Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

[AZtyphoon]

I've searched, I've seen the diagrams, still need clarification please.

So yesterday I removed the stock metal IC lines (p.i.t.a), and when I went to re-route with heater hose I was an idiot and just copied the routing that was already there instead of double-checking if it was correct to begin with. :doh:

Here's a diagram of what I did. I'm not sure if I need to tear it all out and re-route it all or if it's okay because I'm getting very little flow in the upper IC. And I'm not sure if the johnson pump can handle this setup by itself. :dunno: Any help is appreciated!

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

You've probably got an air bubble in the line and the pump is sitting there not pumping anything... there are some threads that talk about it.

One thing you can do is take the return line back up to the IC off and put the end of it in a container. Cap off the open fitting on the IC. Then take off the cap to the IC, fiire up the pump, put your mouth against the IC and blow as hard as you can... you're basically helping prime the pump by forcing liquid through the system - you'll hear it gurgling.

Warning: don't let your wife, neighbors, GF, of heaven forbid, another SyTy'er see you doing this.. you'll never live it down!

 

[AZtyphoon]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

You've probably got an air bubble in the line and the pump is sitting there not pumping anything... there are some threads that talk about it.

One thing you can do is take the return line back up to the IC off and put the end of it in a container. Cap off the open fitting on the IC. Then take off the cap to the IC, fiire up the pump, put your mouth against the IC and blow as hard as you can... you're basically helping prime the pump by forcing liquid through the system - you'll hear it gurgling.

Warning: don't let your wife, neighbors, GF, of heaven forbid, another SyTy'er see you doing this.. you'll never live it down!

I left it sitting over night with the IC cap off hopping the air would work it's way out. I haven't taken a look at it yet today. I will try your 'method' tomorrow, hopefully nobody's watching. :rotf: But which one in my diagram is the 'return line"

Yesterday I did confirm that the pump was pumping something by taking the top line of the IC and turning the pump on. Water came out, no really hard, but it was flowing decent out of the hose. I know I will eventually get all the air out but what I was most worried about was the routing of my lines.

Does anyone know which fitting the johnson pumps (or like) pump out of? The one I have shown going straight to the lower cche or the one going up to the aux IC? I was thinking I might have the upper & lower hoses flipped going into the IC... :dunno:

 

[AZtyphoon]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

I checked my intercooler setup again tonight. I tested the flow by removing the top most line going to the CAC. The flow was bad, very light. :tdown: I figured the aux. IC and the extra hose is too much for the johnson pump so I picked up a cheap 12v utility/marine pump from harbor freight. Other guys have mentioned it before, here's the link if anyone's interested: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=9576 It's pretty powerful and I only paid $20 for it. It's still difficult to test until I get all the air out though....I'm working on that. From my preliminary tests the water pretty much shot out of the top of the intercooler! :lol: I just hope I don't have any kinks anywhere. How much does movement does everyone else get inside their upper IC? It seems to be just swirling around, I guess I don't know what to expect. Here's another graphic to keep you all posted on what I did (and show off my mad paint skills). If anyone has any recommendations I'm all ears. :tup:

 

[Don W.]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

I see obvious movement, you can tell it's pumping. One small thing I might add. Go IN the bottom of the inter-cooler and OUT the top. That way you're not going against yourself. Also by doing this you can remove the top hose and bleed the system easier. One other note. I brought my hoses over and down the drivers side (others have done the pas). Anyway, by doing that when you need to remove the cooler you don't have to disconnect the lines. Just unbolt it and set over on the brake anti-lock.

HTH

 

[WyoSyclone]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

One small thing I might add. Go IN the bottom of the inter-cooler and OUT the top. That way you're not going against yourself

Only problem I see with this method Don is that you could suck air into the system if the level gets low... as seems to happen every few months.

 

[Don W.]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

Only problem I see with this method Don is that you could suck air into the system if the level gets low... as seems to happen every few months.

Hmmm, I dunno. The pump pulls from the the bottom of the IC rad so wouldn't things have to get really low for air to be drawn in? The other half of my system so-to-speak is "heat rises" so I want to go IN the bottom of the IC OUT the top because that's the way the heat goes. I also think of it as an engine, radiator, pump, combo. You've got the rad with hot water from the IC going in the top, from there through the pump then in the bottom of the IC (engine) and back out the top to the rad. Sounds a bit corny but I think it makes sense. Ford, with his original Model T tried to get by with no water pump at all using the theory that heat rises the water would flow "up" to the rad, cool and "fall" down and back to the engine. It was called thermosyphon system. It only sorta worked and Model T's soon had water pumps. Often aftermarket ones.

Sorry for the ramble...

 

[AZtyphoon]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

So which way it goes into the IC doesn't effect performance of the IC itself, rather it might make it easier or harder to remove air from the system? Thanks for the info.

 

[AZtyphoon]

So technically since it's a closed system if I got all or most of the air out it wouldn't really make a difference. But of course getting all the air out of the system is no easy task. A/W requires a lot of patience. :rant:

 

[Don W.]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

So which way it goes into the IC doesn't effect performance of the IC itself, rather it might make it easier or harder to remove air from the system? Thanks for the info.

I think "performance" might improve slightly only because of flow going the correct direction. It would very difficult to measure in a system his small. We can debate this all in good fun but once the air is out and you have good flow it prolly doesn't matter. :lol:

 

[AZtyphoon]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

I think "performance" might improve slightly only because of flow going the correct direction. It would very difficult to measure in a system his small. We can debate this all in good fun but once the air is out and you have good flow it prolly doesn't matter. :lol:

You say "correct direction", is in the bottom - out the top how it was from the factory? I agree that it might not make a big difference, I just don't want to do anything that's counter productive.

 

[Don W.]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

Ya. But that's just me. Use one good pump, get the air out and let 'er pump.

 

[AZtyphoon]

Re: Intercooler lines clarification needed please.

Does anyone think having both pumps on there is actually hurting they system's performance? Maybe the johnson pump is bottlenecking the system? :dunno: Difficult to tell.