Gentlemen...check your grommets!
 

Just a 'heads up' to alert owners to a small design problem -

Had a problem with the air filter that required the dealer to replace it.

During this procedure, the mechanic managed to dislodge the two rubber grommets from below the filter box. These sit right above the radiator cooling fans and the result was entirely predictable - one grommet in the passenger side cooler, just chewed up the fins a bit, then exited.
The other into the driver side cooler chewed fins and lodged between the fan and shroud, burning out the motor.

If you have had work done on the air filter, you should check that your 'grommets' are still in place underneath. They are the same size and shape as the two right at the front of the airbox.

If your fans are damaged, you will have no warning at all until the temperature gauge pins over on 'hot', and the car boils over.
Like mine did.
(Overheat is extremely damaging to rotaries, that is how my RX-3 12A died.) :(
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doc

....and your reason for pointing that out on this thread was because?

Hmm... I checked yesterday and my grommets were gone. In messing with the existing grommets in the front, I noticed that is would be near impossible for these to go down through the hole. They can come up and out easy but I could not force them down no matter how hard I tried.

The reason I was worried is because the two underneath were missing.

yeah my thoughts exactly ...

I'm thinking about going to a RB evi intake due to these grommets. dose the RB revi intake use them for mounting?

Just put mine on yesterday and the answer is yes. BTW, love my REVI and RAM combo - 2 hours total start to finish to put on.

One of mine was missing and I could never find it - but there was no damage to the fan. So probably it went down nicely ;) However, when the engine is hot, they soften enough to slip through the bottom holes when you push the airbox in - the remaning one was half way through when I found it.
As I have the MS strut bar, hence no engine cover, I mounted the 2 grommets for the cover to the bottom - they have different design and do not engage the air box support too much, hence do not get pushed through the holes into the fan. Their use now is as shock absorbers. Without any rubber grommet, I'm concern that the plastic post of the airbox will get damaged from engine vibrations (even though mine has smooth idle ;) )

i don't think there is enough movment for the airbox post to hit with three grommets. I might try one of the top grommets to check the fit. thanks for the tip

Uh oh...I messed around with my air filter box recently and was missing the bottom left one. Looked all around the filter box area and didn't see anything...I assumed it had just slipped and fallen down through all the machinery and landed on the road or something. I don't think it could possibly get pushed through the holes though as mines were somewhat dried up and solid. But this is certainly scary to hear.

Up!

I just replaced my filter by a K&N one.
Both grommets on the bottom were missing... :P
I got worried and removed that "box" under the filter box... Then I realized what you guys mean by having problems with the FAN... Poor design...
Anything that falls inside those holes will go straight to the fan.

I did not find my missing grommets. But, my fan is spinning freely. :)

Hope there are no surprises coming... :uhh:

Cheers.

Yeah both of mine got gone along time ago and I replaced them at a price of about 5 or 10 bucks a piece (crazy for rubber grommets) and once again they are gone. I say screw it the box doesn't move that much. I had one still in there recently but took out the box to check my filter and when I put it back on it pushed that one through. When I cranked up the car and turned the A/C on the first thing I heard was the grommet go shooting up under the hood somewhere, never to be found.

If your grommets are missing on the bottom it is almost a gaurantee that they are laying on the radiator under the fan blades. There is no where for them to go otherwise. They will not fall out onto the road. If you are missing them you should go fishing for them.

I am to the point that I need a parts grabber to get them out of the radiator, my hands are too big to fit in there.

I hate these little rubber grommets, they get soft when hot and can push through very easily. I have been struggling with these every time I mess with the intake.

I command this thread to come back to life!!!! Never let it be said I do not search.

So I know I've gotten 2 grommets to fall through at this point, and I'd love to go fishing for them but.... how? It looks like I'll have to pull the intake off and remove the shelf the airbox sits on to get access. Is there any easier way? preferably without taking the car apart? I'd like to find the easiest way to do this, and then take some photos for a sticky.

Nope, gotta take the tray out. Even then you may need one of those little 'mechanics mirrors' to see down inside the rad shroud.

I recently dropped a screw between the airbox and battery - guess where that ended up.......

S

damn it. gotta taking the car apart.

Nice BUMP....... :)