Big rubber part hanging from middle of NG900 bulkhead?

Like the elephant snout, it's for air intake.

It's likely full of junk if you have not cleaned it and live near trees. Are you a new NG900 owner? If so, I can post some tips on things you need to know.

But for what? I thought the engine (turbo) got air from the front, sort of near the fog lights, and the passenger cabin intake was up in the black plastic just under the windshield.

Yep; it looked kind of split and there was definitely some foliage there.

I've had mine a few years, actually, but always like to learn. I'm kind of clumsy and don't do much mechanical stuff myself. I do get the engine and cabin air filters changed regularly.

Thanks!

Drain hose from AC evaporator

No, it's not. It's for condensate output.

Close, the elephants trunk (as it is known) is to drain rain water from the compartment behind the bulkhead where the cabin ventilation fan/blower and windscreen wiper motor lives., I think the condensate drains from the AC come down behind the front wheels (my NG900's air conditioning is the soft top opening switch so I may be wrong on this...).

This compartment gets filled up with leaves and other debris which then rots down and makes the ventilation system smelly and it is certainly a good exercise to clean it out once a year. To access, remove the windscreen wiper arms (prise out the cap and un-bolt taking note of the position of the wipers on the windscreen). The plastic trim panel between the bulkhead and the windscreen comes away by removing the thick rubber seal that runs across the top (just pulls away) then you can fiddle the plastic panel out, it's pretty obvious looking at it what you have to do. The elephants trunk can be pulled out and cleaned as can the rest of the compartment then, once clean, remove the ventilation intake filter (left hand side of the compartment looking in from the front) and either replace it (not expensive) or some people report putting it through a dishwasher works - can't vouch for that. Whilst the filter is off, make sure nothing falls into the intake as it will rattle around inside the fan unit and drive you mad...

Reassemble in reverse order in the great traditions of the Haynes manual.

Andy

Thanks, Andy.

But before I saw your reply, I was hoping this morning that it was an air intake, as the engine coughed and smoked to life as if choked for air. I was hoping that poking the snout and rearranging the debris (before starting this thread) was the cause, but apparently not.

It ran fine after a minute or so, but time will tell. It's definitely not normal for this car.

Just a coincidence I'm afraid.

Idle Air Control Valve needs cleaning perhaps, gets gummed up over time and could have stuck in the wrong position making the fuel air mix all wrong. Unless you know about it, it tends to get missed during the routine servicing. That's an easy job to do before you start worrying about other components.

Easy to follow instructions here;

Whilst you are in the region of the IAC, give the throttle body a clean (instructions on the same page) and check all the vac lines as these often perish and lead to air leaks which will also cause poor running.

Andy