Turbo-Bus Turbo'ing Again

Quick post today. I've had recurring issues with the charged-air plumbing. I think I now have them solved. Before I get into it, for my fellow Americans: Hapy Independence Day. May we all live a little less dependent upon corporates and money and a little more dependent upon each other this year.

Ka-Bang
On the test-drive I took following the install of the radiator and starter (see radiator 1 and 2 and starter here), the charged air plumbing separated again. This time, it was whiel stomping on the accelerator up a hill so when it separated, it made a huge bang. I thought I'd back-fired it was so loud. Backfiring a turbo'd diesel? Nah.. I don't think so. So, I gingerly finished the journey and popped the rear flap behind the license plate. Yep, that cursed charged air pipe had worked itself apart again. After solving the post-turbo / pre-intercooler plumbing a couple of years ago, the pipe running along the rear frame from the intercooler to the elbow up to the intake has become the weak-point. It has been coming apart with increasing frequency, exposing the engine to unfiltered air while removing the turbo from the power. The first one is engine life-threatening, the other just annoying. It needs to be solved.

Simple Solve
In a considerably marked contrast from pretty much everything else I do on this bus, the solution here was actually quite simple. The elbow had been zip-tied to the rear engine mount so it would not work itself free from the intake tubing on top of the engine. I had done that when I solved the turbo-to-intercooler separations a few years ago. I had thought that suspending the intercooler with wire would continue to be sufficient to hold the rest of it together. Yeah.. that was wrong. The weight of the intercooler presented a constant tug on the plumbing. So, to solve, I isolated the intercooler from the plumbing by better securing the plumbing. "How's that," you ask. The pipe running from the intercooler towards the intake runs right along the rear engine support bar that Hal fab'd up 10 years ago. Once I got all the rubber and aluminum parts back together, and hose-clamped snug, I simply zip-tied the charged air pipe, and each of the rubber ends, to the frame support. The weight of the intercooler is now supported by the wire from the bottom, and through zip-ties holding the top to the bar. It doesn't move any more.

So, that's it for the charged air, and that's it for today's post. Thanks, as always, for following along-