Just got back a couple of days ago from a long road trip and had a question to ask all of y'all about my CTD.

I hauled a 16' flatbed with a car on it from Boulder, CO to San Francisco, CA with no issues. Unloaded the trailer, dead headed it to San Diego, CA. Put 1500 miles on the truck with no trailer, then dead headed to Las Vegas, NV where we loaded another car on it and drove back to Boulder, CO. All this time- no issues.

No sooner i had gotten about an hour outside of Las Vegas that the truck started running warm. It has only seen the "190 degree" mark once before, and considering the outside temps were 40 degrees or so, this was odd to me. EGT's were running normal. I hit a grade (OD was off, in 3rd gear, around 2500 rpm's around 1000-1100 EGT's). Wasn't pushing too hard. Truck hit the 190 mark, and immediately did it's DaimlerChrysler trademark of switching the HVAC to "Defroster" and "Heat max" to help it cool down. About 10 seconds after this, i heard a loud "wooshing" noise (like the turbo was sucking as much air as possible), EGT's skyrocketed, boost dropped to no more then 5psi and i had a massive loss of power. Pulled over right away, knew something was wrong. Let the truck idle for 4-5 minutes to cool it way off, then turned it off and popped the hood.

The "wooshing" i heard was the rubber flex piece that's on the bottom of the Turbo line (off the intercooler i believe) had popped off from it's clamp, and the turbo was no longer sucking in cool air. Got a wrench, undid the clamp, slid the hose back on, cranked it down real good and started it up- behaved totally normally. Fueled up twice, went up and down some grades, nothing too massive, figured it was a one time deal. Hit a grade on the west end of Utah, and the EXACT same thing happen.

So while i was fixing it, a tow truck driver pulled over to see if i was alright. Took one look and said "yeap, my tow truck does that. Turbo's out. Put a hose clamp on it and it should only blow that line off once a year instead of once a tank of fuel". I took this with a grain of salt, as he didn't seem to sure of what he was talking about.

ANYWAY- What the HELL happened, and how can i fix this? The remaining part of the drive i took it extremely careful (as there's a half dozen passes inbetween where i was and where i was going). I noticed i seemed to be running a bit higher temps then normal, but i'm not sure if that was my paranoia talking. *bit higher* means 1/64" closer to the hot side on the stock gauge then normal. When it would creep up and get hot, i would slow down and let it cool off. I had to pull over twice on Vail Pass to let it cool off before i could continue as i was too paranoid about blowing the line again, and reconnecting it in a blizzard in 5 degree weather in a t-shirt didn't seem like a lot of fun to me.

Thanks for the help!!!
Mack

 

Mine blew off once north of Atl. pulling 24000lbs. of trees. Boost was about 32 to 35 and heard the poof lost power pulled over reconnected the boot and it hasn't happened since.

 

My roommates truck blew the intercooler boot off. Reconnected it and haven't had a problem since. I'd recommend changing the thermostat and seeing if that helps with the temps. Be sure to get the cummins thermostat from your dealer. It's well worth the money.

 

There's a 165 degree T-stat in there i think, it seems to run colder then most CTD's. Glad to know i'm not the only one who's had this happen! Does anyone know why this happens?

 

The smart answer would be air pressure.
But incorrect installation of the boot, clamp on boot, boot orientation etc.
Also the clamp can be relaxed and need tightened up.
Oil getting the boot or clamp can contribute.
Boost for long periods or "getting on it" many times can contribute.

Usually when the intercooler boost is installed correctly on a dry non slick surface it will hold indefinitely with the proper clamp torque.

 

I read a message in here awhile back saying something about using a glue or something to keep the boot from sliding off again... I think it was RTV silcon or epoxy?? Can't remember... Just a dumb idea though...

 

Well it happens quite often. Clamps not being torqued tight enough is usually the fault. But once they come off, its best to remove the boot clean good, inside and out. And clean metal tube surfaces. If boot appears old or mushy replace boot. Mine came off 2 times , finally I removed and cleaned and tightened tight,tight. Figgered I couldnt get too tight , if clamp broke or I ruined boot I'd just buy new. Hasnt come off since. BUT, on 98.5 and up commputerized trucks if boot comes off and you loose boost presure the commputer cuts back fuel feed in relation to air and thats where you loose power. I think you were a little paronoid about the motor heating up. When working , like pulling a grade its normal for temp to rise, at about 190 degrees the fan should come on and temp needle should drop back.

 

Replaced mine with aftermarket. Problem solved. Way stronger boot. I think someone used hairspray not glue to get it to stay on.

 

I dont think I'd use a glue. You'd have a problem ever getting the surfaces cleaned off again if you chose to replace boot. Once it blows off the surfaces get dirty, a good cleaning is whats needed.

 

Hairspray on the surfaces and slip it together fast is the trick. The cheaper the hairspray the better.
It's also good to use a torque wrench at least once to get a feel for how tight the clamps need to be. Most folks don't torque as tight as they need be by feel alone, seems like you're going to strip out the clamp.

 

When I first got my truck, I know it seemed like I did not have much boost, and there was a whistling sounds from under the hood when the turbo was spooled. I looked, and it was the intercooler boot, right below the turbo. It was split down the middle of it. I called the dealer and they said 300 somthin bucks! Woah, heck no. So I got some RTV sealant stuff and did some engineering on it , and its held since... I get 30+lbs when I mash it

 

Just to clarify-
This is the part i'm talking about. Sounds like everyone is on the same page, and this is a common (but not a serious) problem. I guess i'll just clean it all off an not worry about it!!!

Intercooler Line

While i was taking that picture, i noticed this

Turbo 1
That bolt is tight, but is the other half of that ring supposed to be connected? There's tons of carbon/exhaust coming from it as shown in this picture. (Sorry it's out of focus). Is this right, or do i have other issues to worry about?

 

sounds like you might have some issues... there isn't any reason for that boot to pop off unless you've got a moderate/severe misalignment issue and or really high boost levels...

OR, if there's oil/residue on there that's allowing it to slip off... there's no reason for any oil to be in there whatsoever.

that "ring" is a two piece deal and there are 4 bolts that hold the center section to the turbine housing... if some are missing, it could be causing a misalignment issue, but I would imagine that the turbine wheel would hit the housing before that happened...

I'm thinkin' you may have a center section that's giving up the ghost and allowing oil into the compressor (BAD!!! on a diesel, this is a main ingredient that will lead to a runaway!)

Forrest