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bad intercooler boots??

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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 12:00 PM
  #1  
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bad intercooler boots??

Just got my truck a month ago and everyone says it should be pushing more than 15 lbs of boost... so i got under the hood and noticed that my intercooler boots are really greasy not sure if that means that they are bad? Or need cleaned? Any suggestions on wgat i should do? Thanks
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:07 PM
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cleaning would always be a good thing,if you do a engine wash make sure to cover power steering cap,air intake/filter if exposed,& avoid electrical connections.you could make a in expensive boost leak detector. do a search on engine cleaning & boost leak detector.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:12 PM
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I will do that clean everything up.. just didnt know why the oil and grease would be on them and not anywhere else.. is 15 lbs of boost about normal for a 7.3 ? I also have a ts6 with 140 tune and thats only when i can get the 15 driving down the road at 55 i only have like 1 pound of boost reading on my gauge
Thanks again
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:14 PM
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Also i dont know if i should use a certain type of cleaner of just power wash under the hood any advice helps a bunch thanks again
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:24 PM
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Yeah like harvester said, cover anything important that cant get wet with a plastic bag and zip-ties, find some engine degreaser, spray liberally, let soak for 10 minutes. Then with a pressure washer set on a lower setting, if possible, do a brief scouring then rinse. That should get a bunch of the junk off. But if you really want to stop your more than likely leaks, I recommend taking all your boots off and washing each one by hand, then re-installing them. That will actually cleaning the mating surface, not just the outside, and make for a better seal on all your pipes.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:26 PM
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Simple Green works great.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:28 PM
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most will tell you to spray down engine with 100% simple green let soak 10 minutes,rinse and repeat as needed,the grease residue is the ccv gasses/oil vapor sent back to intake sytem as desighned by ford,as far as tuner and boost do a search or wait for somebody more knowledgible on that subject.hope that helps.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 01:47 PM
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You can clean it up & try tightening the hose clamps on the boots. Deepwell socket works great on these. May or may not help. Look for any cracks or splits in boots also after cleaning.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by awaterman
I will do that clean everything up.. just didnt know why the oil and grease would be on them and not anywhere else.. is 15 lbs of boost about normal for a 7.3 ? I also have a ts6 with 140 tune and thats only when i can get the 15 driving down the road at 55 i only have like 1 pound of boost reading on my gauge
Thanks again
What else can you tell us? Year, mileage, any mods beyond the chip? I am guessing you have good gauges? Does the truck run good? I know that can be hard to know if diesels are new to you. You could also have exhaust leaks keeping the boost down.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 04:01 PM
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Are you sure you dont have an up pipe leak? Look around the back of the turbo for soot and signs of leaks, What are your EGT's?
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 04:06 PM
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You certainly should be able to achieve more than 15 psi of boost. I have boosted 23-24 with my stock turbo after replacing all the boots and cleaning up the entire intercooler system. I replaced with Dieselsite boots that don't pass the oil through the material. Once it was locked down tight with new boots, a clean system and AIH delete I was able to hit 24 psi on a WOT test.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 04:25 PM
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I will be ordering these in a few days, Mine are pretty shot after 13 years and almost 300k. Also make sure your clamps are in good shape too!


Riffraff Diesel: RDP Complete CAC Intercooler Boot Kit
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 04:58 PM
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I would be careful with a pressure washer. I was told to not even use one because you can dislodge sensors or force water into electrical connections ETC. Also do not use any really hot water for same reasons, lots of sensitive sensors and components that could get cooked. I have run off of my home water heater before with no issues but by the time it gets through 50 feet of hose it's not that hot any more.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by trekbasso
What else can you tell us? Year, mileage, any mods beyond the chip? I am guessing you have good gauges? Does the truck run good? I know that can be hard to know if diesels are new to you. You could also have exhaust leaks keeping the boost down.
I dont think it has any other mods it has a solo stack and thats about it.. the guy i bought it off of said he replaced the turbo around 200000 miles.. it is a 99 has 255000 miles on it now.. the boots look aftermarket the boots on the intake are hts so im not sure if the guy just replaced those or if he did all of them and maybe pinched one? Im not sure. Simple green and some medium temp water in the sink and let them soak ok?
Thanks
 
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Old Jan 6, 2013 | 06:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Kdr358
Are you sure you dont have an up pipe leak? Look around the back of the turbo for soot and signs of leaks, What are your EGT's?
Not sure what the egt are i still have to hook that gauge up i ordered the thermo thing that you tap into the exhaust just waiting on it to arrive.. i have a new sunpro boost gauge that i installed. It kinda bounces around alot when the turbo is spooling
Thanks again for everyones help
 
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