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Installing the FI interchiller on my Roushcharged Gen3 Coyote

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SH!FT

SH!FT

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Refrigerant line install:
NOTE!!
This is how I decided to route the plumbing. My hose routes are longer than necessary because I wanted the ability to crimp the hose assemblies before installing in the car.


NOTE 2!!
FI provides great schematics and enough hose to mount stuff wherever. You are required to fill in some blanks during the install to best suit your build. FI can provide different hose fittings if needed, but that needs to be nailed down before the kit ships.

I wish I did the following before having my kit shipped to the house:

  1. Read/watch all install instructions.
  2. Schedule a video call with Kirk to walk through my install game plan. During the call be at the car; hood open; on jacks; bumper and undercover removed.

High side install:
The drier arrives vacuumed sealed. Shouldn't break the seal until it's ready to be installed and charged. My kit came with 2 straight barbs and 3 90 degree barbs. I think I would have been better off with all 90 barb fittings for my build.
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I was supposed to cut the line at the base of the rubber hose, but decided to make the cut on the OEM fitting. This allowed more room for installing the 90 barb while using the provided hose clamp spacing tool.
A light squeeze with pliers popped the remaining OEM barb tip out of the hose. It's obviously not ideal to cut on fitting because it makes chips, but Q-tips soaked in pag oil worked well for cleaning chips out of the hose ID.
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My first time brazing aluminum, but it went smoothly. FI sells the brazing rods and provides great tutorial videos. My kit came with an extra barb that was used to practice with first.
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Low side install:
I'm happy with the outcome, but I'm definitely losing some cooling capability here. The goal is to make the suction line as short as possible then encase in foam.

I probably could have mounted the suction tee as shown below if I had gutted everything between the radiator and serpentine again. This would have shortened the hose length by half and been easier to install foam.
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I chose to install the tee fitting at the top of the OEM suction hose. Heat, pag oil, and grippy gloves were a must to seat that tee into the OEM hose. I used 34" of hose to reach the coil port of the chiller. The YF suction hose is huge and thin walled making it not possible for sharp bends. I was only able to install a heat sheath on the hose. I plan to install more foam next time I have the fan shroud and heater hoses out of the way.
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Got the refrigerant lines buttoned up asap and pulled vacuum.
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Water line install:

Here's my first attempt at running the water lines with pre and post chiller temperature sensors installed.
No bueno.
  1. 90 bends reduce water flow rate
  2. Metal fittings act as heatsinks reduces cooling capability.
  3. Blocking air flow to the OEM condenser reduces cooling capability.
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FI's customer service is awesome. I sent pictures after each section of my install. Kirk would reply that night (Australia) with confirmation or corrections.



NOTE: This how I did it. Not a work instruction. Confirm everything with FI because they know best.

The Approved Version.
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Note: All exposed metal and plastic should be insulated. Reservoir tank(s) should be insulated on all sides before installed.
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I may replace the insulated hard piping with heater hose, but it is cool to see the pipes freeze.
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I relocated the water temp sensors to the supply and return Roush heater hoses.
The return hose has the Roush LTR sensor so I don't get a CEL.
The supply hose has the AeroForce Technology 1/8" npt temp sensor.
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I originally installed plastic tee adaptors for the sensors. One failed after the first heat cycle.
These aluminum GlowShift 19mm 3/4" ID Hose Attachment Adapters seem to work fine. The ports are 1/8 npt, but can be easily opened up to 1/4" npt with the right tools.
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The Roush LTR sensor is 3/8" npt which is annoying. I had to open the ID of a 3/8" to 1/4" adaptor for the probe to fit through.
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Connecting the water lines to the chiller was extremely easy. The Roush heater hosing can be reused without cutting! All I had to do was switch the ends on the passenger side inlet hose.
That Good Year hose is just a tucked up drain extension coming from the engine coolant petcock.
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No changes made to the driver side outlet hose. Just needed to make sure not to squish it with the ginormous Roush air box.
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The passenger side closeout panels needed to be cut to make room for that massive (and hopefully insulated) refrigerant line.
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Tightening the chiller fittings.
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Filled the system with about 1.75 gallons of 50/50 Motorcraft yellow. Pumping and pinching the return hose seems to help burp the system.
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About a quart of coolant capacity is lost due to the LTR delete. FI recommends adding a 2nd reservoir. I'd love to add a 2 gallon tank but.. where???
 
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Leak Testing and Recharging the HVAC System:
I tried to be detailed here because I found this part to be the most intimidating before purchasing the interchiller kit.

Here's factory specs for my car. Confirm everything with FI because they know best. Every build could be different. R1234yf vs R134a is definitely different.
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I wish my order of operation was better during the refrigerant install. My A/C system was sealed but at atmosphere for way longer than necessary. It's completely doable to assemble/install nearly all of the chiller refrigerant components before cutting into the factory liquid (high) and suction (low) hoses.

Based on my research, I decided to have the system professionally recharged with R134a. Unfortunately, I still needed a way to leak test and evap moisture before bringing it to the shop.

Here's a helpful video on that process: Vacuum Down and Recharge A/C video

Here's the kit that I purchased to evac and vac leak test the system: R1234yf AC Gauges, Vacuum Pump, and Leak Detector Kit

This kit was new to me, so I wanted to test the tester using the factory system before breaking any refrigerant connections. The factory system was already pressurized to 95 psi. Ambient was 92F. Engine was cold. I pressure leak tested the gauge block at 95 psi for 30 minutes before discharging. I then tested the vac pump and vacuum leak tested the gauge block for 30 minutes on the empty leak free factory system.
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This kit works well. No pag oil found in the vac pump filter or catch can. I did find some pag oil trapped in the liquid line when I cut it at the condenser.

I poured 1.5 oz. of new Motorcraft YN-35 pag oil into the separated factory suction hose (towards the compressor side) before installing the tee fitting just to be safe.
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I pulled vacuum for ~35 minutes once chiller refrigerant components were finally installed. Then leak tested the system for 24 hours with the drag valve energized. No leaks. Valve coil was reliable and stayed cool. Disconnected the low quick coupler and reinstalled the dust cap.
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It remained under vacuum during the water line install and until the shop charged it. FI does provide great instructions to do the recharge yourself with cans. Also how to complete the process if the charge weight of the system is unknown.


Shop Recharge:
This was a hassle but likely worth it.

My local shop charged me $260 for the R134a fill. FI provided the charge weight.
R1234yf would have been around twice the price and likely a different weight.

My first shop appointment needed to be rescheduled because we didn't have the right adaptors. Their Snap On machine has separate sides for R134a and R1234yf. It does a good job at preventing you from swapping the couplers. Even the hose fittings are different.


I purchased a Quick Coupler Connection R134a to R1234yf Conversion Kit and Hose Conversion Adapters for R134A to leak test the conversion couplers. $40
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The low side quick coupler was a little finicky if wiggled while under vacuum but it passed leak test. The quick couplers work great for charging. I now store them with the wheel lock socket.

The shop's machine was automated, but strictly charge weight and time based. The target weight had to be initially entered. Weight could not be adjusted once the program was started. This would have been an issue if FI was unable to provide an accurate charge weight for my build. Filling the system incrementally would have required the program run multiple times adding labor cost. Their machine collected little to no pag oil during the vac down.

All in all the recharge was very straight forward, but I'm glad that I was allowed to be present and work with the tech. The fuse for the drag valve popped because I'm dumb. I energized the relay with the coil still jumped to the battery. Quick fix, but $5 for a 10 amp fuse because I had no spares... whoops.


Summary for the Pro Recharge:
Leak test tooling: $240
Shop cost: $260
  • Keep the discharged system under vacuum.
  • Arrive with battery at full charge.
  • Be clear and honest if converting yf to 134a. Charge port connectors must match the refrigerant being added.
  • Insist on being present. Bring a multimeter, spare fuses, leak detector, and 2 copies of FI's recharge instructions with schematics (1 for you; 1 for the tech).
  • Correct the charge specification label under the hood.
 
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So I went with the stage 1 kit and it showed up last week. @SH!FT Is there any reason you mounted the FI supplied drier on the passenger side of your car? I was going to mount my chiller so that my EMP pump feeds into it on the drivers side and then the discharge of the chiller is on the passenger side. I haven't decided if the feed/discharge of the chiller will be facing the up or down position just yet.

-What did you have to braze? I'm sure hoping I don't need to braze anything lol I have a 2013 Mustang GT and there is a fitting that looks like it would need brazed included with my kit.

-Why did you need to rotate the chiller 180 degrees? I was under the impression that "IN" meant coolant inlet and "OUT" meant coolant outlet? My coolant reservoir and EMP pump are on the drivers side front of the car, I am planning on having my pump discharge right into the chiller and the pump will be pulling from the reservoir tank just above it.

-Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I am going to be cutting the rubber hose that has the pressure sensor in it (comes straight from compressor and feeds into the top of the condenser, see below pic) and putting the T in it that will go to the solenoid and the middle part of the T will go to the drier. I'm sort of confused because on the USB, the instructions say to put the T before the pressure sensor, but then Kirk also told me that the T needs to be after the stock Ford drier? I will be shooting Kirk an email this evening to ask him these same questions.

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Is there any reason you mounted the FI supplied drier on the passenger side of your car? I was going to mount my chiller so that my EMP pump feeds into it on the drivers side and then the discharge of the chiller is on the passenger side. I haven't decided if the feed/discharge of the chiller will be facing the up or down position just yet.
I chose to mount it there for ease of install. The supply bracket fits almost perfect on the crash mounting bolts. Also wanted to be able to see the sight glass without removing the whole bumper. It will get warm. Having air flow on it is a good idea. As long as it is mounted sight glass up you should be good unless Kirk says different.

I didn't need to be picky about the mounting locations of the high side components. The low side line and coolant lines should be kept insulated and short as possible to max cooling. My setup lacks some efficiency here. Best thing to do is mock up your setup and send Kirk some pics to review before you start cutting stuff.

-What did you have to braze? I'm sure hoping I don't need to braze anything lol I have a 2013 Mustang GT and there is a fitting that looks like it would need brazed included with my kit.
The factory hose on my car is too short for multiple barb fittings to be installed. I had to braze a fitting onto the hard piping to extend the condenser's liquid line.

Brazing wasn't bad after a little practice.
Buy the rods that FI supplies if you end up having to braze. They'll include more than enough to get some practice in.

-Why did you need to rotate the chiller 180 degrees? I was under the impression that "IN" meant coolant inlet and "OUT" meant coolant outlet? My coolant reservoir and EMP pump are on the drivers side front of the car, I am planning on having my pump discharge right into the chiller and the pump will be pulling from the reservoir tank just above it.
Talk to Kirk before mounting your chiller. It may be more beneficial to have the chiller suction port closest to the compressor. That would be the passenger side on my car. When I initially mounted the chiller IN port on the driver side it increased the length of my suction hose by nearly 2 ft.

I rotated my chiller because I mounted it wrong the 1st time lol.

The 2018+ Roush kits have the pump and reservoir on the passenger side. I originally had the IN and OUT ports crossed to create space for large brass fittings to install water temp sensors. There's a pic of this poor setup in an earlier post.
Kirk politely talked me out of that setup because it was dumb and I would have lost a bunch of cooling capability.

-Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I am going to be cutting the rubber hose that has the pressure sensor in it (comes straight from compressor and feeds into the top of the condenser, see below pic) and putting the T in it that will go to the solenoid and the middle part of the T will go to the drier. I'm sort of confused because on the USB, the instructions say to put the T before the pressure sensor, but then Kirk also told me that the T needs to be after the stock Ford drier? I will be shooting Kirk an email this evening to ask him these same questions.
My work was done at the bottom of the condenser. Let's talk USB instructions via PM.
 
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Quick notes before the car goes to bed for the winter:

#1
I've had a feeling that my IC coolant temp display has been off by at least 20F. I fired up the car on a cold morning after not starting her for a week. Confirmed.

Analog 1 = IC coolant tempF
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Whoops.. I mistyped the y-intercept value. Corrected. The gauge seems spot on now.
Based on the linear adjustment, my supercharger supply coolant temps can reach the 20's with ambient ~75F. Single digits with ambient <50F. The stage 2 chiller kit must be badass!
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#2
Got the chance to take the car out at 27F ambient before any salt hit the roads. I was super excited to see what it would do! Went for a half hour ride. Mostly highway. Results are below...
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So what happened??? It was actually pretty funny. City stop/go resulted ice cold coolant temps. The highway resulted heat soak. 🙃

Seems that the cabin evaporator temp is programmed to disengage the AC compressor once it's reached ~35F. Closing the solenoid does not bypass this feature. The chiller won't cool until the engine bay warms the evap.

FI's instructions include a section called "My AC System is Turning OFF" which includes helpful tips of what to do when this occurs.

This is a great example of why it's necessary to use quality heater hose fittings for this install. Water temps can still get hot.
 

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@SH!FT what advantage have you realized regarding spark timing and knock resistance? As we know, the flow rate through a pd supercharger can’t be appreciably affected by increased intercooling so the gains would really show up in the timing before knock.
 

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From what i was told by FI interchillers. It comes with hose, clamps, fittings and solder on fittings. You need to cut the factory hardline and modify it with what is in the kit. Plus the brazing rods and a set of crimpers for the clamps.
I thought I have read some ones already makes the Modified AC Line for this application.

I know this Killer Chiller is one alternative

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@SH!FT what advantage have you realized regarding spark timing and knock resistance? As we know, the flow rate through a pd supercharger can’t be appreciably affected by increased intercooling so the gains would really show up in the timing before knock.
Make sense. I'm still learning about those parameters and datalogging in general. I've focusing on water temps first to optimism the chiller's performance. Insulating and figuring out the cabin hvac controls based on the ambient conditions has made a big difference in cooling.

In August I did do at least 1 WOT highway pull with ignition adv displayed on my interceptor gauge. It was ~80F that day. IAT2s were around 75 to 95 I think. I was watching for any advancement reduction which I definitely didn't see. I think it was 18*. I have an indicator light set for knock retard at +0.3*. It never turns on at WOT.



@engineermike I'd definitely appreciate your input. Tomorrow's suppose to be in the 50's and it looks like the rain washed away the little salt that was sprayed last week. I can log with RDT if you're interested. Let me know what DMRs you'd like to see. I can log up to 10 a once from the list below. I'm not sure what DMR is KR or ign adv.

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I thought I was going to have to remove my entire AC line to splice into it or braze it but turns out I didn’t have to. I found a company in the states that has the same fittings and clamps so I was able to make the factory small AC line work without any brazing and just cutting the rubber part of the AC hose instead.
 
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@RSKTAKR
Nice what company?? Can you post a picture installed?

Sounds like the 2013 has a longer rubber section than the S550.
 

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