Help! Major power loss after install of R&D Intercooler Kit

[ercBOOSTED]

My dealer installed the R&D intercooler kit before I went away. Took it to Deep Creek Lake and hit the throttle only to see that the low end power was not what it should be and top end and mid range were suffering as well. Rpm's topped out at 7600 and most of the time they were at 7520. I normally run 7820-7900. Top speed with full tank was 63.7 and empty tank was at 65.6. I normally run just shy of 70. Boost guage was only showing 9 when it normally shows 11. Also, the intercooler was still pretty warm to the touch. Any ideas on what it could be? I am going to pull it apart and give R&D a call. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know. Also, about 2 weeks ago I had my intercooler exit water line pop off and I had 5 inches of water, but there didn't seem to be any problems the next few times out. My rpm's did drop to the mid to upper 7700's, but the temp outside was 95 and it was humid as hell. This was about the normal drop that I would see in similar conditions last year. Hopefully somebody has some ideas.

[Skips313]

If you have a loss in boost then they did not reinstall your IC proprerly. Check at clamps and hoses. You need to find that lost boost and most likely they didnt tighten a hose clamp vary well.

[Ultra250xryder]

Yep when I did all my mods and then took it out for the first time and had MAJOR MAJOR power loss and I was soooooo pissed and thought I F*$%ed somthing major up and got it home to find out all it was was one hose clamp that connects the hose between the blower and the IC...I then tightned that clamp up and all was gooooood

Check it out and let us know

[ercBOOSTED]

Got my power back! I took everything apart to make sure that it was hooked up right. Earthshaker gave me a call and gave me some good advice. Thanks for that man! I checked the pump to make sure the little holes were not clogged, and they were not clogged. I pulled the intercooler to make sure that there wasn't any water inside, and there was not. I checked the routing of the hoses and I had Glen from R&D on the line while I was checking them out. Everything was routed fine. I pulled all the hoses to make sure that they were not clogged, and they were not. Before, I did not see any water coming from the relief valve that was part of the kit. Now, water is coming out nicely at WOT. I rearranged the positioning of some of the new hoses so that they could have an unobstructed flow. I was not a fan of the way that my mechanic did it. After putting everything back together, I was not too confident that anything would change cause everything appeared to be hooked up the same way. The two things that I narrowed it down to are: 1. My mechanic may have slightly pinched the hose that runs to the top of the intercooler, thus restricting water flow. When I was reinstalling the intercooler, I noticed that you have to physically move that hose out of the way of the intercooler or you will pinch it. I noticed that and made sure that it was completely unobstructed. 2. The big air hose on the side of the intercooler may have been leaking slightly. It appeared to be clamped down good, but it wasn't on as far as I normally have it. I only rode it for a few little while cause I left my trailer in the water at the launch, but when I hit it hard it took off with all the power that it had before. Rpm's were back up to around 7850. Boost was back up to 11 on the guage. I'm just glad that it is working again. Too bad it wasn't working while I was on vacation.

[blownhotrodder]

Did he do the install for a reasonable price? Ive got that kit but am alittle hesitant to drill the holes. Whats a good epoxy to use around the holes that are drilled in the hull?

[ercBOOSTED]

I got charged for 3.5 hours. Total was a tad over $300. R&D told them how long it should take and they told them 3-4 hours, so they went with 3.5. Actual time that it took them was around 10 hours. The install does not seem hard, but I was in the same boat as you. I was a little scared to drill the holes myself, so I put that job in the hands of somebody who was supposed to have more knowledge than me. All in all, it looks like he did a good job drilling the holes.

[earthshaker]

Did he do the install for a reasonable price? Ive got that kit but am alittle hesitant to drill the holes. Whats a good epoxy to use around the holes that are drilled in the hull?

I would consider looking into the mod that involves "y" fittings before breaking out the drill. We need to get technical on that with temp drops for both methods, and obviously will vary across the world due to different water and air temps.

Epoxy is kinda permanant per se', and can be hard/inflexible (unless you use Marine Tex "flex" or similar) Check out 3M Fast Cure 4200 marine adhesive/sealant - good chit mon'

[blownhotrodder]

Thanks, I thought Skip used epoxy on his build up. Have to go back and read it again.

[earthshaker]

He probably did....I don't think it's appropriate, but that's just my opinion as it is a through hull fitting below waterline.

One thing i should add on using the 3M.....do not substitute suggested preparation cleaners that are indicated in the directions....I learned the hard way once.

[blownhotrodder]

Thanks.