1991 626: plastic air box ex/imploded--worth fixing?

[roesing]

I picked up a 1991 Mazda 626 for really cheap, since I'll be in the US for just a few months (I'm an American diplomat stationed abroad). It worked fine for three weeks. Two days ago, I turned the key and there was a boom. Guys standing nearby said it sounded like a gunshot (my kids were singing in the back seat, so I couldn't hear it distinctly). I looked under the car, and there were some broken black plastic pieces. I opened the hood, and found a broken black plastic box on the side of the engine block, near the top, on the driver's side, about the size of a shoe. It seems to have either exploded or imploded. (Or been broken by something else, but I don't see any other mechanical parts nearby that would have broken it.)

The car won't start now: it turns over, but dies immediately. The broken pieces of the box are clean on the inside, and it doesn't seem to have anything inside, which is why I called it an "air box" in the subject line. The plastic is hard, and about 1/4 inch thick.

1. Does anyone know what this box is, and what it does?

2. Is it expensive to fix? Or should I have the car junked?

3. Is the part easy to find? I'll be stationed overseas again in just 6 weeks or so, so I don't want to fix it if it'll take three months to get the part.

Thanks for any and all advice! -Rich in Virginia

[xjoeharperx]

was it the box that held the filter or the air metering device (it would have wires going to it)?

[roesing]

There didn't seem to be any filter inside. I don't recall whether there were wires. The car's still in the parking lot at work, and I'm at home now. If this were a box that held the air filter, it would be really obvious as I examine the broken box, right? If that assumption is correct, then it's not the air filter box, because there was nothing apparent inside. Thanks! -Rich

[drkgypsy]

Sounds like the air resonater box that connected by a hose to the the ducting that between the airflow meter and the intake manifold. It's just a "box" -no wires or anything connected to or inside it. It has a single bolt that screws to a bracket right in-front of the distribiter (If your looking at the engine from the driver's fender, w/ the 2.2L 4 banger non-turbo.



'92 626.....soon2B SFV's local resident A4 killer
2 A4's down and countin.....

[roesing]

http://www.roesing.net/photos/images/TheAirBox.JPG

The broken box is marked with the red arrow. It sounds like the air resonater box you've just described. Is this a big expensive project to replace it? Think I should be able to find a replacement box easily? Thanks again for the excellent advice! -Rich

[drkgypsy]

thats it, should take ya a whole 5-10 mins. But I'm wondering why it exploded/imploded in the first place??????

[roesing]

Got the replacement box, mounted it in about a half-hour, and the car's working like new (well, like it used to work, anyway!). The guys at the Mazda dealership who sold me the box said it was probably a backfire that blew up the box, and a tuneup would probably be a good idea.

Thanks for the great advice from this board! -Rich