Setback . . .

anupaum · Nov 16, 2008

My longsuffering sweetheart asked me: "So when are you going to get it FIXED?"

It almost looks like it belongs in there! I'd planned on having everything in place today. A bit of heater hose fit nicely over the bypass valve and I thought I finally had everything ready to go . . .

I got in the truck and fired it up, and it ran, but I couldn't get it beneath 4 000 rpm. :icon_surprised:

So I began investigating for vacuum leaks, thinking that this had to be pretty major and rather obvious, but I couldn't find anything until I wiggled the intercooler outlet tube.

Uh oh . . . :bawling:

It's probably a good thing that it broke in my driveway rather than on the road somewhere, but it's rather disappointing, to say the least. This whole problem stems from the fact that I'm trying to make THIS fit:

It's 6.5 cm too low, and 6 cm too far away . . . Although I managed to get everything hooked up, it proved to be too much strain on that lower intercooler tube. Any ideas about how to proceed? :icon_confused:

TireIron · Nov 17, 2008

use a longer section of rubber hose in kind of an S shape. Or two 45 degree angles with a small piece of pipe in the middle. Just something to get it to curve over and a bit longer. If you end up with something too long you can always just cut down the straight pipe a little.

The longer rubber hose would also give a little flex to let things move around a bit during acceleration.

anupaum · Nov 17, 2008

TireIron said:
use a longer section of rubber hose in kind of an S shape. Or two 45 degree angles with a small piece of pipe in the middle. Just something to get it to curve over and a bit longer. If you end up with something too long you can always just cut down the straight pipe a little.

The longer rubber hose would also give a little flex to let things move around a bit during acceleration.

I went to my favorite fabricating shop this morning. They're going to make a better adapter for me. (It's money that I can't afford to spend, but in a way, I can't afford to NOT spend the money, either . . . )

The worst part, however, is that I've learned the outlet tubes of my intercooler are not welded. The outlet tubes are mild steel, but the intercooler itself is aluminum. They were both installed with JB weld. Now, they've held up remarkably well over the years, but maybe the breakage was inevitable.

I don't know what to do now. I can repair the intercooler, dump the blower completely (which I'm REALLY tempted to do!), or spend even MORE money on a new intercooler. :dunno:

All of this wouldn't be so bad if I happened to be independently wealthy, but with the economy circling the drain, my home business is suffering and money has become rather tight again.

Davis · Nov 17, 2008

Repair the IC. As long as the stresses are alleviated, a metal epoxy ought to hold up. Use QwikSteel this time though. It sets up a lot quicker and is a lot stronger IMHO.

anupaum · Nov 17, 2008

Davis said:
Repair the IC. As long as the stresses are alleviated, a metal epoxy ought to hold up. Use QwikSteel this time though. It sets up a lot quicker and is a lot stronger IMHO.

I picked up some QuikSteel this afternoon, but I'm not sure about that stuff . . . The directions say I have to cut 1 / 3 of the end off and discard, which seems like a waste. I talked the parts guy into selling it to me for less than $5, which I suppose is a good deal compared to what it would cost me to replace the intercooler.

When my sweetheart comes home tonight she'll help me make the repair. She's better at visual / spatial stuff than I am.

Davis · Nov 17, 2008

I only cut about 1/2" off the end. You just don't want any hardened bits in the putty. I am using this stuff to hold my aluminum BOV flange to a IC pipe. It'll hold 25+ lbs boost.

anupaum · Nov 17, 2008

Davis said:
I only cut about 1/2" off the end. You just don't want any hardened bits in the putty. I am using this stuff to hold my aluminum BOV flange to a IC pipe. It'll hold 25+ lbs boost.

My sweetheart uses similar epoxy in the dental office. She did the repair for me, and wow, is that stuff ever strong! Sheesh!

I won't have time to put anything together tomorrow, but Wednesday afternoon looks fairly open right now and I've got my truck close enough to the garage that I can push it inside if it's raining.

My eldest son accompanied me to the wrecking yard this afternoon. I found a '92 Mustang with a dual plug 2.3 sitting there. It has an AC bracket that might make a nice addition to my set up because it's got an extra idler pulley. They're having a sale on engines this week. I could pick the whole thing up for $100, if I HAD the $100 to spare . . .

TireIron · Nov 17, 2008

and if you were closer I'd give you 75 bucks and take the rest of the engine off your hands as a core to rebuild hehehe. I hope the modified intake part works for you, i might still have looked into a pair of silicone or rubber 45 or 90 degree elbows to get it exactly where it needs to be just for the added flexibility of it... that would also give it a little adjustability, unless the amount it's off is just so minuscule that needs a hair of adjustment to work.

anupaum · Nov 18, 2008

I've tried silicone connectors before, but they don't hold up under vacuum! We'll see how the modified adapter works. They're supposed to have it fabbed up for me tomorrow.

Setback . . .

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