3rd gen 3sgte intake nightmare, Blowing couplings, do not have blow off valve and looking Options

[yarik83]

Hey ya guys. Its been almost 2 months since I picked up my celi from xat racing. They conveniently never put a blow off valve and I have had nothing but headaches since. Car runs like a beast and both my boost gauge and engine management system seem to do wonders with ocasional random things like my wipers going off without a reason for goot 5 minutes at a time with no means to stop it. Neverless I have gone through about 18 cilicone couplings so far, I even went to a muffler shop to completely redo my air intake so that it goes off straight from intake rather than straight and then sideways. A coupling lasts me about a week or less but it bursts pretty much daily. I know I need a blow off valve but I am so confused about it its not even funny. There are like cajillion blow off valves and most guys from here seem to have hks ones. Then there are universals, greddy and other fancy companies. Price ranges from 25-400. Obviously I do not want to overpay and or underpay and then regret it. I want to install a valve preferably on my own without going to yet another welding shop. I have seen some pipe things with flanges already attached but since I have 2 pipes one being on the car and one no longer used I am slightly hesitant to go that route because i would have to cut my intake pipe again. Yet the need for a solution is there and i cant be running to pep boys and home depot every other day.

I am looking for a blow off valve that works and not neccesarily name branded. I want it to perform like a trooper so that I dont have to worry about anything coming off when I am on a highway. I know that most of you here have hks valves and from photos they all look welded on. What would u recommend in my case? I have about 2 weeks time of not having to worry about it since my car is going into bodyshop for a major bodykit refitment and prep work so have this time to buy something and put it on as soon as my car is back.

Thanks for help.

[Hanyo]

if you want to get a trouble free blow off valve, a expencive main brand one that is welding on is they solution.

If you get a cheap one, it might leak pressure under high boost situation or worse stay open all the time.

are you using t-bolt clams for the silicone couplers on all your piping?

[laff09]

Wait, a shop forgot to put on a blow off valve? uh. oh.

Wipers maybe a bad ground somewhere or poor wire splice?

[lagos]

Looking at your pics, your couplers are too short, and you are using the wrong clamps. Get yourself some proper couplers and T-Bolt clamps and youll have have a pipe blow off again.

Couplers...
http://www.hightempsilicone.com/
Tbolt Clamps...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/20-T-bolt-c...sspagenameZWDVW

As for BOV's, You cant go wrong with an hks or greddy.

[yarik83]

Couplings couplings couplings.

To this day I have tried all of the following combinations. regular couplings sold in stores, 3 inch to 2.5 inch couplings (spectre) couplings used in diesel engines in trucks, pretty much every rubber and cilicone coupling offered at home depot for various uses. Ductape, reinforced couplings with metal coils and yada yada. As of clamps I do not have 5 bolt clamps but I would imagine that main source of my problems comes from the fact that I do not have a blow off valve.

I am looking at hks BOV and every single picture comes with the bottom of the valve at a place where it would meet the pipe via flange. Alas they are not drilled or at least do not look drilled on photos, and only flanged pipe connector thingies are sold and listed separately. Is that because a tipycal BOV comes with nothing but the valve and the hose? or will I be blessed with a flange to weld on/to for an average price of 260 green ones? it almost seems to me that flange and hks bov are sold separately intentionally so one would spend more money. Please correct me if im wrong.

[playr158]

your problem won't be fixed by a plow off valve....3rd gens have a factory dump valve....

HKS are for the most part weld on flanges as well.

your couplers need to be LONGER and used with T-bolt clamps..as well as all your IC pipes need to be beaded.

[yarik83]

ehh where abouts is location of factory dump valve. I am looking at my intake and there is no other outlet and I do not recall seeing anything similar to it anywhere around intercooler/turbo piping.

I have tried to use as much as 4 clamps at a time holding things together and they are not powerful enough. I would like to think that 4 crappy clamps would make 2 decent clamps.

I think I should have been a little more clear with my question

http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=800
is area were hks BOV connects to rest of intercooler piping.
http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=3261
is a tipycal BOV. see how on the bottom there flange is flat.
does the BOV HKS package/box come with everything neccesary to weld whatever to whatever so that i could take it to a weld shop and let them do their thing. Or does the box come with nothing but valve and then i would have to buy a recirculation hose separately and a flange separately? that was basically my question. I done some browsing on other brands and they have what looks like all of the above in a neat little package.

[Batman722]

your problem won't be fixed by a blow off valve....3rd gens have a factory dump valve....

HKS are for the most part welded on flanges as well.

your couplers need to be LONGER and used with T-bolt clamps..as well as all your IC pipes need to be beaded.

the stock dump valve is located off the w2a intercooler which he does not have.

yarik, do what everyone is telling you to do first.

[yarik83]

Just came back from Home Depot. I got a temporary 2 inch to 2 inch about 1/4 inch thing.. err maybe a tad thicker plumbing rubber coupling. I also got 2 t bold clamps on my way back from work since every shop been telling me to get them for weeks. I am back to square one though. My thing will hold if i drive under 55 with slow acceleration but anything out of the ordinary and i expect it to pop that is why I have been eyeballing blow off valves

[playr158]

doh i completely forgot he had FMIC...woops

ya you'll need a Dump valve/recirc valve....don't get a BOV

[yarik83]

aaaaa just aaaa

and I was about to spend all this money on BOV. Sigh time to research dump valves et cetera

[phattyduck]

doh i completely forgot he had FMIC...woops

ya you'll need a Dump valve/recirc valve....don't get a BOV

He has a third gen motor. He can get whatever BOV / dump valve / bypass valve he wants.



-Charlie

[lagos]

To this day I have tried all of the following combinations. regular couplings sold in stores, 3 inch to 2.5 inch couplings (spectre) couplings used in diesel engines in trucks, pretty much every rubber and cilicone coupling offered at home depot for various uses. Ductape, reinforced couplings with metal coils and yada yada.

The couplers that you are buying locally are not made for boost. They are made to connect air intakes on an NA motor. You need to buy some 4 ply, high temp couplers. Not some plumbing stuff from home depot or something from the ricer section at pepboys.

I have tried to use as much as 4 clamps at a time holding things together and they are not powerful enough. I would like to think that 4 crappy clamps would make 2 decent clamps.

Not even close. Get t-bolts.

Ive had my intercooler setup for a long time now, and ive never had my piping blow off with proper 4ply couplers and tbolts.... and yes, Ive ran my car without a bov before.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jan 24, 2008 - 2:37 AM

[jason]

how much boost are you running? and what are you driving habits that you are going through this many couplers?

until you get some way to vent the pressure, i would suggest easing off the throttle more, and also turning the boost down if possible to avoid such great pressures, if you dont have a bc then try not to boost as much and instead of just letting off the gas, ease off so the boost that has built up is used to some degree

[yarik83]

at the moment my boost is regulated by boost gauge and maxes out at 12. i have been told that car could run at higher boost but needed a few upgrades to engine. My driving patterns are highway speeds and ocasional showing off.

Mind that to this day never once my intake piping came off when I was pushing my car. It randomly comes off in traffic when I let go off gas. My clamps although sucky almost never were the cause of pipes coming apart. My couplings would tipycally explode and open up like a flower.

I just wanted to thank everyone here for their input. I am still learning about car intricacies and well never hurts to ask questions before commiting to buy something expensive. My biggest challenge now is purchasing the right one.

There are so many to choose from. Even when I did narrow my search to hks brand none of the descriptions are cleare enough to say if a box comes with all neccesary hardware for installation. One option I have found is that some vendors sell pipes with flanges already whelded on that supposedly fit hks type valves but yet again I was not able to find both in same package so my search continues on ebay, online stores and local race shops

[lagos]

The hks (or any bov) comes with everything you need except for a flange. You need to buy an aluminum flange (if your piping is aluminum) and have someone weld it on.

Your also going to need to buy or borrow a set of snap ring pliers to install the hks.