i have 70,000 miles on my 05 xterra, i noticed a strange sound and checked under hood. my first thought was that the braked that holds the chrome intake near the oil cap was loose. that was not the case, the chrome tube has a nipple type piece that attaches to a braket 5" braket and as i touched the chrome tube, surprice, the nipple is now resting inside the tube. it appears that somehow the weld that holds that piece to the tube broke. i have contacted K & N for a replacement and as soon as it arrives i will take photos and post them. untill then , my xterra sits. i am concerned of any particles of metal or chrome that might have been sucked into the engine.........any thoughts on this one???

wow, that's a lot of miles for an '05. I only got 21,000

I have that exact intake. So, please post some pics. I have an 06 with 23000.

will post photos by midnight tonight, i am going through my service records to get the actual mileage of when i installed product. the real eyeopener is that even though i drive tons of miles, for the last 30 days i have not gone out of town so i have to scratch out the thought of my usual 5 to 7 hours road trips. while the xterra runs very hot and i am in mexico at this time. since my xterra was in town this last 30 days, the heat factor in the tube really does not apply. i am scratching my head over this one... for sure it looks like metal failure on the material that the tube is made out of.

here is a photo from the bottom. the tube was resting on the braket so i lifted 1/2 inch to show the failure...
here is the link http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/509/dsc00325ik8.jpg

i would appreciate everyones imput on how the heck could this happen. the tube is metal and the braket holds it to the engine area towards the oil lid. i am simply confused by this failure. http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/5525/dsc00326io1.jpg

and that's a very real possibility as to the reason it'd happened. Not likely, but possible. Vibration may be another culprit. If it was not properly fastened at first, a couple ten thousnad miles of rattling may have worn it free..

Vibration and no way for the pipe and bracket to flex. Put a rubber bushing between it, kind of like the stock box has. May have to fabricate it.

I can't believe that. Though, vibration definitely, and being that the pipe wouldn't flex under stress are likely causes.
Here is picture of my intake; it has 16000 miles on it now.
www.photobucket.com

since i was going to be using my xterra in mexico, everything that could rattle loose i put lock-tite on, including all the nuts and bolts on the k&n system. i had a braket on the other end from the damage break, so i carry an extra one. i will be replacing the tube tomorrow and getting a better view at the area where it broke. i am interested in knowing how this could happen....i still think its a mix of the heat that the engine generates and metal fatigue..