On my 7.3, I have always felt the hard pipe from the intercooler on the driver's side is a bit difficult to install, but more significantly, it feels like it's pushing at the wrong angle. It just doesn't sit nicely in it's place. I am not sure what could cause this. Hopefully, what I am trying to describe makes sense. Some photos below. I put one arrow indicating where the pressure/torquing is happening and two arrows show the direction. It would see the hard pipe should line up nice and straight with the intercooler outlet. Does anything look "wrong"? Do others have this same issue?

 

A few more pics. The pics below are with the tube inserted into the intercooler boot. This shows how it "lines" up with the upper boot. I feel like the hard tube could have been bent towards the engine a little more and all would be great. I can force it into place, as I have done many times in the past, but it just never seems correct. It puts so much torque on those boots.

 

They didn't build these to be feng shui. They got all the parts in there, it's reasonably serviceable, and it works. Yours is normal.

 

The first set of photos shows the pipe going under the hydroboost return line, the 2 set shows the pipe on top of that line.

 

@CampSpringsJohn observed inconsistency between how the CAC tube is installed beneath in the first set of photos, and above in the second set of photos, the power steering hard line return. However, looking at the open nipple on the power steering reservoir, it doesn't appear that you have the hardline fully installed at the power steering pump reservoir in the second set of photos.

When you do get the power steering return hardline correctly situated in relation to the CAC tube, it may benefit you to slip some rubber hose over the hard line, where it contacts the CAC tubing.

Examples:








Another wear point in the hot side CAC duct that you are working to find an optimal position for is the hard cornered metal elbow that juts out of the side of the power steering pump, which the CAC tube sometimes ends up coming into contact with. Abrasion wear can be prevented by fitting an EPDM vacuum elbow or a distributor cap wire elbow over the hard cornered metal elbow jutting out of the power steering pump, as follows:







__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________

Notes on Installing the CAC tube itself:

A potential solution to what appears to be a gross misalignment in the second set of photos might be found in adjusting the rotational "clocking" of the CAC pipe as it is affixed to the intercooler.

The CAC tube in the second set of photos would benefit from being rotated counter clockwise, from the point of view of you standing at the front grill of the truck, facing the master cylinder.

When the CAC tube is rotated counter clockwise, the major right angle "elbow" in the middle of the CAC tube will clock upward toward the driver's side fender, which will force the top of the tube to tilt downward to better align with the 5-way Y pipe spider.

A third element to keep in mind is the insertion depth of the boots. Since the aftermarket boots you are using appear to have a convex bead formed in the internal lining of the boot that either engages with, or serves as a stop for, the concave bead rolled into the CAC tube lip edge, the insertion variability potential is limited to how deep or shallow the boot is inserted onto the castings. A 1/4 of an inch in or out can radiate to a big difference in the strain felt in the CAC tube when tightened up.

The best practice is to leave all four clamps loose when installing a CAC tube, to arrive at the best compromise of the least evils of both insertion depth of the boot as well as clock rotation of the tube. A half a degree of rotation at the boot interface can telegraph to quite a bit of movement at the major elbow a foot and a half away. With all four clamps somewhat loose, a little bit of massaging at each end eventually arrives at a fit that exhibits the least amount of residual counteracting strain when tightened, which I think is the issue you are trying to resolve.

I once had to resolve a similar fitment issue with an aftermarket mandrel bent hot side CAC pipe connecting to an aftermarket charge air cooler.




The case above is similar to yours, as it is on the driver's side, but it differs from yours, in so far as in the case with the middle CAC tube in the photo above, there really was a hard part design issue (over 20 years ago, long since resolved) with version 1 of aftermarket CAC pipe shown above, that was resolved with a re-design of how the part was run through the mandrel bender. Since you have an OEM stock charge air cooler. and an OEM stock CAC tube, there should not be any concern regarding the hard parts... only the technique of installation.

I did notice that you have the tap sleeve oriented correctly now on the compressor inlet, which reminded me that your compressor and turbo may not be stock. To any extent that the 5 way Y pipe has been slightly pulled backward (difficult to imagine, based on the shortness in length and the difficulty in fitting the intake Y over the intake manifolds) during the final fitup of what I think is a KC Turbo on your set up, the slight pull back could possibly contribute to a stack of tolerances working against you... but the contribution of this very remote and unlikely possibility is not likely a contributing factor to your concern. It is only mentioned to be thorough in the consideration of all details.

Ultimately, installing the CAC tube with all four clamps loose, to permit some variance in clocking and insertion depth of the boots, will provide you with the best chance of making the right compromise with what is typically a "just barely fits" type of install, as Tugly suggested in the first response.

 

I just replaced the hydroboost and installed a 2015 steering gear and steering shafts. I was test fitting all the new power steering lines and getting them bent up as best I can. I threw in the CAC tube for some test fitting.

 

@Y2KW57 , as usual, thank you for the extremely thorough and detailed reply. Yes my truck does have a KC Turbos on it. I hear what you are saying about slight variations - even the slightest could add up. It just seems a slightly additional bend in that CAC pipe would make all the difference in the world. My truck is a 99.5. Do you know if there was ever an updated part number for that pipe before Ford moved on to the 6.0? I usually do as you suggest when installing that pipe and loosen all 4 clamps. I don't like the strain on that pipe, but it has worked for 20 years on millions of trucks and I have never heard of any issues with boots tearing from this fitment issue.

@Tugly, I guess I will deal with the lack of feng shui.

Thank you all for the replies.

 

There were three CAC tube updates that I recall off the top of my head. One update wouldn't apply to you, as it was the update between 99 and 99.5. The second update was in tube material, which changed from aluminum to aluminized steel. The third update was the addition of insulation. The issue I'm having with my recollection is that I don't remember whether or not the updates occurred with any simultaneity, where two changes were included with the same update.

Nor do I think it much matters in your specific case, because unlike many 7.3L owners today, you are an original owner, so the CAC tube you have is either the one that was installed in the truck on the production floor, or is from a source that you know about, as you would have caused it to be changed, just as you are changing the steering gear to a 2015 unit.

I don't think you'll find a "newer" version of OEM CAC tube that fits better, but in answer to this specific question, I'm going only off of memory, as I did not double check this seat of the pants answer with any past parts data I've hung on to for reference.

As this topic is specific to the 1999-2003 7.3L Super Duty exclusively, this thread has been moved to the subforum for the 99-03 7.3L, where hopefully other members whose only interest is this engine may chime in with their tips, tricks, and experiences.

 

I actually flipped my driver side CAC tube end to end for the same reasons you describe. Now it comes out up high and drops down just past the alternator. Admittedly it does flirt with the power steering pulley a little closer then I would like, but so far so good no signs of contact.