Intercooler coolant flow?

LIL QIK

HELL YEA I GOT BOOST!
Hey guys.....

If I take the cap off my intercooler.....and the pump is running......shouldn't I be able to see the flow. Or does the pump not move that much coolant. It looks like it's not even moving to me.

Just looking for a little bit of insight here.....

Thanks...Dave
 

Flyin Ryan

hated cuz he drives fords
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

LIL QIK said:
Hey guys.....

If I take the cap off my intercooler.....and the pump is running......shouldn't I be able to see the flow. Or does the pump not move that much coolant. It looks like it's not even moving to me.

Just looking for a little bit of insight here.....

Thanks...Dave

When I had the stock pump before it died.. I couldn't see any movement in the coolent. When I upgraded to a jabsco pump I was able to see some movement. ARe you certain the pump is coming on? If you have it hot wired you should be able to hear it with the key in the on position without the engine on.
 

LIL QIK

HELL YEA I GOT BOOST!
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

Yeap.....as a matter of fact......that's what got me to look at it. I'm showing knock where as I wasn't before. So I grounded out the pump, turned the key on, popped the cap....and just flat out don't see any movement. Oh, and you can definitely hear the pump... I would think that you'd want to see some serious flow across the intercooler.

I just picked up the Ty about a month ago....and it was advertised with the high flow IC pump. I've got an AWD dyno scheduled for Friday....and would like to get some flow through there before hand....lol

Thanks for the input.........
 

berzerker

wookie
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

if the fluid is'nt swirling around inside the aftercooler you've got problems
 

Flyin Ryan

hated cuz he drives fords
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

I'd check to see what kind of pump it is.. and check the lines for any kind of kinks especially where the lines mount to the pump.
 

LIL QIK

HELL YEA I GOT BOOST!
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

That's kind of what I was thinking too. When I got the truck...it already had all the hard lines out and soft lines in.....guess I might need to get under there and make sure that ones not kinked or something.

Thanks again for the input.
 

H-TOWN-TYPHOON

You're killin' me, Smalls
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

I had the same problem and it ended up being a kink in my hoses immediately behind the intercooler.
 

LIL QIK

HELL YEA I GOT BOOST!
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

Yea....I'll check it out tonight. I was planning on changing all the lines to a thicker, more durable line when I throw the other intercooler in. Might have to go ahead and do that this weekend. We'll see.
 

Flyin Ryan

hated cuz he drives fords
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

I bought 3/4 braided heater hose off of ebay.. got like 10 foot for $20 something which looked pretty sweet when I was all done. Just an idea to concider incase you wanted something with bling :)
 

SBNova

New member
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

My stock pump barely showed movement. Sometimes you would see a ripple or a few bubbles. I have a mrine 12v pump from Harbor Freight that has a stainless steel pump section, for $25. This thing moves some serious water. Sometimes if the cap is off, water will come out of the upper IC! It mounted right in the stock location with an added bracket, and I didnt even alter the stock hoses. I posted pics of the install here on this site.
 

LIL QIK

HELL YEA I GOT BOOST!
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

Thanks Nova......just found your thread. Sounds like it would be hard to beat for 25.00. All the other aftermarkets that I was looking at were in the 175 range. But 240 gph only equates to 4 gpm. You haven't had any problems with it?
 

Don W.

Stab it and steer it
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

If your pump is good (and running of course), there's no kinked lines, I'd bet you've lost prime. It can be difficult to get all the air out.
 

turbodig

Active member
Re: Intercooler coolant flow?

LIL QIK said:
Hey guys.....

If I take the cap off my intercooler.....and the pump is running......shouldn't I be able to see the flow. Or does the pump not move that much coolant. It looks like it's not even moving to me.

Just looking for a little bit of insight here.....

Thanks...Dave


Sometimes.

Easiest way to tell if the stock pump is working is listen for it. With the motor off, pull the connector to the IC pump relay. Short the center terminal of the 3 to the one off to the side.
You should be able to hear the pump whirr.

Look for black/ugly terminal connections while you have the connector off.

I've run a Shurflo 2088 pump (was $42) for about 9 years now. It's a bit loud, but it will pump circles around a Jabsco or Johnson. SBNova's Harbor Frieght pump looks like a good one as well.

I also found pre-bent hose elbows for the places that needed them (at the pump, at the CCHE, behind the IC itself) to eliminate the possibility of a kinked hose.
 
Top