I finally did my foil delete last weekend when I installed the HPX and re-routed my CCV. All you guys who have talked about it being such a PITA... your're not kidding!!

Anyway, since the last rounds of mods lat weekend, my son and I had noticed what he called a "grinding' sound from the driver's side of the engine compartment. To me, it sounded more like a faily high frequency vibration, but I could not feel it when I either rode in the passenger side or drove the truck myself. Hearing it again when I was pulling into the driveway from my road trip yesterday, I parked and popped the hood, determiend to find the source.

FOUND IT!! When I re-installed the intercooler pipe after cleaning it and the boots, the piped evidently slipped a little during the installation and was slightly bumping against a hard fitting beneath the A/C compressor body (right where the little indention is so that that particular hard fitting can be kept from contacting the IC pipe. Well, the IC pipe was resting against it firmly enough to where it only vibrated with that :chattering" sound on occasions... not all the time.

FIX was simple... loosened the clamps and swung the pipe back out of the way. As far as I can tell, there is no hole/crack in the pipe, but I'll have to keep a close eye on it to make sure. I know that I got between 19-20 mpg on my little road trip yesterday, so if there is any damage, it is absolutely minimal. When i had to make an aggressive run to the ER last night with my son, I could hear the whistle from the turbo more than ever, which means that the whistle had been being dampened by the pipe resting on that hard fitting between the "delete" and my "fix".

WARNING! When you do the foil delete, pay close attention to the positioning of the IC pipe to avoid this same error.

 

You're lucky, those tubes are very thin. If you haven't noticed already there is a wire harness going over the passenger side tube near the firewall. The harness is covered with the typical ford plastic shielding and it rubs the tube to the point that it will eventually rub right through it. I covered mine with a piece of hose and it has been fine, but I could definately see the wear in the tube where it had been sitting. What was the trip to the emergency room? Hope everything is OK!

 

Rick... thanks for the heads up on the passenger side tube. I'll check that this afternoon as well.

As for the ER trip... it turned out to be nothing serious at all, but we had to make sure. Nathaniel was fine last night when we came home... and this morning was just very tired from a long night. Thanks for asking.

 

I've zip tied several hoses and wires up to keep them from rubbing. Us early 99 guys never had foil so we have had to deal with the issue from day 1. The aluminum IC tubes are very soft and even a small hose can easily rub through. I have about 4 or 5 spots where it has tried to rub through over the years.

 

Yeah I know what you're talkin about- my early 99 has a few good ''ribbed" spots on the passenger side tube where the loom started rubbing through. I was thinking of taking them out, doing the foil delete on the driver side and painting them gloss black- that way I can fill in the rub marks with JB weld and you won't see the repair.

 

I keep debating over polishing my tubes or painting them like you're talking about, Danny. I like both ideas. I guess I'm going to let them simmer for a while until one of the two urges takes over and I tear in and just do it.

 

Oh believe me, I'd love to polish them, but I got some nice deep rub marks in them. I dunno- maybe once I take them out, I might just go ahead and polish them anyways....

 

How about after a nice polishing, spraying them with some of that clear engine paint?? Don't know if it would be any better or not, but I've been eyeing that stuff for a different project.

 

I had mine powder coated to make it look anodized blue. It's not a pro job by any means, but it looks better than nothing. I have a friend who bought a cheapie powder coating kit from Eastwood and it turned out pretty well considering how "raw" those pipes are.

 

0000 steel wool and some stuff called Semi-Chrome polish will make them shine. You can get the polish at motorcycle shops. The more you rub the shinier they will get.

 

The CAC tubes are not aluminum, there made out of steel. A good magnet will prove this.

 

I've never seen a steel one. Every 99-03 truck I've seen has Aluminum tubes. Maybe you're thinking of the up-pipes?

 

ACTUALLY, I just checked- the cold pipe IS aluminum, but the hot pipe is steel. Who woulda thunk it LOL

 

Man, don't make me go out in this rain with a magnet. They both appeared to be of the same material to me.

 

So far as stripping the foil goes, for anyone still thinking about doing it. I realize I had it a little easier, owning a cabinet shop with chemicals and a spray booth. But lacquer thinner works wonders. I used about 2 gallons. First I put some in a squirt bottle and kept squirting it under the foil while I pulled it off. Then I soaked a couple of rags with the thinner and wrapped them around the pipe and let them soak for about 15 min. Then I wiped off as much as I could and did it one more time. That took most of it off. A scotch brite pad with more thinner finished the cleanup. Without the soaking time, it took me about 20 minutes of actual work. Then I painted them. But the paint seemed to scratch easily, so I stripped them again and sent them to get powder coated. So far so good with that.