Intercooler pump/flow help?

Ty#365

Ty#365

BOOST LAUNCH KING
I am having the most difficult time purging air and getting good flow from the intercooler pump. I have converted the metal lines to rubber and ran them through the fender.What happens is I can drain and refill the intercooler and it will flow fine until the truck sits and cools down,thats when the problems begin. I made sure the drain hose from the intercooler was/is lower than the feed line to avoid trapped air. Could the weak stock pump be my cause?
 
The Devils Own Chariot

The Devils Own Chariot

Active member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

No once air gets trapped in that system its a real pain to get it out. I got a lot of air out of the lower intercooler and lines by draining the system. Remove the upper intercooler from the intake and the lower supports. I elevated the upper intercooler as high as I could with the cap off. Now turn the pump on and fill it with it running, still keeping the upper intercooler elevated. I put a battery charger on the battery and let the pump run all night. Check the intercooler for flow with a flashlight through the filler cap. If the flow is consistent and you dont hear the pump chewing up air bubbles then you might have filled the system effectively.
Its really hard to get the air out once its in there. With air bubbles intake temps soar and the ECM pulls a ton of timing and it sucks. Good luck. Thats why I went to a A2A so I could get rid of the heat soaking, water boiling, bubble trapping setup.
 
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Ty#365

Ty#365

BOOST LAUNCH KING
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

Theres no kinks. I made sure of that when I was installing the new lines.If I fill it it will flow good until the truck sits overnight too.
 
Ty#365

Ty#365

BOOST LAUNCH KING
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

ill try letting the pump run overnight and see what i get.
 
warmpancakes

warmpancakes

New member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

i installed one of those "flush kit" tees in the lines hold it about a foot above the ic with the pump running and the cap off
 
WyoSyclone

WyoSyclone

Active member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

My trick is to take the upper (return) line off the back of the intercooler, add a short extension to it using a union from the plumbing department, and run that into a bucket... leaving the lower (feed) line hooked up.

Fill up the intercooler, wipe the excess off of the rim of the intercooler fill opening, and turn the pump on.

This will sound strange, and probably a little gay, but put your mouth over the opening of the intercooler and blow/pressurize it. This forces the coolant to prime the pump, and the system will immediately start drawing all the fluid out of the intercooler.

Stop, fill the intercooler back up, and repeat until you get a steady stream of coolant emptying into the bucket. When done, reconnect the upper hose, top the system off, and you're done.

....just make sure no one is around to watch you doing it! ;)
 
Syclone Rob

Syclone Rob

Its all ABOOT the SYTY eh
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

I do is unbolt the upper ic from the engine, have the ic pump running uncap the ic and lift he ic so it's the highest point in the system.then Tilt it so the fill hole now highest point. Then just run and fill till it flows really good. This works on the stock ic and the Waller upper ic. I just did this yesterday also and I have really good flow with no air bubbles. The only sucky part of this is unbolting the dam thing.
 
Fighting5thSVT

Fighting5thSVT

Active member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

What is considered "good flow"? Should I see the coolant really moving along in there or bubbling? I can tell mine is moving by putting my ear on the CAC, I can see the fluid "quivering":rotf: with the cap off. I put my finger in there and expected to feel my finger wanting to be pulled through the fins but it wasn't. Is that how its supposed to be or did I have my expectations too high with the new Johnson pump? I have nothing to compare it too because I bought the truck with a broken stock IC pump.....
 
mcskibadee1

mcskibadee1

New member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

Mine is the exact same way. I was expecting 4 gallons a minute pumping like crazy through there but i just see a little movement and I have basically the same setup as You. I think our expectations might have been too high?

Fighting5thSVT said:
What is considered "good flow"? Should I see the coolant really moving along in there or bubbling? I can tell mine is moving by putting my ear on the CAC, I can see the fluid "quivering":rotf: with the cap off. I put my finger in there and expected to feel my finger wanting to be pulled through the fins but it wasn't. Is that how its supposed to be or did I have my expectations too high with the new Johnson pump? I have nothing to compare it too because I bought the truck with a broken stock IC pump.....
Click to expand...
 
S

Sy777

Member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

wyosyclone said:
my trick is to take the upper (return) line off the back of the intercooler, add a short extension to it using a union from the plumbing department, and run that into a bucket... Leaving the lower (feed) line hooked up.

Fill up the intercooler, wipe the excess off of the rim of the intercooler fill opening, and turn the pump on.

This will sound strange, and probably a little gay, but put your mouth over the opening of the intercooler and blow/pressurize it. This forces the coolant to prime the pump, and the system will immediately start drawing all the fluid out of the intercooler.

Stop, fill the intercooler back up, and repeat until you get a steady stream of coolant emptying into the bucket. When done, reconnect the upper hose, top the system off, and you're done.

....just make sure no one is around to watch you doing it! ;)
Click to expand...

you sir will be filling my ic from now on
 
wheels

wheels

Donating Member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

WyoSyclone said:
My trick is to take the upper (return) line off the back of the intercooler, add a short extension to it using a union from the plumbing department, and run that into a bucket... leaving the lower (feed) line hooked up.

Fill up the intercooler, wipe the excess off of the rim of the intercooler fill opening, and turn the pump on.

This will sound strange, and probably a little gay, but put your mouth over the opening of the intercooler and blow/pressurize it. This forces the coolant to prime the pump, and the system will immediately start drawing all the fluid out of the intercooler.

Stop, fill the intercooler back up, and repeat until you get a steady stream of coolant emptying into the bucket. When done, reconnect the upper hose, top the system off, and you're done.

....just make sure no one is around to watch you doing it! ;)
Click to expand...

I don't get it. Do you cap off the top port on the upper i/c when you blow in it?
 
SuperSy

SuperSy

New member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

Hey guys, I'm having the same problem with my ic since I replumbed the lines. I've tried all of these tricks to get air out of the system, but I still have really high IA temps, 160+, was 100-110 before. If I disconnect the return hose into a bucket, it flows really well, so the pump seems to be working properly. Today, I spent about 2 hrs thumping the hoses with the pump running trying to get the air out. It seemed to be releasing a lot of bubbles, then I let the pump run after I couldnt get any more bubbles. Is there something I'm doing wrong?
 
SuperSy

SuperSy

New member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

Think I found something that worked for me; with the intercooler unmounted, elevated, and topped off, I disconnected my IC pump hotwire. I then turned the truck power on and touched the wire to ground in order to "bump" the pump repeatedly, like a starter. After several small bubbles came up, one huge bubble finally came out, almost a full cup of fluid worth. I topped it off again, then let the pump run for a couple of hours. I'll drive it to tomorrow to see if it fixed it.
 
SuperSy

SuperSy

New member
Re: Intercooler pump/flow help?

I'll be driving it while monitoring the IA temp using Datamaster. I'm trying to get the temps back down to the 100 degree range.
 
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