Ok, so I've seen this to some extent on all Durango SRT's, some worse than others. It looks like some kind of oxidation of a compound in the rubber. Anyone know what it is, and how to get rid of it? Aside from getting a total CAI, is there anything to replace it? How can you go to a car show with this thing?
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Yellowing rubber air tube
DDSRT2020
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Ok, so I've seen this to some extent on all Durango SRT's, some worse than others. It looks like some kind of oxidation of a compound in the rubber. Anyone know what it is, and how to get rid of it? Aside from getting a total CAI, is there anything to replace it? How can you go to a car show with this thing?
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It's from going through automatic car washes, in my opinion, because it happened to my '18 SRT. I think the chemicals are not friendly because that's about where the vent hood is. And no I haven't tried to fix it. Other than buying a new tube.
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What you have here is referred to as de-gassing which occurs as some of the constituent chemicals bloom to the rubber surface. Does it feel like wax? If so, it’s likely a paraffin wax used during the mixing process of the rubber compound. It’s an anti-ozonant and UV inhibitor to prevent degradation of the cured/molded rubber product. You can clean it with a mild chlorinated product like the whitewall cleaner used for tires.
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I had the same thing happen on my 18 Durango SRT and never ran it through a car wash. It took about two years to look like that and I had the tube replaced under factory warranty!
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Back in 2011 Challenger dashboards did the same thing (early production of 2011). It's the materials used by the manufacturer of that part, they are breaking down.
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Yeah, I will do that first. I'm curious if the inside looks the same (which I'm guessing it does, though I haven't looked yet). Though I'm also thinking the same thing will happen?
I was looking at aFe Power CAI, but noticed it doesn't really have a bellows to handle all the vibration. I like the aFe because it's nicely protected from rain and such. I'm also just two years out from purchase. The person I deal with at my local dealer (from whom I ordered my SRT) is the least helpful person in Dodge service. She works very hard to blow off any responsibility to honor factory warranty. So this will be interesting...
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My 18 after 3 years had a grayish dull finish not yellow...that looks like it spent time in a coniferous zone...
My 2018 DDSRT has that exact thing, just noticed it last fall, about two years after I bought it. No other plastic on the vehicle seems to be like that. Finally, a good excuse to get a CAI!
@frictioncircle Regarding a coniferous zone, I don't live in one but I live at the end of a street called Conifer. Maybe that counts?
@frictioncircle Regarding a coniferous zone, I don't live in one but I live at the end of a street called Conifer. Maybe that counts?
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I tire and rubber cleaner should get that back to black. Adam’s makes the one I use for my tires.
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Yup, northeast. Upstate NY. So due to how cold it can get, the hoses are put away for winter, which leaves the touchless car wash. Salt is worse than soap/hard water spots...
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So yes, I can clean it (PITA), but I'd still like to know what exactly is happening. It can be scrapped off (not really waxy), or I can use a citrus cleaner. Either way, it will keep happening and like others have said, it's the only piece that does that. Maybe the compounds used to keep it flexible (with the bellows absorbing the engine vibration)? Whether from a surface oxidation reaction to outgassing materials or whatever, it's just a matter of time. So I wonder if it could be sealed with something to help prevent the reaction from happening in the first place? Moreover, if it's like this on the inside, could particles eventually break off and get inhaled by the engine?
Hey Dodge, maybe change up the chemistry? Lot's of Hemi's out there at car shows. This does not show particularly well...
Hey Dodge, maybe change up the chemistry? Lot's of Hemi's out there at car shows. This does not show particularly well...
Exactly this. Fix the problem Dodge, particularly if it's happening on the inside, I'll have to check that. We should compare part numbers with 2022 SRTs, maybe they have reformulated it.
Is this part/material only used on the SRT, or do lesser DD's have this malady too?
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That's an excellent point. I've owned both an SXT and Scat Pack Challenger. The Scat's was different than the DDSRT. That one remained black. There's a chance though that even if Dodge changed the "ingredients" of the part, the part number may still be the same. Not sure what that part number is.
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Harbor Freight gave Dodge a great deal on air intake tubes.
My 21 DDSRT had the same thing until i covered the hood vents for the winter and it never happened since 🤷♂️
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Well, I seem to have found an interesting answer. Went to the dealer and showed the service manager. He looked at it for a bit, then looked up at me and said "Want a new one?"!!! It's still got the rest of the year on warranty. He said something very interesting. He asked me if it was really shiny black when I took delivery and I said yes. He said it seems factory deliveries have some coating on it, whereas replacements do not. They just look like plain rubber. Apparently that "coating" oxidizes or something. So we'll see what the new one does. But hey, he's replacing it so I'm good with that!
Why would you cover the vents? They are designed to vent the heat. I had a guy in the parking lot come over to me. He asked what the vents were for and if I ever had any issues with rain/snow getting in there. I said nope. I have had the issue with the discoloring of the tube. I just attributed it to using auto washes and getting the wax, tri-colot on it. Then mix in the heat, UV from sun and it had it. I stopped using auto washes went with manual and periodically go in the engine bay and wipe that down. That was on the '18 SRT. The '21 SRT hasn't had the issue. Primarily from manual washing and haven't noticed it.
But covering the vents? Never heard of doing that.
As I stated before that since my car is not garage kept I covered them to keep the snow n ice out , what you don’t seem to understand is in reality it’s not more than a design for the car, how many high performance cars had hood vents before now (NONE) does the vents help with heat ventilation sure but not required!
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