About 1 1/2 years and 3,000mi. ago I had a Magnacharger installed by Lidio at Alternative Auto. In Mt. Clemens MI. It has performed well, but recently 2 problems have showed up. (1) I have been routinely adding about 6-8 oz. of coolant to my intercooler reservoir about every tank of gas, (2) my check emissions symbol has remained lit on on my dash. I don't think the 2 are related. There is no coolant apparent in my oil and no leakage is evident. Any thoughts or opinions will be appreciated.

 

I've had mine about a year now and have about 10,000 miles on it. I hadn't checked my intercooler reservoir for quite a while and when I did a couple of weeks ago it was low , so I filled it back up. I've checked it each weekend since then and it's staying about an inch below the bottom of the threaded area , which is where the manual says it should be. A couple of months ago Steeda was working on my car and they did a pressure test on the system and I'm thinking they lost some fluid and didn't bother to replace it. I don't have any obvious leak that I can see , so I'm hoping that's what it is. I'll check it more often now since you may need to add some every now and then , but 6-8 oz per tank of gas seems you must have some kind of leak. No idea on the emissions symbol ...

 

I had a problem with my intercooler discharge housing leaking externally with the Whipple. The coolant was leaking right through the casting. Art Whipple told me that was a first. He said most of them leak coolant into the intake tract from a leaking intercooler. If that's your problem, which it probably is...then you need to fix it asap. The coolant can and will destroy 02 sensors which is probably what already happened seeing how you've got a code.

If you unbolt and remove the compressor you'll probably see coolant down in the belly of the intake.

 

Thanks for advice. Makes sense.

 

You're welcome. Good luck with it.

 

Well , it turns out that I do have a leak ! As I said I filled my reservoir about 4 weeks ago and this last weekend it was down so that the hole for the upper hose was partially visible again. It was only down a couple of ounces over the 4 weeks , so not nearly so much as yours. Steeda had determined my 02 sensors were bad and now after anthony05gt said it can ruin them I guess that is why they pressure tested the system when they replaced them. Now the really bad news , I talked to Steeda this morning and they said if the inter cooler is indeed where the leak is , Magna Charger is no longer sending a new unit to replace it. You must send the faulty unit back and they will fix it and then send it back , which will take several weeks. My car is my daily driver and this means I'll have to rent a car for that time. I'm going to call Magna Charger and see if this is indeed their new policy and if so voice my displeasure. I'll call this afternoon after they get up out in California to see if it is , I post and let you know what they say.

 

I just got off the phone with Magna Charger and it's not good news. They said their intercoolers are on back order and they won't have any until October. This may be the reason Steeda said they wouldn't send a replacement , that we would have to send the unit back for repair , I don't know. Steeda is going to check it out tomorrow to see where it's leaking , I hope and pray it's not the intercooler ...

 

I'd get on all of the forums and start threads on this subject. Let Steeda know that you are doing it. That's BS! When my discharge housing was leaking Art Whipple got on the phone with me for like a half hour..twice. He sent parts via air freight....new housing with instructions, sealant, gaskets and all. Art called me back to make sure I was happy. This isn't even my daily driver.

 

It's not really Steeda's fault , it's MagnaCharger that doesn't have any replacement units at the moment. Apparently MagnaCharger has told all their distributors that any unit would need to be sent back to them so they can rebuild it , since they don't have any new units at this time. And in fairness to MagnaCharger , I guess they can't help the fact that their manufacture is behind on their units , but it sure sucks ... Anyway , Steeda did check my car this morning and I do have a very small leak and it isn't external so it must be the intercooler. However it's so small they said to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get any worse and I can probably wait till MagnaCharger has new units. That way we won't have to send the leaking unit back first and I won't be without my car for weeks. However it sounds like 2bone123 has a much larger leak and may not be able to wait ? But since he says he's had the S/C on for 1 1/2 years and only has 3,000 miles on the unit , it's probably not his daily driver so it may not be a problem for him ...

 

I'd pull the compressor off, fill the intercooler with water and find the leak, then solder it. If you're not comfortable with that, any radiator shop could solder it for you.