Chips, Boost, Intercoolers (long but informative)

["Lewis, Gary M" <Gary.Lewis@West.Boeing.com>]

Alot of folks have recently E-Mailed me regarding my QLCC chip upgrade.
One question that hasn't been asked yet is:

What about Intercooler failure due to high boost?

I guess all the lines that are affected by the increase in boost are
subject to greater pressure and thus greater failure rates.  However,
most of them (esp around the turbo) are STOUT.  The ones that aren't
stout are usually cheap.  

There is a noticable exception (and I'd like to thank The Sarge for
bringin' this to ma' attenshun...).  

The intercooler.  The endtanks can (and will) blow off if the IC is old
or stressed to begin with.  And this MF is big bucks to replace.  In my
investigations I found a number of solutions.  

1. Wire the endtanks to the core elements at the four corners.  This may
be the easiest solution.

2.  Hose clamps.  If you can't find one big enough, put two together.
This is what I did.  However, on my 86, there isn't any insulation
strips (like black foam) between the IC and the front grill.  I looked
at an 87 and I don't think you can get a hose clamp around the IC
without removing the front grill first.  YMMV on this one...

3. I guess later model IC's (don't know which years) had clips that
clipped the core to the endtanks.  I like this approach the best.  I
didn't do it, however, because I_had_to get the car on the highway asap
and didn't know the P/N's, years applicable, hell, I've to this day
never even seen 'um.  Still, if you can get them cheap, I'd think
they're the way to go.  Any BTDT's?

Good Luck and Happy Boosting,

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Gary M. Lewis
1986 5000   CS Turbo 5 Speed   195,000 miles 1.8 bar
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