Jimmy Lightning

. . . and then it wasn't.

It's essentially winter in Ohio and I thought my 93 was tucked away in the garage for the season (it is supposed to snow 3-5 inches tonight). Since the turbo install, I have been running NGK TR5 plugs. Since there was no Ohio State football on this afternoon, I decided I would spend the time by installing some NGK TR6 plugs. Well, after I got them in, I looked outside and it hadn't started to snow yet, the roads were dry, and there was still about a half-hour of daylight left. So then, I had to take it out for a little post-plug installation test drive.

It was running great, but it was starting to get dark, so I decided to turn around and head for home. After I turned it around, I gave it enough throttle to burn the tires through first and as I was burning the tires through second, all of a sudden . . . BANG! It immediately lost power, but didn't seize up. At first, I thought that I could limp it home, but only made it about a quarter-mile before it died. I popped the hood to take a look, but it was kind of dark out and I didn't have a flashlight. I tried to start it and it kind of acted like it wanted to start, but it wouldn't. The fuel pressure was good before the battery died.

As I was waiting for the tow-truck, I was thinking to myself that the engine could be rebuilt better than ever (forged internals, new cam, roller rockers, aluminum heads, etc.). We got it into the garage and I started charging the battery. I then got out the "troublelight" and started to look around. Almost immediately, I noticed that the silicone coupler between the turbo discharge tube and the intercooler influent was disconnected - definitely a good sign! I hooked it back up, started it back up, and all is well!

For as loud as that "bang" was, I think the coupler was on pretty tight. Has anybody else blown an intercooler line off like this before? There must have been some decent back- pressure built up. Do you suppose that this post belongs in the "BOV hell..." thread? Any other thoughts? I was not at WOT when it happened, but I might have been feathering the throttle to keep the tires spinning.

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1993 #4572, MP T-70 Turbo, Pickrel Turbo Exhaust, PSD Intercooler, PSP MAF kit w/SCT Chip & BA 2400, 42# Injectors, Dual Pump Trick, 255 Inline, LFP Traction Bars, B&M Transpak w/deep pan, FMS Girdle, LaSota Racing Tuned, 400 RWHP/460 RWTQ, Zaino Shine, TBD

Blue Oval Forever

Glad i read the whole post first i was just about to tell you check all the silicone coupler's. I have seen it happen on a friends truck a couple times. Well glad it was'nt anything serious.

Bobby

airtroop01

Yikes... yeah the best possible thing that could have happened happened to you! Wow... escaped the grim reaper.

EZ SPEED

Whew....you scared me for a minute.

Glad it was just a coupler.

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SOLD - 2003 Lightning # 1180
SOLD - 1993 Lightning # 5173

2005 Pontiac GTO
2004 Mustang Mach1
2004 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 CrewCab Diesel

skidmarkracing

I have had them blow off, and I know exactly what you mean. They are loud. Since going to 20psi I have had to put on Tbolt clamps instead of the regular hose clamps

Jimmy Lightning

I really thought something expensive had broken, but I didn't feel all that queezy about it. I was more concerned about getting it back into the garage before it started to snow.

My Lightning is just a toy and the turbo makes it so much fun to play with. I don't drive it very often, but when I do, staying out of the boost is not an option - I'm pretty sure that it is just a matter of time that something major will go south.

Jimmy Lightning

Do you have a brand and picture of the Tbolt clamps that you are using?

Icepick

Hey Jim,

The clamps you have are consistant torque and are better than the T- bolt type clamps... All the washers you see on them act like a spring allowing them to maintain a more consistant grip through the expanding and contracting that goes on... You probably just need to tighten the clamps a little more than it was on the connection that came loose and it should be fine... If it happens again you can use two clamps on the side of the connection that came loose...

Since you have stock motor mounts your motor moves a lot when jump on and off the throttle and this doesent help the situation... Also make sure your drivers side motor mount is still in one piece... it is very common for them to come apart...

TTYL,
Dave

Jimmy Lightning

Hey Dave,

OK, I'll check the motor mounts. Where can I get a couple more of those clamps? This thing is a blast to drive; too bad it's winter!

Jim

gasguzzler

You can also run link bars in many applications to hold the tubes together to avoid that situation.

mistergadget

FMOS Racing

I had that happen several times back in the supercharger days. First time it happened, I'd just put a new set of heads on and was out testing when it happened. I had no tools with me, was wearing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt with holes in it, and no shoes. I was thinking, "Man, that's a long walk home barefoot."

I was pretty relieved when I popped the hood and saw the separated tubes!

Super Glide

LOL, Ya see------- you do that on a SD truck and you just drive on home, another positive attribute for Speed Density Blown Club!!, neaner-neaner

Icepick

Jim,

You can buy the clamps from here http://intakehoses.com

you need a CT-350 for a 3" ID hose...

TTYL,
Dave