SpongeBob SquarePants sitting atop my air cleaner lid

The white stuff wipes off on the hood before the sponge ever gets squished.
How do you know??? That's the problem. You could be squashing the whole thing but all you'll see is the Go-jo. It's up to you but I usually stick 3 or 4 tall pieces (cylinders) of silly putty to the air cleaner in different places to see where the hood is closest to the air cleaner. Once the silly putty gets smashed it stays that height no matter what.

treblig