tricks to keep intercooler tubes from popping out

[acannell]

okay, ive got a big front mount intercooler, with 2.5" pipes

im running 14 psi

im sick of the tubes popping out of their couplers all the time

there is plenty of reason WHY they are popping out

i have:

2.5" aluminum tubing with no beads (totally smooth)
cheap hose clamps
cheap single ply silicone couplers
not much flex in the overall tubing setup (engine moves, tubing doesnt! not good)
lots of bends and angles

im pretty sure that if ALL my tubes had beads that I would solve all the above problems. even a cheap hose clamp isnt going to pop over a bead.

but they dont.

so how can i fix all this? i dont think welding beads on every side of 10 different 1/16" thick aluminum tubes is realistic.

plus i dont have a tig welder

[acannell]

okay i just found this:

Intercooler problem

.

[impuresoul2k3]

Wow that sucks, when I bought my ebay intercooler piping kit($100 shipped) it included t-bolt clamps, 4 ply silicone couplers, and beaded pipes powdercoated black One thing that might help is using hairspray on the pipes, but make sure you let it dry otherwise it acts like a lubricant and the pipes will slide off extra easy

[GLHNSLHT2]

with silicone couplers they either require a lip or a t-bolt clamp. That's what sucks about them. I have hose on my cold side that requires neither and will hold to 80psi+. But they don't like the hot side and after a year or so split which sucks. Best thing about them is they're black, 2.5" inside, mandrel bent and come off a bone stock Mopar!

[xrattiracer]

t-bolt clamps are the trick. i never use hose beads and have held up to 30 psi with silicone hoses.

[impuresoul2k3]

Rubber couplers ftl btw

[ZachT]

some of mine are not beaded pipes, and im using crappy clamps. held to 25psi for about 3 seconds of full boost then BANG.

yeah i need to upgrade one of these days, i gota quit spending money in other places, this might be next cause that s70 turbo looks monster next to a T2

[acannell]

why are t-clamps better? im not trying to be annoying i mean...how come they are superior to normal hose clamps, arent they just clamping in the same way? just curious..

so it looks like im going to need about $50 in t clamps im guessing...thats not too bad

[ZachT]

you ever noticed on those clamps that thread into the strap? with a coarse thread screw, those can strip out pretty easy. they will strip or break before you can get them tight enough. then on t clamps theres a bolt that attaches to one side of the clamp and a goes to the other side with a nut on it, and these are fine thread. you can tighten them with a wrench and get them on there way tighter.

id almost like to see some kind of test on how much better these hold. like mythbusters or something

[phantomrt]

T-bolt clamps are much stronger, and can clamp with far greater force. I've stripped many worm gear clamps in the past. The T-bolts will eventually strip as well, but are going to be much tougher.

Funny thing is that with my intercooler setup, I have lots of joints with no "beads", running cheap 2 ply silicone couplers and cheap hose clamps. Its only 11 PSI but when it comes time to disconnect all of these hoses, they do NOT come apart very easily at all. I have damaged my aluminum intercooler pipes trying to get them apart.
Also, I have my plumbing set up so that it flexes properly with engine movement.

Everyone else must have an oily film lubricating the joints or something in order for these things to come off. At 20,000 miles on my S60 turbo, its dry in the intercooler plumbing. No oily film whatsoever.

[Dez]

Autozone hoses and t-bolt clamps, FTW.

You will never have a problem with this combination, EVER!!!

Good Luck!

[impuresoul2k3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by acannell why are t-clamps better? im not trying to be annoying i mean...how come they are superior to normal hose clamps, arent they just clamping in the same way? just curious.. so it looks like im going to need about $50 in t clamps im guessing...thats not too bad

How many do you need, Napa has them for $4.xx, make sure you ask the right person, we asked some guy at orielly's for tbolt clamps. After explaining three times what they were he was looking in his tools book while we went and found them on the shelves

[Jay]

Cheap Hairspray!!

[kermit]

You probably could just rough up the aluminum tubes and make you're own beads out of JB Weld or something.

Otherwise weld on beads and get T-claps. I recommend both.

[detobias]

check this thread and my post there on the second page

Intercooler problem

I have used this style of "constant tension" hose clamps on my un-lipped IC hoses with no problem ; most auto parts stores stock them and they are only 3-5$ each

ditch the crap plain hose clamps - they are worthless past 5 psi :O