Mike Frye

I've had my car for almost a year now, and even after replacing the rubber hoses that hold the side plenums on with new ones, it seems that every few thousand miles they work their way loose and I have to remove them and adjust the hose clamps because of a an air leak.

Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

RngTrtl

mine are staionary and dont move.

Adam Geist

Mike,

The side plenums on my '86.5 haven't moved/loosened since I've owned it........do you have the stock clamps (Norma brand IIRC) or regular worm-drive hose clamps? If you have regular hose clamps that may be the cause.
Adam

Mike Frye

Thanks for the feedback RngTrtl, so I guess it's just me .

Hey Adam,

No, they're regular hose clamps. I guess that's the problem. I didn't realize there were different types of clamps for these, the ones that were on there when I got it were hose clamps, so I just replaced with similar clamps. I guess I'll be placing another order soon...

I'll have to spend more time looking at your car to see what a low mile, 'unspoiled' car looks like .

Thanks!

MGW-Fla

Yeah, I've owned two different '85 32v & neither had the intakes loosen up. Even my current one after doing an intake r&r earlier this year. Sounds like your hoses/clamps aren't the correct size perhaps.

Big Dave

Mine will flex around the rubber if you lean on them, but otherwise they're solid.

Shane

I have had that problem in the past. Right after I had them powder coated, the surface where the boots clamp on was too smooth and the boots would slip. To fix that I roughened the surface with some sand paper and have not had the problem recur.

Imo000

I had this problem with the old boots but then I replaced them with 2” rad hose (they are ever so slightly smaller and will fit tighter than the OEM) and had no problems even after boosting the engine.
The OEM clamps are “motorcycle” style units and besides the dealer, can be bought at any motorcycle shop. Also they are exactly the same (except chrome) on the V8 Taurus SHOs (the engine is made by Yamaha so it makes sense) but Ford wants ~$25 each. I found a set at the local junk yard and they look much better than the OEM finished clamps.

Mike Frye

Thanks everyone,

Mel, I got the replacement hoses from 928 spec, so I'm sure they're right, but the clamps are garden variety hose clamps, so that must be it.

Dave, Thanks for the confirmation, I was hoping this wasn't something I was going to have to fix every few months.

Shane, that's a good tip, I like to wipe everything down with light oil to make sure it's well lubricated, and as a partial protection against the salt air. I figured it would keep things from drying out in there, but maybe this is one place where a little friction is good.

Imo000, as usual, you have several viable solutions to offer. It seems like the clamps are the problem, but I may consider something different in the way of hoses. I met someone in PA that was using something similar to Fernco couplings (for house plumbing) in his OB. If he didn't tell me I wouldn't have known, they were more substantial than hose clamps and looked nice. I think they were even polished.

Thanks for all the options everyone, looks like I have more top end work ahead of me.

BTW- Imre, I've been to your website many times checking out that SC job, and the things you learned along the way are making me want to do something with my intake. Too many restrictions and the flow is all wrong...

touque

NJSF - I didn't powder-coat, but did this very same thing and it worked well - no slippage!

DavidR

Mike, I had this same problem on my 86. I found that oil from the intake was getting between the plenum and the hose causing the slip. No matter how tight I made the clamps, eventually the plenum would pop off. I wipe down the plenum and inside of the rubber hoses with body shop style wax and grease remover every time I reassemble my intake after having it off for any reason. No slips since I started doing this. Good luck, Dave

Tampa 928s

I did the powdercoat had to sand it and found any oil on the rubber it will slide period. Wash them good with dish detergent dry well and get some decent clamps.

Shark Attack

no

heinrich

no movement here Mike

Mike Frye

OK, so if Heinrich's intake plenums aren't slipping at all, I can safely rule out an RPM induced thing on mine .

DavidR, thanks for that tip on the wax. Tampa and SA, thanks for chiming in.

Clearly I have to replace my clamps and at least clean and completely dry the plenums before replacing them, and apparently scuffing it up a little wouldn't hurt.


If only I had an intake setup like John Veninger I wouldn't have this problem...