Blowing Intercooler Pipes

[JimmyRickard]

Was at the track a few weeks ago and kept blowing intercooler hoses off at each end. Managed to do a bandaid fix at the track, but what's the most effective way of securing them?

The hoses themselves appear to be in good condition, but the clamps were a bit old and loose. Would a high strength clamp like the one pictured do the trick?

What about hard pipe kits? Are Just Jap's any good? From the photos the bends look fine but the clamps themselves don't appear to be of very good quality.

What are some other methods of keeping them secure?

[boostn0199]

Best way to do it one is get some sprinb tension clamps all that bulky t bolt stuff is rubbish. Heres what i use

http://www.norma.net.au/products/hose-clamps/norma/norma-constant-tension-hose-clamps

Very well priced nice and compact and will not come off. Also make sure all pipes have a lip at the end of them.

[Dahtone Racing]

35psi normal hose clamps and no dramas here.

Just make sure you have a good bead on the end of the pipes and you shouldn't have any problems

[89CAL]

worm drive hose clamps arent that good, I use the ones as posted in the first post, or similar ones and have no problems at all with them. Running 24psi now and no issues

Make sure to clean the pipe and the silicone joiner with wax and grease remover or something like that so that there is no oily residue etc on them. A nice bead on the end of the pipes will do wonders but some of my pipes don't have these and work alright with the good clamps and a good clean.

What have you got in it? Still standard hoses? If so might be a good time to get some silicone joiners just to refresh the old ones (If they are original)

But if they are still nice and soft then there is problably no issue with them.

[JimmyRickard]

Thanks for the advice guys, what size clamps will I need?

[KiwiRS4T]

Ideally you should borrow or hire a tool to put a proper bead on the end of each pipe.

[colourclassic]

I hate putting big torque loads on those hose clamps: i'm always worried it will pop or strip a thread, especially through lots of heating/cooling cycles.

+1 to a good bead at each join.

[scotty nm35]

+1, good bead and standard hose clamps here, I have run over 3 bar through silicone joins that way. Just don't re-use too often, or over tighten the clamps.

[RRob]

Broken engine mounts??

[Guilt-Toy]

weld a bead around the end of every cooler pipe. use normal worm clamps, if you want use 2.

clean them, make sure there is no oil there. no need to do them up too tight.

thats it.

[Room42]

Normal clamps were the bane of my existence until I bought a bunch of the ones shown in the pic in the first post. I haven't had issues since even without beads on some pipes.

Another thing to consider is make sure you don't have any load on the pipes ie:get it all sitting nicely first then tighten them.

[Hadouken]

Hard pipe kit does the trick

[R31Nismoid]

Can't say I ever had a problem over 3 cars/8 years and always over 20psi with standard clamps/Norma style ones.

Often you'll find a bit of oil gets onto the cooler pipes, ensure you give them a good cleaning off first and that sometimes can make all the difference with stopping things moving too much.

Also as stated, check engine mounts. If things are moving around too much that will also cause you to pop a clamp off a lot more easily.

[asps91]

Give it a good decrease and clean and use some hair spray.

[Missileman]

I use the standard Norma SS clamps, and they're soo much stronger/ better than the perforated Nissan/ Tridon clamps

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/150968811647?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

[GTRNUR]

I've been using marine grade clamps. They are the same basic design as any clamp, but better quality.

When joining two hoses together with just a short bit if pipe I use 2 hose clamps. One on each hose, and then I cut the third clamp into short lengths of stainless material and have the two clamps spot welded together at the required distance. This works great and still allows a lot of hose movement without any leakage.

If my explanation isn't too good I can post up a picture tomorrow.

[89CAL]

Are you saying that you put 2 clamps in then weld parts of a 3rd clamp between the existing 2?

if so..... why?

[Dan_J]

i use ebay T bolts and most of my piping doesn't have a barb/swage

[GTRNUR]

Are you saying that you put 2 clamps in then weld parts of a 3rd clamp between the existing 2?

if so..... why?

When two clamps are joined together and are put over a join, hose movement and pressure can't blow the join apart as the straps hold the hose together. Especially useful over short joins. This join held 30 psi no problems. There is no lips on the join either, its just a straight piece of pipe.

I am not a fan of bolt on hose clamps like those above. They can distort the hose when clamped, pinching it where the clamp closes up diameter and result in an air leak there because of it.

Edited January 21, 2014 by GTRNUR

[89CAL]

What about the heat when spot welding the clamps like above?

Sorry but I think thats a bit overkill. My clamps have held 30psi no problems and only half my pipes have beads on them.