Intercooler boot popped off
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,250
Likes: 10
From: West Virginia
Blew my boot off towing after changing connectors after the old one got a tear in it. Replaced clamps with factory clamps, at great expense. Blew boot again, hard, denting my hood. Tightened clamps again. Blew boot. Pulled clamps replaced with worm drive from Napa... Held for a few weeks then blew again. Doubled clamped it and it blew again.
Finally I pulled the pipe off, sprayed it down with brake clean, hammered a 2 5/16 trailer ball into the end to restore the flare, sprayed it in hair spray, and double clamped with new factory spring tension bolt clamps and it has held since.
One good idea is to run a big hose clamp around your intercooler pipe and the alternator bracket to hold that pipe down so if you ever blow the turbo boot it won't dent your hood.
Finally I pulled the pipe off, sprayed it down with brake clean, hammered a 2 5/16 trailer ball into the end to restore the flare, sprayed it in hair spray, and double clamped with new factory spring tension bolt clamps and it has held since.
One good idea is to run a big hose clamp around your intercooler pipe and the alternator bracket to hold that pipe down so if you ever blow the turbo boot it won't dent your hood.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
Great expense? How much did you pay? Riff Raff sells a complete T-bolt kit for about $48. Intercooler boot complete clamp kit for Ford 99.5-03 7.3L Powerstroke
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,250
Likes: 10
From: West Virginia
Great expense? How much did you pay? Riff Raff sells a complete T-bolt kit for about $48. Intercooler boot complete clamp kit for Ford 99.5-03 7.3L Powerstroke
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
From an engineering standpoint, those are inferior to the factory clamps, which use springs to maintain tension on the boot even as the dissimilar materials of the pipe, boot and clamps expand and contract. They also look a little less beefy.
Tuned
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 307
Likes: 9
From: Gainesville, FL
So I checked my hood and there is a small dent from when my hot side boot popped off of the turbo.
Has anyone created/fabricated a clamp device to prevent this from happening again? If so please provide pics and/or a parts list.
Has anyone created/fabricated a clamp device to prevent this from happening again? If so please provide pics and/or a parts list.
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,092
Likes: 145
From: San Diego, CA
Great expense? How much did you pay? Riff Raff sells a complete T-bolt kit for about $48. Intercooler boot complete clamp kit for Ford 99.5-03 7.3L Powerstroke
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
From what I've read, these are superior in design to the OEM spring clamps.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 3,941
Likes: 240
From: Texas
Get good boots and clamps and it won't happen.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,727
Likes: 42
From: Almost back in TX biotche
I hate those damn boots sometimes. I had a run where I kept blowing boots and clamps left and right. Finally said screw it and replaced all the boots and clamps at once and haven't had an issue since.... well I did have a Riff Raff boot rip on me and it took so damn long to get the replacement back that I had to buy another Ford one. Ford one is still on the truck and RifF Raff one is thrown in the glove box as a backup. The new Ford one was handling 38lbs of boost with no issues. If you go with Riff Raff, make sure everything is is nice and clean, and clamp them down really good; they don't have a limp on them to help grip so they could slip back off easier than others.
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
From: VA
Replaced all 4 boots and the plastic cold side pipe. Both hot side boots were shot. Used the Rifraff boots so hopefully no more issues.
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Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 3,941
Likes: 240
From: Texas
Both of my intercooler pipes are aluminum.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
