Hey Guys, I just got my k24/18gs installed with my agency intercoolers and am getting a strong boost leak between the Y-pipe and intercoolers. The shop suggested new o-rings so we replaced them with OEM's, and they still blew off under 1 bar of boost (wastegate spring only.) The shop thought maybe thicker o-rings would help, and still blow off once they hit 1 bar of boost. What options do I have ? I hate to spend all this money on expensive intercoolers only for them to not work. They didn't blow off on my 1.1 bar'd k16's, but I'm guessing there is more pressure coming from the k24/18gs hence the blowoff. I'm attaching a picture to show what they look like once they blow off. The shop said they are physically HARD to pull apart once they are in, so the pressure must be doing it. They measured the IC's and said there is a 1.5mm difference between y pipe and intercooler so not sure what it's supposed to be.

Has anyone experienced anything like this, or have any idea on how to fix it? After turbos, clutch, injectors, and a hundred other things, I can't drop another $2k for a "different set" of intercoolers. any suggestions would be awesome, thanks in advance!

 

Are you sating the "O" ring is blowing off or that your hoses are coming apart? The "O" ring doesn't hold the boost hose on. If you are still running stock hoses, the clips are easily bent if the hoses are turned a little when removing or installing. You may have to separate the anchor point a little (with a screwdriver) or forget the stock crappy hoses altogether and get any after-market hoses - they have all addressed that particular weakness.

 

the Y pipe is blowing out of the intercooler. The clamp is holding the ypipe on but for some reason isn't holding it under boost. This shot is what it looks like once the intercooler has blown off the Y-pipe.

when you say "the clips are easily bent if the hoses are turned a little" are you referring to the Ypipe? Can the clips be compressed more to have more 'bite' ? If the intercooler is too big, how would it bite into the y-pipe to hold?

 

The wire clips that you see in your picture grab the inner hose through holes in the pipe. What you need to look at is the inside connector to see if the little tabs are sticking out enough for the clips to anchor them properly. It is very common for the tabs to be bent.

 

why would the tabs grab on both sides just fine with k16's but blow off on each side w/ the k24/18gs?

 

The tabs may have been damaged during the switch. It is very easy to push them in by accident. Also, fairly easy to pull them out again... until they break off completely.

 

He's saying the tabs or wire clips might have been bent when you did the r&r. Check that the tabs allow enough room for the wire clips to sit in them, and buy some new wire clips from the dealer so they are new/strong/not-bent

 

check the oem boost hose tabs... and make sure they are not bent in.... when clips go in they they have to slide into the grove... both sides... front and back....
then you do a pressure test from lower boost hoses to make sure its holding pressure... if not a thicker 4mm after market O ring make do the job
markski

 

I just installed some nice MaxSpeed boost hoses. I think this should illustrate nicely the problem with OEM hoses. The red ones are the new ones. Note the machined tab, then look at the OEM. The tabs get bent, you bend them back and they eventually just break off.

 

Do the maxspeed hoses seem like good quality? I've been considering an upgrade, but the newer oem hoses seem to be built better and can be had for about $70/ea.

 

Well, you can see from the close-up - I haven't seen anything better. The hoses are actually a little bigger around than OEM also. I just tested mine to .9 bar with no issues...

I'm happy with them.

 

those look nice.

update ; my shop got them to work after some wrestling with them. I'm assuming the new intercooling piping is more preventative maintenance then performance gain, correct?

 

Pretty much

 

Absolutely - if you never touch the hoses, they will never fail. What screws up the tabs is removal and re-installation. If you spin the hose while fiddling for fit or to get it loose, it will put pressure on the tabs and reduce the height they extend which then makes it necessary to pry them back out. It's a nasty cycle that leads to eventual failure. But... if you never touch them - no problem. The new hoses seem a little bigger, but unless you have bigger turbos or other increases in capacity, they won't make a difference in performance.

 

looks to me like there is a crack along the weld in your picture, check it out...