So just tried smoke test and could not locate a leak. I guess the next step is to use distilled water, pump it in, and see if that shows where the leak is. This way I don't waste a bunch of coolant. I'm hoping I don't need to pump in a ton of it. This job is turning out to be more complicated than I thought. With so many coolant connections, large/small etc. there are so many places it could be. I have a crappy feeling that it's the oil cooler water pipe or seals where it connects to the back of the water pump. That means it all has to come apart again. ARGH!

 

Experienced the same last week. Found the alloy connection pipe between waterpump and Oli cooler too loose but hoped the 2 gaskets would ‘settle’.
Unfortunaly there was a leakage (again)
I ended up with a new oil-cooler brick / original plastic pipe wich seemed to have a tighter fit and 3 gaskets. The 3 gaskets gave me a good feel and ‘clamped’ all together. All good now 👍🏼

 

As I'll be doing the same job soon and following this, on which end did you add the 2nd gasket?

 

After trying different positions I ended up with the 2 gaskets on the waterpump side. Hoped 4 gaskets would do the trick but that was too much.

 

Thank you for your answer, I'll go down the same road when I do mine.

 

So a little update and really appreciating the feedback from folks doing the job now so thank you. So for mine, I ended up adding in a gallon of distilled water and then did a pressure test with the Harbor freight tester (nice tool btw). I put in 15 PSI and found the leak. It was in fact the new alloy coolant pipe coupler that goes between the oil cooler and the water pump. Partially my fault though. The first time I did this the oil cooler pipe wasnt going in so I pushed harder and bent that pipe. While I tried to bend it back, it got all mangled up and that contributed to the leak. That being said, the alloy coupler (as mentioned by Pascal, was not a good tight fit but I tried it anyway. Low and behold, that's exactly where my leak is. Sadly the entire job has to come apart again. I plan to order a new brick (oil cooler) new plastic coupler, and new rubber grommets for the coupler. Not fun doing this job all over again as it's a decent sized job.

pascal, you mentioned 2 gaskets on the coupler. Are you referring to the large grommets or oversized O-rings used with the coupler pipe from water pump to oil cooler? If so, that seems like too much rubber which seems like it would be prone to leak??? Just curious.

 

If it’s any consolation, I had a very similar experience when I replaced my coolant pipes, water pump, and water pump to oil cooler coupler. I managed to pinch one of the seals inside the coupler when I installed a new aluminum coupler. The first indication I had was the cooling system wouldn’t hold a vacuum. The supercharger, coolant pipes, and water pump all had to come out again in order for me to replace the seal that I installed incorrectly.

 

Is there a correct way to install them?

 

Thanks Waldo. Yes it makes me feel a little better as I'm reasonably handy with cars but this project seems to have kicked my butt. It seems like a design that leaves much to be desired as there is so much that can go wrong that you can't fix without removing the supercharger. The simplest little o-ring could mean the world of redos. And, the supercharger removal is not a quick and easy job and that dang thing is heavy trying to do it yourself.

So new parts ordered today and I'll start tearing it all down again.

Thanks guys for all the feedback.

 

I would look at the Onca Engineering’s video referenced earlier starting at 14:45. Herman shows the sequence that worked for me: place a slightly lubed seal on the oil cooler, slide the coupler over the seal on the oil cooler, slide the other slightly lubed seal over the water pump side of the coupler, slide the water pump over the seal and coupler, slowly tighten down the water pump.

 

I've watched it and thought I would remove the cooler instead of the pump since my F-type has low mileage.

 

“. pascal, you mentioned 2 gaskets on the coupler. Are you referring to the large grommets or oversized O-rings used with the coupler pipe from water pump to oil cooler? If so, that seems like too much rubber which seems like it would be prone to leak??? Just curious.”

The O-rings

 

Yes those instruction are the key. Many, many leaks with this pipe because of incorrect installation. If you put it together and use the WP bolts to draw it in be very careful. I lube anything in the coolant system with anti-freeze as it's pretty slippery.
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.
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Yes thanks. I've watched so many different videos on this and Onca's is one of the better but he doesn't replace the oil cooler. Also, it seems that no matter how careful you are, there is the absolute potential for a leak with so many connection points for coolant. It's a bit like doing plumbing in your house. It seems like it all seems to leak unless you are an expert plumber haha

 

So the big replacement was just completed, 2 days of testing and inspection at my indy mechanic and no leaks to report.

-Both OEM pipes (aluminum)
-Euro AMP thermostat & crossover pipe (aluminum)
-2 OEM hoses replaced
-aftermarket water pump

 

Evoex congrats. Glad it was successful. I've already torn the car apart again and am waiting for parts. Once I do the job "again" with new parts, I'll test and let you all know if it was successful.

 

The old saying might apply here:

The first time is to learn
The second is for practice
The third is to get it right.

Hope you don't need the third step, but if you do, here is what the hot rodders say:

The last time is to chrome it!

 

carbuff2, man I hope I don't get to the 3rd step. This is not the kind of job I want to do over and over. It's a lot of tear down and lots to disconnect and reconnect. Tear down was much faster the 2nd time around but still took about 2 hours. Since I work alone on it and can't lift the Supercharger complete I lift it first with a shock tower mount engine hoist, then remove the side bricks/coolers, lower it down from the lift, remove the lift, then I can lift the supercharger off the car. Then the same process in reverse. It's just too heavy and awkward to lift it complete, at least for me.

 

Hi Guys,
I'll start off by saying my intention is not to be a smarty pants with this post. It is a honest question I wish to pose.

I've been monitoring this specific thread and reading all of the various posts. That being said my question is, it seems like doing the aluminum version cooling pipes which is not a OEM product is not worth doing because of all the issues complications and potential problems. Is it better just simply to do the revised version of the plastic OEM cooling pipes . Maybe this is the reason why the tuning company VIEZU does not recommend doing the aluminum cooling pipes and instead they use the Jaguar Land Rover upgraded plastic coolant pipes.

I appreciate your replies and I look forward to your answers.

 

2 of the replacement parts can be bought OEM, the other 2 are aftermarket.