How much trouble am I in?

On a current road trip, and I popped the hood to check a fuse...only to discover that my CAI filter had popped off. I have no idea how long my engine was freebreathing, or what particles may have found their way inside. The large breathing hose is clean inside, but there’s no telling what got sucked in.
I’ve experienced no performance issues, but this really has me worried.
How bad is this really, and is there anything I can do to clean it out?

thanks.

 

I would change the oil and send a sample into Blackstone labs for an analysis. I bet it didn't do as much damage as you think. When I change my filters every 6 months or so they are not that dirty especially with highway miles. Good luck and I bet you will be Ok.

 

Was it a Volant? They are famous for that. Your stock setup was a CAI by the way. Aftermarket usually causes a decrease in performance and gas mileage on these trucks.

 

Ditch the aftermarket CAI and go back to the OEM CAI.
For your question...get an oil change and then just forget the whole thing happened after you put your stock CAI back on.

 

No trouble.

 

This is what you should do. Aftermarket intakes provide negligible benefits. Their main impact is giving the dealership a reason to deny warranty coverage.

 

If you want to get a little crazy, drop in an AFE dry filter into the OEM CAI after you switch back from the aftermarket one.

 

Mouse ate a hole in gf’s matrix air filter, no idea how long it was like that. Still runs like a champ.

 

Unless you commonly drive through the dust cloud while following people down dirt roads, I would not worry about it.

 

More damage was done creating this thread than was dealt to your engine...

 

dont go down the rabbit hole on this one.....you are good.

Just pull the intake tube and make sure there isn't something living in there.

 

no. It was K&N.

 

That’s exactly why I was worried. Frequent dust storms and weekly trips down oilfield roads in the high desert to go rockhounding.

 

Thanks everyone for your help. I will try to hunt down a stock air unit. Should I convert my exhaust back to stock also?

 

Stock FTMFW

 

Doesn't matter, unless you plan to take the engine apart there's nothing you can do. I wouldn't break a sweat about it regardless.

 

Hell no! Keep your exhaust on. Just get rid of that K&N and enjoy your low end torque being back.

 

Keep an eye on the marketplace here on the forum. I have seen a few pop up from time to time. If I see one local for a good price I'll let you know.

 

that`s funny

 

This.

Saw a poor bastard on 4runner forum that torched his 4.0 in 5th gen from this happening. However he spent the weekend at Glamis with practically zero air filter and running the 4runner hard for 3-4 days.