I was chasing a boost leak for a while. One afternoon I was at Nick's (weekendwarriorfsw32) place with Clay from Riffraff Diesel. We hooked up a boost leak detector that Nick had made. It was pretty evident that the leak was coming from around the boots at the plenums. Clay told me that he had a solution on the way. Billet Plenum Inserts Riffraff Diesel: Plenum Inserts


You may have noticed that while most of your intake is made of pretty stout metals, the plenums themselves are made of really thin tin. they bend and warp pretty easy. You can only clamp down so tight before you start to do damage. if you are running any sort of upgrades you obviously want a tight seal to hold the elevated boost levels. The Riffraff inserts are made from billet aluminum and make a nice strong point to clamp to. Because I drove him nuts Clay sent me an early set. I believe he will have these anodized before its all said and done.

First step is to remove the spider:


Notice the beat up edges of the plenums:



Here is one of the inserts:


Begin by starting the insert in the plenum:


Use a block of wood and a hammer to gently tap it into place:


Halfway there:


There is a lip on the insert that should be flush with the edge of the plenum when you are finished:


Honestly, they look beautiful:


Once you have both inserts in all the way, you should hit both with a shop vac to pick up any shavings that may have fallen into the intake. Then clamp your boots down to your heart's content.

I know there are other companies that have made billet plenums but they are pricey and if you have never removed stock plenums, don't bother. This is an affordable way to solve a common issue. Big thanks to Riffraff Diesel for thinking outside the box and giving us affordable ways to take care of our trucks.

 

Great write up Peter, and a great product from Clay, these are definitely on my to-do list.

 

Great writeup and pics Peter, something to think about, most people just check to see if their tight not knowing their plenums are boogered up..reps sent.

 

Those are nice pieces!

Gotta add them to my ever growing wish list.

.....*sigh*.....

Stewart

 

Well done! I really like the simplicity of the solution. Engineering at it's best. Enough to fix the problem adequately, but not overdone.

 

nice write up and a very nice idea for a quick fix...but if there a 1/4" aluminum,,,that means you have a 2 1/2" inlet for air flow..thats not much more air then the early 99.....how are the EGT's????

 

I believe he will have these anodized before its all said and done.

I think anodizing would be a waste. They are not visible when installed and a hard finish is not really needed. It would only make them look pretty in the package and add to the cost.

That said, I'm adding them to my wish list.

 

IIRC, they are more like 1/8'' thick. I saw a set that hadn't been installed at our GTG on Oct at Pete's in CT. Jim (rat49f6) had a set from Clay with some new oem plenums.

 

yeah 1/8" is more like it
i need to find myself so boots to go from e99 spider to the 99.5 plenums so i can get a lil more air flowing from my new e99 van turbo

 

No luck yet, Jim?

 

Honestly, its no where near as restrictive as the E99 plenums. As far as EGTs, if anything they are better now that I'm not leaking boost.

 

i forgot to measure cause im absent minded and had my eye on the prize.

 

Hopefully Clay will make that an option, to keep the cost down.

Stewart

 

Good write up. Reps sent.

 

Peter,

Excellent write-up & pics. You beat me to it. Mine are in transit.

Reps to you.

Doubt there will be any increase in EGTs at all.

I am using t-bolt clamps rather then worm-drive hose clamps. What are you using?