F150 ecoboost drilled my intercooler

[jejeosborne]

Hey all..... 2013 F150 EB owner here. I've read thru (most) of this thread and I'm left wondering about this whole hole drilling thing.

Someone correct me if I'm mistaken, but it's my understanding that the inter-cooler is after the turbos but before the intake. Thus cooling the pressurized air before going into the engine. With that said, wouldn't drilling a hole after the pressure generating device LOWER the overall pressure at the intake? From what i know of turbos, the game is to create more pressure in the system vs less.... thus creating more power. The "tuner" guys are doubling and even tripling boost pressure in their engines, I cant imagine doing anything that would lower it.

So, from what i know of the system, this hole for water removal is also going to steal power thru-out the whole power curve.... correct?

I say all this having not had any sputter or power issues on my truck, so drilling anything isn't even a thought in my mind. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe i haven't had it long enough. As of today, i love my EB F150, it's a blast to drive and easily the most fuel economical truck I've ever owned.

At one point (when i first got the truck) I'd considered adding some sort of grill to the inter-cooler air dam. Partially for style, partially for protection from rock/road debris. Upon investigation i read that even the slightest reduction in air flow thru that air dam can steal power from the engine.... does anyone have any personal experience to support/defunk this?

Thanks guys....

-J

Your thinking is correct if in fact the hole would lower the pressure. A large hole would do as you describe but a hole smaller than the turbo output capacity will not affect boost pressure. The computer limits boost to around 16 psi by way of wastegates. Once this pressure is obtained, the wastegates bypass exhaust around the turbo. A small hole, I recommend a 1/32" hole after my video, will cause no performance issues.

More air to the intercooler is always best to prevent the intercooler from becoming heat soaked when working the turbos hard for long periods of time. You won't soak the intercooler in one quick launch but towing a trailer or repeated launches will.

 

[s219]

Hey all..... 2013 F150 EB owner here. I've read thru (most) of this thread and I'm left wondering about this whole hole drilling thing.

Someone correct me if I'm mistaken, but it's my understanding that the inter-cooler is after the turbos but before the intake. Thus cooling the pressurized air before going into the engine. With that said, wouldn't drilling a hole after the pressure generating device LOWER the overall pressure at the intake? From what i know of turbos, the game is to create more pressure in the system vs less.... thus creating more power. The "tuner" guys are doubling and even tripling boost pressure in their engines, I cant imagine doing anything that would lower it.

So, from what i know of the system, this hole for water removal is also going to steal power thru-out the whole power curve.... correct?

I say all this having not had any sputter or power issues on my truck, so drilling anything isn't even a thought in my mind. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe i haven't had it long enough. As of today, i love my EB F150, it's a blast to drive and easily the most fuel economical truck I've ever owned.

At one point (when i first got the truck) I'd considered adding some sort of grill to the inter-cooler air dam. Partially for style, partially for protection from rock/road debris. Upon investigation i read that even the slightest reduction in air flow thru that air dam can steal power from the engine.... does anyone have any personal experience to support/defunk this?

Thanks guys....

-J

An intercooler of this type is an air/air heat exchanger. It has internal flow, which is the air that passed through the breather, air filter, and turbo before going to the intake. That internal air has picked up heat when passing through the turbo(s) -- both from compression and from the turbo unit(s) being hot due to proximity to exhaust. The drilled hole, if small enough, is an inconsequential leak for the internal flow and the engine will adjust to it.

The intercooler also has external air flow from outside air passing over the fins when the vehicle is in motion. That is what provides the cooling and takes away heat from the internal flow. I would not mess with the external flow at all unless you knew what you were doing, as reducing external airflow through the intercooler can have a big effect on its cooling performance. Vehicle aerodynamics are tricky and not something you can guess at -- it takes wind tunnel testing, or road testing, or computational fluid dynamics to figure that stuff out (that's my day job). Now, it's not the end of the world if the intercooler is less effective, it just means the engine will be seeing warmer less-dense air at the intake, blend that with less fuel, and will produce less power.

One of my coworkers got an F-150 with ecoboost last year, and within the first 1-2 weeks had the engine go into limp mode when driving in the rain. This after I had mentioned how impressed I was with the engine at the lunch table several times. He was annoyed and I was annoyed too. Other companies have been putting out intercooler turbo engines for decades without this problem, so I think it's a bit of a rookie mistake from Ford. Especially since they should have corrected it after 1-2 years of production.

 

[Shift4200]

Thanks guys!

Sounds like my initial plan to not "f" with it until i have an issue is what i'm going stick with. I appreciate the info on this guys.

-J

 

[tcartwri]

Ok. Silly question, just how much water does it take to hydro lock an engine

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About 50 cc .

 

[jejeosborne]

About 50 cc .

Where did you get this number? I would think it would be a lot less for one cylinder. That is about a quarter cup. It also depends on what someone considers hydro-lock. My definition would be an amount necessary to do mechanical damage and that would probably depend on engine load and rpm.

 

[tcartwri]

Where did you get this number? I would think it would be a lot less for one cylinder. That is about a quarter cup. It also depends on what someone considers hydro-lock. My definition would be an amount necessary to do mechanical damage and that would probably depend on engine load and rpm.

Pretty typical chamber size for most motors. Look at your thumb, that's about 50 cc.

We had a mechanic leave a boat outside without the air cleaner on. Rochester 4 barrel. It rained a little over night and when he bumped the starter in the morning... bent a rod. Motor still ran, but you could hear the knock of the rod binding.

 

[sld]

I'm still researching the carbon issues with DI engines. Anyone have any links that show this isn't an issue with the Ecoboost?

There may be many on the road but maybe they aren't old enough to start seeing this. Don't know.

As a mechanical engineer I see this as a possible achilles heel. I'm just trying to read and learn as much as I can before I buy one.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I'm the guy who first suggested to the F150 community to drill a weep hole in their intercoolers. Others populated the idea (as well as the Bambi mod). Anyway, a 1/16" drill bit in a pen drill is all you need.

As for the problems of not being able to do a toped cleaning of the intake valves without baking the turbo seals, the only solution is to install a catch can. Catch cans suck in the winter as they mostly catch water vapor, which freezes. After longer periods of use, and especially idling, one can drain their catch can in the winter. I drain this large RX can about once a week. It is a largest can I could find. For installing I needed to relocate the factory horns to the left side and mount the catch can high because I have 30" LED mounted behind my grill in order to see critters on lonely, dark, two lane roads in northern Minnesota.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I checked the Summit Racing site. A lot of catch cans for sale. Separating out gunk from air flow must be a more common issue than I thought.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

With exception to some autocross, catch cans are required by most racing tracks in order to pass tech inspection.

That said, direct injection no longer has fuel washing the carbonizing gunk off of the intake valves. So gunk collects up until the customer complains. Normally bad idle or hard start.