For some reason the intercooler boot on the right side of the intercooler is slipping, as you can see in the photo.

I recently changed the intercooler to a forge one.
When fitting it, I loosened the inner clamps and not the outers.
Its been fine for over a week but now the outer one has slipped.

I loosened the clamps and tried to correct it but even when the clamps were tightened they boot was still sliding around!

The side thats fine



The side that keeps slipping off



I took it apart degreased everything and put it all back together.

I went for a run and when I came back the boot had not moved so it looks promising.

However it slipped off again a week later!

Anyone any idea why its doing this and how I can stop this from happening?

 

Are you sure your intercooler is centered? It's great that you degreased it and the boots but it's important to center it and then snug up the clamps. It wouldn't hurt to get new-more pliable-boots too!

Jeremy

 

I had the same problem, just not to that extent.
New boots will help, but scuffing that shiny/machined area with some emery cloth will solve the problem.

 

The intercooler bolts in place, with no real movement so hopefully its centered.

When I tighten the clamps there is still a small amount of movement in them,which I don't understand as the problem clamp is the one on the factory trumpet not the new intercooler.

I agree with you about the new boots, I think I should replace the clamps as well.

I wonder would the silicon alta snoot boots be a better tighter fit than the factory ones?



Thanks for the reply

 

I thought about scuffing the end of the trumpet, as it is really shiney.

I will try that tomorrow

(Its presently 1:40am here so I really should go to my bed )

 

Upgraded intercooler boots will be harder to install, but will be more secure. They will also prevent boost leaks. Your rubber boots may look good, but under boost, they will deform and micro cracks could appear.

 

i went with new gtt silicon boots on the forge then it was fine

 

While all of the suggestions made are viable, another option is to cut off a bit of the clamp. Take the non threaded half of the clamp and remove about 1/16" to 1/8" from both ends, this will allow the clamp to close more.

This was suggested by GTT when installing their IC and it works very well.

 

Do exactly what Bahamabart said. If you take your upper and lower clamp off and then fit them back together in your hands, you will see that they will only get so tight no matter how much you tighten the screws. Grind or file a couple of mm off of each of the four ends and then you will see the clamp now fits closer together. Do this to all four clamps. I had this problem with my stock boots leaking a little oily fumey residue. I changed to silicone boots and ground down my clamps and the problem is solved.

Good luck

YD

 

Yes, The ALTA boots do fit tighter than the OEM boots. Just installed mine couple of days ago. Install a bit of PIA because of tight fit but worth it IMHO.

 

Super tip Bart!

Jeremy

 

GOOD TIP

I do this as well. But you know those little tools that show the difficulty level in Moss catalog.. This is about a 4. It is easy to modify the clamps but remember that they WILL break if you tighten them to much. So don't get carried away with the tightening.

 

I have the same problem too since the Mini dealer put my 380 cc injectors. Like Bahamabart, I did pile or grind about 1 mm off on the clamps to make it tighter. Degreasing helped too.