Installed the AFE Stage II Kit with Proguard filter last night. Easy install, only took 30 minutes. Everything was very straight forward.

Remove the sender and clamps, pull hard on the air box and it comes out, remove 5 10mm bolts to remove the air box plate and install the afe plate with 4 of them, reinstall the sender, install the filter.

Hardest part came with installing the new intake tube. In looking at it, it probably isn't needed and probably does nothing but waste money. Other posts on the forum indicated it was a waste, but I wanted to see for myself. The stock intake is probably more than adequate and may even be the same diameter. It's hard only because it's such a tight spot and the tube has to wind around everything. It just took a little beating to get everything in place and tightened the clamps. Done.

Turbo whistle on idle didn't change a bit at the engine compartment, in the cab, or at the rear. Turbo whistle under high idle is noticably louder in all three locations. Turbo whistle while driving was also noticably louder. I can't tell if there was any performance increase, or increased throttle response as we woke up to 8" of fresh snow on the roads this mornig... Time will tell on this.

My suggestion, don't buy it if you are looking for a performance gain. The only reason I could see buying it would be for the increased turbo whistle, which some of us like. I definitely wouldn't waste my money again on the intake tube (Stage II), I'd just buy stage one as I don't think the tube does a thing for you in any way, shape, or form. Install time would probably be less than 10 minutes without the tube too.

The only benefit of getting the Stage II is that the steel intake tube will conduct turbo whistle much better than a plastic one. That's about it.

they don't ship them with the steel intake tubes anymore - I confirmed before I ordered mine and they said they were having problems with them and switched to the less-than-cool looking plastic. i think they were having problems with heat build up on the intake tubes.

I ordered/installed the Pro Gaurd 7 Stage 2 Magnum Force Intake System (75-10612) about 1 month ago.

I'm guessing that you guys aren't throwing codes and having your check engine light come on, or having a noticeable loss of preformance issues like previous post indicated, are you ? I ordered the Pro Guard 7 Stage II afe last week and after reading early posts, I was wondering if I should even install it when it gets here ? I'm not really looking for more horse power preformance, I'm just looking to the future when I upgrade to a performance chip and exhaust system to help keep the EGT's down some. It's just one step at a time for me, this things aren't cheap ! :eek: 2004.5 LLY crew cab 2500HD


Dan

So far no codes or SES....

Tubes are no longer steel but rather plastic... I don't really think it matters, but plasitc would be my choice of the two anyway. Like I said though, I wouldn't buy it with it again.

Did you get one of the updated design filters?

I'm a bit lost on the problems with the filters... I read about the problems, but couldn't determine if it was with the Proguard filters (72-90026) or the standard filters (24-90026). Were the problems with the standard filters, or with the Proguard filters? My filter doesn't look anything like the filter in the AFE pics. The AFE pics show a filter that doesn't have an end cap like mine but rather a cone and I can't tell how far the cone extends into the filter...

A couple pics of my filter are attached. Mine is a green Proguard filter. Don't know if they come in other colors or not. Hopefully you can clear up my confusion on this..?

4day4me - I'm not having any problems with codes after installing my Stage II...that I'm aware of. I don't have a Tech II but I assume if I had thrown codes, I'd get some warning on the D.I.C.

You will know if you have the updated filter because it will not have the 1/4 inch lip on the inside of the filter (which would be what stops you from shoving the filter too far on the tube) That effectively made the filter 3 1/2" instead of 4" like the tube. They made it there for the LB7s, to act as a venturi of sorts to correct the incorrect MAF readings, since the MAF was tuned to be in a certain size tube (smaller than the LB7 Stage 2 tube) This has caused issues for a few people running the filter on LLY. It seems that it was causing low MAF readings due to it creating turbulence near the MAF. I compared the MAF readings of stock VS. AFE on an LLY that was tripping several codes with the Stage 2, and the Stage 2 readings were much lower at any given RPM. Saul at AFE conceeded that there was a problem, and sent me several prototypes to try. They worked. The prototype was the same in every way, except it was missing the restriction in the neck of the filter. This effected PG7 and the regular blue filters. I posted some more detailed info here...http://dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13925&highlight=stage

Thanks for that link... I hadn't read that thread. Good information. My PG7 does not have a lip so it seems that I've got an updated fitler. I can put the filter on to edge of the box (effectively putting the intake tube inside the filter about an inch) if I want to.

I have 8300 miles on my truck. Put the AFE St2 with PG7 on at 1200 miles. Towed my 10k boat across country. No problems.

have any of you guys noticed any EGT drop with the AFE stage II? If so how much??

also let me (us) know if this improves your mileage at all. It claims to add 2 mpg..

also let me (us) know if this improves your mileage at all. It claims to add 2 mpg..
I'm sure that like all engine mods, it depends on the weight of your right foot. It does seem like I can drive the truck more aggressively now and still maintain about the same mileage as I did before, so if I were to lose some weight in my right foot, I'd probably have better mileage. If nothing else, I'd like to at least think that after all I've spent on upgrades.

Off topic,

CalDirt, why you runnin' yellow tops ? arent they for deep cycle/marine applications ? just curious, everyone else I see with Optimas are using the Reds

marc

yes, they are deep cycle. I run them so that I can run my stereo/inverter/lights/compressor into the ground without worry. not sure what qualifies as "everyone" but I know there are plenty of folks who run deep cycle - it's normal for high amp stereos - the batteries can be taken all the way down and brought back up without worrying about destroying them like normal batteries. i think the red tops might be a little less cash and that might be why more people buy them.

I wasn't sure if I was going with red or yellow a while ago - this thread might help: http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10449

Im runing afe stage two and the tube hits damn near everything. I had to heat and massage a few spots for the big plastic tube to clear the egr harness, bosche box harness, and aftercooler line. Its perfect now but the tube fell off twice before I modified it and yes I found dirt in the intake because of it. The motor moves freely on its mounts as disigned correctly however the tube hit the motor in too many places to take the stress. Keep close look at your fellas. A heat gun and baseball bat can do wonders to relieve these areas