M271 - Airbox Removal
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: BC, Canada
2003 C230K Coupe Orion Blue
M271 - Airbox Removal
I'm having a helluva time trying to remove the stupid airbox (1st attempt to replace our favourite $12 hose). Found this thread but still having some problems. From that thread...
- Locate 2 torx bolts at rear of airbox, unscrew them
Okay, are these the ones that connect the air box to the engine? If so, I noticed there are actually 3 screws (one is underneath the hose) so what does only loosening 2 of them do?
- Using long piers, reach down from beind the airbox and find the tabs on the pressure clamp. Squeeze them together and pull the clamp up and disconnect the hose, release and leave the clamp connected the the hose from the airbox.
How the fack do you do this step? Nothing I can fit in there even opens wide enough to grab both sides.
- Push airbox to rear of car. There are 2 tabs near the front that slip into rubber gromets, these need to be pushed back to slide out of the gromets and free the air box. Wiggle the airbox a lot if its stuck, typically the torx bolts fall back into the holes and prevent it from moving well, so lift the airbox slightly at the back to free these (since you cannot remove them completely from the airbox)
I tried this anyways (the hose I couldn't disconnect earlier seemed flexible enough) but damn, it felt like the airbox really didn't want to "wiggle" in relation to the engine block?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just spent 3h for nothing.
- Locate 2 torx bolts at rear of airbox, unscrew them
Okay, are these the ones that connect the air box to the engine? If so, I noticed there are actually 3 screws (one is underneath the hose) so what does only loosening 2 of them do?
- Using long piers, reach down from beind the airbox and find the tabs on the pressure clamp. Squeeze them together and pull the clamp up and disconnect the hose, release and leave the clamp connected the the hose from the airbox.
How the fack do you do this step? Nothing I can fit in there even opens wide enough to grab both sides.
- Push airbox to rear of car. There are 2 tabs near the front that slip into rubber gromets, these need to be pushed back to slide out of the gromets and free the air box. Wiggle the airbox a lot if its stuck, typically the torx bolts fall back into the holes and prevent it from moving well, so lift the airbox slightly at the back to free these (since you cannot remove them completely from the airbox)
I tried this anyways (the hose I couldn't disconnect earlier seemed flexible enough) but damn, it felt like the airbox really didn't want to "wiggle" in relation to the engine block?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just spent 3h for nothing.
Last edited by slammer111; Feb 26, 2008 at 01:55 AM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,055
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From: SoCal. Desert
'16 E350, gone: '03 c230k
It would appear the torx bolts at the rear of the airbox which you removed are what hold the MAF to the airbox, not the ones that hold the airbox to the engine. Check out these pics (from that thread):
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...8&d=1187750897
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...9&d=1187750897
this should be one of the 2 bolts you remove from the rear of the airbox. There is another bolt like this on the other rear corner of the airbox (should be visible when you unplug the MAF connector), but without that 'tube' you have to go through in the above pics.
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...8&d=1187750897
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...9&d=1187750897
this should be one of the 2 bolts you remove from the rear of the airbox. There is another bolt like this on the other rear corner of the airbox (should be visible when you unplug the MAF connector), but without that 'tube' you have to go through in the above pics.
Last edited by mtnman82; Feb 26, 2008 at 09:41 PM.
