Allisport intercooler installation

So, that's a day gone and I still have work to do.

It's all in place but I have my doubts about the hose clamps. They're in a bloody awkward spot and I'm not certain I've tightened them sufficiently. How much pressure runs through there?

I found I had to cut the passenger's-side bracket in order for it to fit back in place. It fouled on the side of the new unit just outboard of the forward mounting tab (the one with the rubber grommet).

And now everything's back together my damn bonnet won't latch shut. It seems I've not managed to refit any of the original frame and brackets in the right spot. So, back into it again tomorrow I suppose.

If my mechanic had had the time when he had my car last week I'd have gotten him to do it. In hindsight I should have waited until he was free.

And yes, those studs are painful! I came close to threading a couple when trying to refit everything.

Never again! Apart from tomorrow, of course :(

Hi JC109, with the bonnet not closing make sure the bonnet pin is not hitting the top of the intercooler, I had to give my one a bit of a trim... Also, I highly recommend fitting bolts/cap screws in place of the studs, makes life much easier in the future!

Cheers,

Tim

Cheers Tim. I'll check that out.

Does anyone know if I need to worry about the hose clamps? They're snug, but not as tight as I'd have them if access was better. What sort of pressure do they see?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jc109

Cheers Tim. I'll check that out.

Does anyone know if I need to worry about the hose clamps? They're snug, but not as tight as I'd have them if access was better. What sort of pressure do they see?

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Sometimes doing up hard to get hose clamps needs a small socket, 1/4 drive, extensions etc, its doesnt need to be extreme, but it is turbo boosted pressure, I also look at the clamp position, sometimes by turning it around and accessing it from another direction helps.

drop by say friday and I'll check out your handy work :P

Regards
Daz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jc109

So, that's a day gone and I still have work to do.

If my mechanic had had the time when he had my car last week I'd have gotten him to do it. In hindsight I should have waited until he was free.

Never again! Apart from tomorrow, of course :(

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No no..... I'm very glad you tackled the job yourself.....

*Another Defender owner has learnt a wonderful incite into why a Defender can be at times labour costly.

*I encourage all my customers to tackle them "fiddly fun jobs"

*Being reasonably familiar with your vehicle and spanners is nothing but a realistic real world thing when travelling in remote places.

Regards
Daz

Cheers Mate. That's what I've always figured. To be honest, the Meccano-ish nature of these and our DIY tendencies is why most of us tragics buy them in the first place. And I do appreciate learning that little bit more each time. The neighbours might disagree though...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jc109

Cheers Tim. I'll check that out.

Does anyone know if I need to worry about the hose clamps? They're snug, but not as tight as I'd have them if access was better. What sort of pressure do they see?

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I have an allisport inter-cooler, and ever since I fitted it the turbo hose has blown off regularly, I upgraded the clamp to a proper solid turbo one and it has held better but the other day it popped off and the car went into limp mode, I was only 2k from home so I just restarted the engine and off I went with no turbo but better than limp mode.

I have 2 clamps on it now, the original and the new one, I carry a 8mm & 10mm socket with long extension and a long flat head screw driver all the time, as I said it has blown off a fair bit and I have had to put it back on at the side of the road, it is easier to do with the fan cowling off also so make sure you have a Philips head also :-).

I believe that the metal ridge on the pipe that the clamp goes behind to hold the hose is too small on my intercooler and that is what I am blaming as I seriously could not get the clamps any tighter. Hopefully new ones are better, I got mine in 2011 I think.

Cheers
Pat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by patclan

I have an allisport inter-cooler, and ever since I fitted it the turbo hose has blown off regularly, I upgraded the clamp to a proper solid turbo one and it has held better but the other day it popped off and the car went into limp mode, I was only 2k from home so I just restarted the engine and off I went with no turbo but better than limp mode.

I have 2 clamps on it now, the original and the new one, I carry a 8mm & 10mm socket with long extension and a long flat head screw driver all the time, as I said it has blown off a fair bit and I have had to put it back on at the side of the road, it is easier to do with the fan cowling off also so make sure you have a Philips head also :-).

I believe that the metal ridge on the pipe that the clamp goes behind to hold the hose is too small on my intercooler and that is what I am blaming as I seriously could not get the clamps any tighter. Hopefully new ones are better, I got mine in 2011 I think.

Cheers
Pat.

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Hmmm, that's odd. Mine's either a 2010 or 2011 Alli IC and I haven't had the hoses blow in around 5 years. Famous last words though eh? Think I'll check my clamps on the weekend!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by patclan

I have an allisport inter-cooler, and ever since I fitted it the turbo hose has blown off regularly, I upgraded the clamp to a proper solid turbo one and it has held better but the other day it popped off and the car went into limp mode, I was only 2k from home so I just restarted the engine and off I went with no turbo but better than limp mode.

I have 2 clamps on it now, the original and the new one, I carry a 8mm & 10mm socket with long extension and a long flat head screw driver all the time, as I said it has blown off a fair bit and I have had to put it back on at the side of the road, it is easier to do with the fan cowling off also so make sure you have a Philips head also :-).

I believe that the metal ridge on the pipe that the clamp goes behind to hold the hose is too small on my intercooler and that is what I am blaming as I seriously could not get the clamps any tighter. Hopefully new ones are better, I got mine in 2011 I think.

Cheers
Pat.

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Maybe worth checking the hose isn't too short, and the engine flexing on its mounts isn't pulling the hose off...? Just a thought.

Cheers,

Tim

Well I headed off from home (in Perth) to Sydney today, and only got 150km when the turbo pipe blew off at the drivers side intercooler connection. I was towing a loaded, enclosed trailer and the D90 was fairly full to window sill level and the roof tent fitted to the roof rack. The little thing hauled arse up Greenmount hill, blowing past a V8 Cruiser in the acceleration to 80kph at each of the speed limit change signs. Very impressive that 170BHP BAS2 re-map:cool:.

So a half hour on the roadside to refit the hose, do the clamp up again, reset the ECU faults with my phone APP via the diagnostic magic box and headed off ? this time for about 2km:mad:. Okay, time to get serious. Pulled the hose right off and cleaned the inside of the hose and the outside of the intercooler connection. I figured some oil film or something must have been blown out with the air the first time it blew. Tightened the clamp up with a 3/8" drive socket this time, instead of the 1/4" drive of last time. Gave it a fair twist.

Lasted a bit longer this time ? another 50km or so:mad::mad::mad:. This time I pulled the whole intercooler out (yes, on the road verge!), wire brushed (yes, I carry a lot of tools) the intercooler connection and thoroughly cleaned it. Put it all back together (twice because I forgot to refit the plate on the passengers side with the clip for the bonnet support arm and then thrice because I seem to have moved the radiator and couldn't get the plate mount holes to align). Tightened the clamp a touch too much and felt it slip a notch, so tweaked it up again.

Turned around and headed back for home, setting myself a limit of 230kPa manifold pressure. Got home okay, with no further blow-outs, but a long day for no result. Now I have to figure how to get my trailer with Dakar motorcycle, spare wheels, tyres, fairings, exhaust and boxes and boxes of parts to Sydney for the new owner. Step 1 will be to order some silicon intercooler hoses and a bunch of clamps that NASA haven't even invented yet!

I also thought on the way home to stop at a servo so I could download the original ECU map, figuring it might take some pressure off me monitoring the intercooler pressure on the drive home. I selected "yes" for all the "are you sure" and "make sure you read the manual in case the reload fails" messages and then panicked when the display came up with "toggle the ECU fuse". Faaarrrrkkk. What fuse? The picture on the inside lid of the dash fuse box doesn't have "ECU" anywhere. None of the fuses under the drivers seat say "ECU" either. I pulled out all the fuses with an engine picture but none did anything. I turned the key off and pulled it out, then put it back in and turned it to ACC. I'm not sure at what point the display then said "re-load failed". Thank God it hadn't wiped the ECU program. So I continued my journey with my phone constantly displaying the boost pressure, and limited me to around 90kph at 230kPa pressure - which was about 60% calculated torque load and around 33% throttle position. Gotta love that little diagnostic magic box!

So my 10.5 hr day in the mighty 90 involved only going about 250 kms East and then turning around and driving that back home again. Probably 5 min's of grinning like a mad-man as I raced up the hills, 3 hours of driving normally, 4 hours with my head under the bonnet tearing the skin off my hands and flicking flies out of my eyes and ears, and 3.5 hours driving back very sedately at around 90kph - very boring. I hope the next attempt goes better. :)