Problem - Intercooler fluid loss - probably internally

[Brian Z.]

Not sure how but I seem to be losing intercooler fluid and I think it's being sucked into the engine because when I rev the engine up there is smoke and there is less fluid in the IC reservoir. The engine is also 'stumbling' when revving the motor. Anyone ever had this happen? Is it likely a leaky gasket under the intake?

:mj:

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Not sure how but I seem to be losing intercooler fluid and I think it's being sucked into the engine because when I rev the engine up there is smoke and there is less fluid in the IC reservoir. The engine is also 'stumbling' when revving the motor. Anyone ever had this happen? Is it likely a leaky gasket under the intake?

:mj:

It almost sounds like your intercooler could have a crack in it. POSSIBLY. Go to a local auto parts store and get a pressure tester and see if you can get the engine coolant and the intercooler systems to hold 10 psi. Then look to see if the fluid is draining out and let us know what you find.

 

[Brian Z.]

Thanks Van I should have given a few more details. The IC reservoir had no fluid in it after I had taken her out for one hour drive, which is the 1st time I've ever had an issue like that. So I added fluid and it seemed to run fine at idle. However, when I revved it we noticed smoke from the tailpipes and the engine was stumbling, probably from the water going through the motor, and we kept checking for any external leaks and found none. There appeared to be much less fluid in the reservoir after we ran again for awhile.

 

[zporta]

So there were no wet spots under the car from hose leaks or tank leaks?

 

[Brian Z.]

No leaks anywhere, I was hoping there was because that would be an easy fix but no such luck.

 

[zporta]

Are you going to pressure test today?

What coolant mixture do you run?

 

[Brian Z.]

I'm going to try to do it today if I can.

I don't recall off the top of my head the mixture but I know it had adequate coolant in it.

 

[zporta]

So i guess if it doesnt hold, take of the supercharger abd inspect the intercooler

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

So i guess if it doesnt hold, take of the supercharger abd inspect the intercooler

Yes. Fill and pressure test first. Hopefully you'll see something come out somewhere. If not you need to pull the supercharger and the manifold to remove the intercooler and inspect.

 

[gr8snkbite]

Any presence of water on the dipstick...

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Van, it's definitely his intercooler leaking under the supercharger. The white smoke is created when water and glycol are burnt in the combustion chamber. He needs to go ahead and remove the supercharger and lower manifold. I bet he will find a crack in it. This may have been caused by not enough anti-freeze in the intercooler system before storing the car this winter. He does live in Indiana.

This has happened to another member here, click the link below.

Intercooler cracked

The second paragraph in the first post is a dead giveaway of what happened.

went to start my car yesterday, ran ok for a few seconds then sputtered and smoked.. so i shut it off, thinking there might be water in my gas from it sitting for about a month without being run. put some heet water remover in the gas today, tried it again... wouldnt start at all... looked under the car and there was water/water wetter/oil dripping out of my exhaust clamps on the passenger side

 

[Brian Z.]

Van, it's definitely his intercooler leaking under the supercharger. The white smoke is created when water and glycol are burnt in the combustion chamber. He needs to go ahead and remove the supercharger and lower manifold. I bet he will find a crack in it. This may have been caused by not enough anti-freeze in the intercooler system before storing the car this winter. He does live in Indiana.

This has happened to another member here, click the link below.

Intercooler cracked

The second paragraph in the first post is a dead giveaway of what happened.

Thanks for that link. I'd tried to do a search before starting this thread but didn't find anything.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

Van, it's definitely his intercooler leaking under the supercharger. The white smoke is created when water and glycol are burnt in the combustion chamber. He needs to go ahead and remove the supercharger and lower manifold. I bet he will find a crack in it. This may have been caused by not enough anti-freeze in the intercooler system before storing the car this winter. He does live in Indiana.

This has happened to another member here, click the link below.

Intercooler cracked

The second paragraph in the first post is a dead giveaway of what happened.

I know but I like to approach things systemically before moving on to the next step. Initial diagnosis is a cracked intercooler but a pressure test should still be performed. No Plungers!

 

[UnleashedBeast]

I know but I like to approach things systemically before moving on to the next step. Initial diagnosis is a cracked intercooler but a pressure test should still be performed.

The only other possibility would be a bad head gasket, but then he would be losing coolant from the radiator, and not the intercooler reservoir.

No Plungers!

but rumor has it, you love the plunger. :dw:

:burn:

 

[Yellow Horse]

I know but I like to approach things systemically before moving on to the next step. Initial diagnosis is a cracked intercooler but a pressure test should still be performed. No Plungers!

The lower intake on the GT500 is a lot tougher to pull than a 2003.

There is a water hose on the back of the lower intake that has zero slack and you can barely touch it. Just a note in case he pulls his lower intake and sits there and cusses for 30 minutes like I did trying to figure why it will not come off.

 

[Brian Z.]

The lower intake on the GT500 is a lot tougher to pull than a 2003.

There is a water hose on the back of the lower intake that has zero slack and you can barely touch it. Just a note in case he pulls his lower intake and sits there and cusses for 30 minutes like I did trying to figure why it will not come off.

Yes I found that hose and yes I'm cussing. How is it removed, I'm stumped.

 

[zporta]

So I'm guessing you didn't hold pressure?

 

[Brian Z.]

There's water in the engine so it must be a crack in the intercooler.

Now if I could just get that hose off the back/bottom of the lower intake I'd be able to make some progress. The egr tube prevents me from lifting the intake up enough to get the needle nose pliers on the clamp on the hose. There's gotta be an easier way that I'm just not seeing. Of course I'm not real patient with this stuff either so that could be part of the problem.

 

[ZOMBEAST]

There's water in the engine so it must be a crack in the intercooler.

Now if I could just get that hose off the back/bottom of the lower intake I'd be able to make some progress. The egr tube prevents me from lifting the intake up enough to get the needle nose pliers on the clamp on the hose. There's gotta be an easier way that I'm just not seeing. Of course I'm not real patient with this stuff either so that could be part of the problem.

You might have to bite the bullet and get that tube out of the way. Removing battery and tray will help with that.

 

[Brian Z.]

You might have to bite the bullet and get that tube out of the way. Removing battery and tray will help with that.

I was hoping to avoid that but you're probably right.