tab back to the intake top, then clean and duct tape it.

I then proceeded to drive another 160 miles back home because I couldn't figure out another option.

My questions:

1) Could enough dust have gotten into the crack to hurt the engine? How would I know? What should I do (seafoam/ oil changes/ etc)?

2) Is the maintenance light on because the MAF sensor got dirty? Should I just attempt to clean this and see if the light goes off?

3) Do I need a new airbox tomorrow or can it wait a week or so?

thanks guys -- I hate plastic parts on cars..

EDIT: Apparently the light only comes on for oil changes. I am currently learning the RTFM rule. Now that this is clear for me -- what about the airbox?

 

The maintenance required light just means the counter in the computer has hit 5k miles and wants you to reset it after changing the oil.

Tape over the crack in the meantime to keep crap out and replace it when you can. Sounds like you need an oil change anyway, if the light is on and you havent done it in a while. Couldnt hurt anyway.

 

I just hit 3k since my last oil change. Is that the only reason that light would ever come on?

 

As far as I know, it is only a counter that ticks off 5k miles. It's to help you to remember your oil changes.

 

Man I feel like a dink.

Sooo, what about the gapped airbox and broken tab on it? This still seems like a problem.

 

Tape it so it doesnt have a gap and get to it when you can. You might avoid dirt roads if possible. As long as more dirt doesnt get in in the mean time, you should be fine.

 

It's sealed up now, I re-aligned it and re-clamped it. So the only gap at that point was the 1.5 inch piece that broke off -- now glued and taped back on.

Should I run seafoam or anything to clean it all out?

 

This could have been broken a lot longer than you think? It might be worth checking the inside walls of what ever is past the gap. If you see any dirt buildup it might be worth doing some cleaning? I wouldn't do sea foam you could just flush dirt right into the engine.

 

Seafoam just eats up the gunk and burns it out. I dont think it would have much effect on dust contamination. I would think the oil change would be most beneficial.

Is the gap on the engine side of your air filter? I'm not sure exactly where you are talking about it being broke. If your filter is still between the dirt and your engine you should be fine as long as it is sealed off good.

 

Yup.

Any dust in the intake should be cleaned out as best you can (completely disassemble the intake down to the throttle body), but you'll be replacing that anyways, but other than that, there's nothing you can do about dirt that's already been pulled into the engine. For the most part, it's already done it's damage. Seafoam is not going to do anything.
Hopefully the oil filter is up to the task and filtering the majority of it out, but seriously, I'd go with 2,000 mile oil change intervals for the next 3 or 4 changes then go back to 5k.

 

I'll get the oil done tomorrow. The throttle body needs to be replaced?

 

No... Just soak a lint-free rag down in Seafoam and wipe out as much dust as you can above, on, and below the butterfly.

 

Ok. Will Do. Thanks for all the input guys!