Ejecting Intercooler Coolant please help

[burntorange]

Hey guys, I just finished my dual pass installation, haven't done option b yet, and just went out for some fun with friends, it finally stopped raining, and we did many back to back pulls and after like the fourth or fifth one my passanger and I smelled a faint smell of coolant and noticed a HUGE drop in the performance of my car.... :( As soon as we got back to the meet I popped my hood and noticed that in the little filler neck all of my coolant was gone. I then bent up the little over flow tube and noticed that it was all wet, like it just done its job. I went to my trunk and pulled out a gallon of dex and poured some more in and it swallowed up a good amount..... My question to you is:

1) What is going on?

2) And how can I fix it?

My car was running super strong and then it just died and the car bogged an ass load if I was too low in a gear, but before it didn't, and also when you floored it in this condition you could feel the motor strain like it was trying to go and it felt like my mom's focus could have outrun me.... :( Thanks a ton for the help!


Mike

[MGM1979]

air bubble built up pressure inside, most likely...it's important to NOT go beating on your car until you're at least 98% positive you've completely bled the system of any lingering air bubbles.

This process can take up to a week of daily driving and topping the system off at each stop.

[aikidoshadow]

SO the option B setup is just to make bleeding of the coolant system easier? Or does it do anything else?

[MGM1979]

SO the option B setup is just to make bleeding of the coolant system easier? Or does it do anything else?

my understanding is strictly for ease of bleeding...the system from the factory is somewhat of a pain to bleed as it is, when adding the dual pass they figured they'd improve the bleedability at the same time.

[aikidoshadow]

my understanding is strictly for ease of bleeding...the system from the factory is somewhat of a pain to bleed as it is, when adding the dual pass they figured they'd improve the bleedability at the same time.

So once its done the first time it is just extra coolant? Basically once it has completed bleeding the coolant there isn't any difference or minimal difference?

[MGM1979]

So once its done the first time it is just extra coolant? Basically once it has completed bleeding the coolant there isn't any difference or minimal difference?

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're asking, so let me do this for the benefit of everyone...sorry if I inadvertently insult your intelligence.



Whenver you are working with swapping anything within the intercooler coolant path, you will inevitably introduce air into the system. This air will get trapped at different points within the system, the worst of which being within the H/E itself, causing a spike in your IAT2 temps almost instantly. Once the system is pieced back together, the engine (and pump) must be run, while massaging these air bubbles to the top of the system, and subsequently replacing that air with more coolant.

When we did the Cobra H/E installs, we could get most of the air out of the system within 20 minutes of starting the car...assumining you were actively massaging the lines and encouraging air to pass through. After that though, the car must be driven (lightly) in order to get the normal bumps and jarring to move the rest of the air out of the system over time (hence the need to drive around town with a jug of DexCool in your trunk). Personally, I made a point to check my coolant level everytime I turned the car on/off...sometimes I'd top it off with a 1/4-1/2 cup, others I wouldn't have to do anything. It wasn't until about a week later that I no longer had to check the levels, and resumed my normal coolant level check about every other week.


I will most likely be doing my dual pass install this weekend...and plan on trying something to potentially minimize trapping air in the system. We'll see if it works or not.

[aikidoshadow]

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you're asking, so let me do this for the benefit of everyone...sorry if I inadvertently insult your intelligence.
Hey I have no problem with getting info, Im not to proud to ask. :)


After the install of the dual pass and once it has completed bleeding the air from the system; what are the differences between having option A or B? It seems like if you just take the patience to wait it out that there is no difference in the end results whether having option A or B.
This is what I am getting out of this. Option B is to bleed the air out of the system faster but it has no purposes afterwards.

[MGM1979]

Hey I have no problem with getting info, Im not to proud to ask. :)


After the install of the dual pass and once it has completed bleeding the air from the system; what are the differences between having option A or B? It seems like if you just take the patience to wait it out that there is no difference in the end results whether having option A or B.
This is what I am getting out of this. Option B is to bleed the air out of the system faster but it has no purposes afterwards.

Everyone I've talked to about it (either familiar with the setup, or having done it already) claims this to be true/fact. The other, side-effect at best, is that you increase the system's coolant capacity with the presence of the resevoir itself - possibly aiding in slightly lowering coolant temps, but I can't see any significance in this possibility to have it be a make or break factor.

[aikidoshadow]

Ok, then waiting is not a problem for me, I really didn't know if I was going to go all out with the option B anyways. I do want a dual pass setup but I will have to wait right now and get this when I get my coil overs in a year or two....:(
Thanks for taking the time by the way. :)

[burntorange]

Sweet! Great info guys! I will ease up off of her and just keep giving her a bit of coolant every stop. I really appreciate it.



Mike