I'm looking for a flexible 6" diameter connector to use between my air cleaner and the turbo intake. I used to have them rigidly connected, but have decided the air cleaner is not moving enough to absorb the engine movement. I was thinking of using an inner tube to make this connection. Does anyone know if this will work? Does anyone have a source for a flexible connector? This is on the intake side, so there is no pressure, only vacuum to contend with.
Thanks for any ideas you might have.
Brian, go to a major plumbing supply and buy a Fernco coupler comes with ss clamps for about 20 bucks
good luck
Quote from: luvrbus on February 13, 2010, 11:27:04 AM
Brian, go to a major plumbing supply and buy a Fernco coupler comes with ss clamps for about 20 bucks
good luck
+1, many sizes and lengths available if you need to special order. These are the rubber couples used to join cast iron to ABS etc..there are even sizes to join old clay drain pipe to plastic drain hubs and all combos you can think of.
Good idea guys. I'll check those out, hopefully on Monday.
Looking at the pictures on line it appears the fernco couplers are pretty thick. Due to the air cleaner in the way I might not have enough room for the thickness of the fernco. Are there any other thinner options?
Brian, Is your turbo intake 6 inch? Mine is about 4" and the air cleaner is 6". I got a rubber elbow from a mack truck, not sure where. I think I had something else in the shed but it may have gotten thrown. I will look and see, if I find something you can have it. Tom Y
Tom, the turbo intake is 4". However, it makes an immediate 90 degree angle. The opening on the other end is 5 1/2". This connects to the 90 degree adapter on the air cleaner. The air cleaner housing connection is 8".
Any ideas on how long an inner tube would last in the engine compartment?
You could have fun making a kind of HD clothes dryer flex line. I think the way I would do it would be to take one piece of tube, and use some heavy wire twisted around a form to make the "spring". I would insert the spring in the tube, coat the inside of tube with contact cement, then use another bit of tube for the inner sleeve. Probably you could tie off the ends and use air pressure to seat the "inner" tube against the outer tube and seat assembly.
Finally silicone sheeting is a great long lasting product, if you could somehow integrate that into the assembly.....
Brian, I'm not sure how much you want to spend but here is a site: www.donaldson-filters.com (http://www.donaldson-filters.com)
this site has all kinds of adaptors for intakes, exhausts, clamps !
I looked up prices on the Donaldson rubber products and they are only about $15 to $20. Not cheap, but not outrageous either.
It seems like this is probably a better way to go than the Fernco stuff if Donaldson has the right part.
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I poked around on Donaldson's site and couldn't find a connector that is big enough.
A point of clarification, the gap between the two elbows is only 1/2" at most.
Here is a picture showing the joint. The air cleaner elbows are right above and to the left of the green oil fill tube.
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ediehls0792_1/Bus_2007/2007_0803_Final1.jpeg (http://home.earthlink.net/%7Ediehls0792_1/Bus_2007/2007_0803_Final1.jpeg)
Hopefully you can see a tiny bit of shiny aluminum. This is the connection I am trying to make flexible now.
Brian, Sorry I must have thrown out what I had. 4 1/2" Is as big as I have. I would pass on the inter tube. Someone must sell the 6 inch silicone hose in a thin wall like the 4 inch hose for charge air. Tom Y
Brian, I may have a short piece of hose like a leaf vacum. It was on an air filter on the other side if I rember, to the out side. It had wire in it. I'll go look now. Tom Y
Quote from: Tom Y on February 14, 2010, 01:07:43 PM
Brian, I may have a short piece of hose like a leaf vacum. It was on an air filter on the other side if I rember, to the out side. It had wire in it. I'll go look now. Tom Y
Thanks Tom. Let me know what you find.
Heres a pic of leaf vacum hose 6" and the other is a heat shrink material. The heat shrink material I melted together, but not sure how either would up in the heat. The leaf hose is old and stiff, but it may work for you. You may want to make the gap bigger than 1/2" to allow more flexing. If you wish I will send a peice. Tom Y
Sorry, heres the leaf hose. Tom Y
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Dallas, when you step out of the box you REALLY step out! Thanks for your creative thinking and being willing to share it with us.
Tom, with the heat shrink all I can imagine is the tubing shrinking up while climbing a mountain pass in the middle of summer! It is a funny sight in my mind! ;D
I'm going to give the inner tube a try and see how well it holds up.
Thanks everyone for the ideas.
Brian,
Just be careful when using an inner tube for your intake.
Dina's had the air intake in kinda like a box area in the side at the top of the rear cap and I've seen several Dina's that birds got in there and built nest.
Then the air was so restricted the engine would suck air so hard it would rip the thick hard rubber elbows like a knife had sliced them open. On one we saw where is sucked the 6" aluminum tube going across the top of the engine flat like someone had stomped it flat, and reinstalled it!
So if you get to much up wind restriction it could actually suck the inner tube through the turbo! (Ooooo not good! :o )
I ain't say'n it wouldn't work, but I'd be scared to do it on one of mine!
FWIW ;D BK ;D (the politically incorrect busnut! ;) )
Brian,
Speaking as one who has had to in-frame an engine twice due to dirt ingestion because of intake plumbing problems, I will advise you to be very, very careful with what you do downstream of the air cleaner.
With inner tube, I would be very concerned that the vacuum generated between the turbo (or blower) and air cleaner could collapse something that thin, or, worse, cause it to rip. After that, it will not take long for enough dust to be sucked in to cause major trouble.
You might call the guys over at PEDCO, who did my in-frames. I remember seeing every conceivable rubber intake elbow and coupling under the sun just lying around the shop; they get more engines there than you can shake a stick at, and most of them come in with couplers or elbows hanging off them. What you may have to do is to replace one of your rigid elbows at either end with a rubber one, rather than the short coupler between the straight sections.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com (http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com)
The two 90 degree elbows are rubber. However, I don't think there is enough flex in these two elbows since 1) they are very short, and 2) they don't have any "humps" in them for easy compression or extension. They do give, just not very much. I'd like to have more flexibility in this connection. I will give Pedco a call and see what they might be able to scrounge up.
Thanks for the ideas guys.
Brian..I have some 6" heavy duty flex we use for vaccum intakes on CNC machines for one of our customers.
I do not think the heat will effect it. You are welcome to a piece if you need it. What we have is leftover's
from the job...been here for two years !!! Let me know.
(http://C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CPictures%5CBuss%20Stuff)
David P. Benck
Somerset,WI
Here
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ak-snc3%2Fhs153.snc3%2F18051_326708042520_665592520_3369568_7091444_s.jpg&hash=446716f842144260b5c108a54642894d34bc5f49)
Once again David benck to the rescue!!! Man you deserve a medal or something.
Brian you gotta meet David he's your kinda guy. Well, you'll like him once you get over the "shop envy". You could land a plane in his shops!
I'm sure we'll all find ourselves around a campfire this summer.
Thanks for helping Brian out Dave. I sure hope it works.
Rick
Quote from: dbenck on February 17, 2010, 12:19:06 PM
Brian..I have some 6" heavy duty flex we use for vaccum intakes on CNC machines for one of our customers.
I do not think the heat will effect it. You are welcome to a piece if you need it. What we have is leftover's
from the job...been here for two years !!! Let me know.
(http://C:%5CUsers%5CDavid%5CPictures%5CBuss%20Stuff)
David P. Benck
Somerset,WI
Wow, Thank you David!
I would love to try some of this hose. Would you be able to send me 2 4" pieces? I can get you shipping money. I'll PM you with my address for a shipping estimate.
Rick,
Thanks for the positive feedback on David. It is always incredible to me how small our bus world is!
I hope this will work. If it does not I still need to call Pedco and Bruce out in California has also offered to see what he might have in his shop that will work. So, I'll get something safe figured out for this problem!
Hey, Brian I can send you what you need,..just let me know where...Rick you are the MAN!!!!
dbenck@somtel.net
I think this will work great for what you need.
David P.Benck
Brian...did the flex show up ?.... and will it work ? I should have sent you some SS hose clamps for it, we found a box of them yesterday from the same job. ???
David Benck
Hi David,
Yes, the flex did arrive on Friday. I'm going to give it a try yet this afternoon to see how it will work. Thank you sending it. I'll have the postage out to you soon. Thanks again!
Yes...hope it works.
David
I tried the flex hose. It would not go over the rubber. The rubber looks to be 6 1/8" in diameter when the aluminum pipe is inside to keep it rigid. The flex would not "stretch" at all. That is some supper strong spring steel! I did take the opportunity of working on the intake connector to double up the rubber coupling. This way if I miss the outer rubber's initial crack I will still have the inner one.
The search goes on ...
Brian..that's no good :( that stuff does not have any give to it.
Sorry it did not work...I thought I found your fix.
David P. Benck