Inter-cooler problems

Tommy92 · Nov 4, 2013

My inter-cooler water temperature is way high.. I'm sure the coolant is not flowing correctly. First issue is when the water pump turns on it makes a loud humming noise with vibration. But it gets quite sometimes and louder randomly. If I pull the reservoir cap off and look inside the coolant doesn't seem to be flowing, don't see any movement. If the car has been sitting, the coolant level is pretty low, then when I turn it on the coolant reservoir gets filled quickly, then after a minute or so the level goes down again, then after a few more minutes it rises back up. I want to mention that when the water pump seems to work (reservoir being filled up) the vibration and humming is louder.

I've narrowed it down to a huge air pocket in the system, or a bad pump. I tried purging the system by letting the pump run with the cap off, ive seen quite a few bubbles come out only when the pump works again. I've done this a few times and it doesn't seem to get better.

I've been everywhere on the web looking for similar issues but I cannot find any.

MustangChris · Nov 4, 2013

saw a very similar problem at the tuning shop i took my car to. Pulled the feed line to the expansion tank off and held it in the air -- all the air rose to the top and the motha trucker gushed like an oil-rig.

why system are you running?

Tommy92 · Nov 4, 2013

Its a saleen supercharger on a 2004 saleen. Idk if that answers your question lol, I'm kind of new to this f/i thing.

MustangChris · Nov 4, 2013

Tommy92 said:
Its a saleen supercharger on a 2004 saleen. Idk if that answers your question lol, I'm kind of new to this f/i thing.

not really at all. lol.

Is it a terminator-type system (top mount supercharger) or is it centrifial supercharger system (paxton, vortec, procharger)?

Top mount:

Centrifical:

Tommy92 · Nov 4, 2013

MustangChris said:
not really at all. lol.

Is it a terminator-type system (top mount supercharger) or is it centrifial supercharger system (paxton, vortec, procharger)?

Top mount:

Centrifical:

Oooh, its a the first one, terminator style. Not sure if its roots or twin screw but I doubt that makes a difference in the cooling system.

MustangChris · Nov 4, 2013

doesnt make a difference unless its a kenne bell with the water cooled blower housing:

so, if its a top style blower, it probably has the 2003/4 cobra style system (electric pump, lines running under the supercharger to the "charged air cooler" back down to the front heat exchanger and back to the pump) If thats the case, do exactly as I said in the second post and take off the hose to the coolant expansion tank for the supercharger system. If you have a step-stool and a bucket you can do this pretty easily without making a mess:

#1)
remove top hose to the expansion tank.

#2)
insert dual-sided barb into the hose and attach a longer hose to the other side of the barb

#3)
after adding the other hose to the other end of that fitting stand on a step stool and hold a bucket with the new hose's end in it.

#4)
have a friend turn on the car and wait for a few minutes. The air should come to the top of the system and coolant will blurp out into the bucket. (you may need to put your thumb on/off the end of the hose a few times to try and build pressure in the system to push the air bubble along)

#5)
turn off the car, dis-assemble your new fancy hose, put the original hose back on the expansion tank, fill the expansion tank.

Tommy92 · Nov 4, 2013

So the symptoms my car is showing is an air pocket inside the system right? Thanks for the tip, I will let you know how it goes.

MustangChris · Nov 17, 2013

Tommy92 said:
So the symptoms my car is showing is an air pocket inside the system right? Thanks for the tip, I will let you know how it goes.

how did it go, brotha?

Tommy92 · Nov 17, 2013

MustangChris said:
how did it go, brotha?

Oh man I forgot to update on here. I burped it multiple times and it never worked, so I narrowed it down to either clogged lines or bad pump. Well I was taking a break and went to shower and I was thinking about how the coolant was coming from underneath the reservoir and not from the top and I said, wait, that's not right. It should be pumping to the top of the reservoir and go down to the bottom. So I ran out literally half naked and flipped the hoses around on the water pump and turned it on and it worked perfectly! By the looks of it the previous owner got a new pump and routed the hose the wrong way.