Hey, so, long story short, I ran the car on idle (no driving) for about 10 minutes with no air filter and the top half air filter housing ajar. What kind of potential damage am I looking at?

I noticed before removing the old filter that there was a ton of crud on the bottom of the housing (around where the air comes in). Thankfully, all the crud appears to still be there.

Car is throwing code P0463 (fuel level sensor A circuit high). May be unrelated as I've been doing electrical work.
Also "permanent voltage supply fault", "fuel level input error"

Anything I should do before reinstalling a new filter?

Also the metal latch on the left side of the air filter housing below where the intake connects is missing. I just have a plastic lever. Do I need to replace the whole housing? ($320.. ouch).

 

You should be fine, unless you were idling it in dust winds I wouldn't worry to much about something being damaged by just that alone. Doesn't hurt to remove the intake from throttle body to filter and give it a good clean though now that your there.

 

" What kind of potential damage am I looking at? "

None.

" Also the metal latch on the left side of the air filter housing below where the intake connects is missing. I just have a plastic lever. Do I need to replace the whole housing? ($320.. ouch)."

I think this might be the clip you are looking for. > CLIP AIRFLOW METER/CLEANER, RNN878, WYC100540 - Rovers North - Classic Land Rover Parts

 

Thanks for the save. Ordered this part: http://www.roversnorth.com/ProductDe...e=0&eq=&key=it. I was looking on AB and couldn't find the clip by itself. Roversnorth looks like another good supplier. I like browsing parts by the diagram.. very handy.

 

There should be no damage bearing in mind most race engines run with only intake trumpets. The engine ECU may need to 're-learn' a little as it can be 'fooled' the sensors but that will sort itself out.

Don't do it again eh or you'll get a smacked wrist