cross country trip- Christmas vacation (with pictures)

flman · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 7:41 am

flash7210 wrote:

Arrived in Durango CO.
I-40 across OK, TX, and NM was painfull due to strong headwind.
And my Weeks intake elbow popped off which left me stuck on the side of the highway trying to wrestle it back into place and tightened down.
Stopped in Santa Fe for dinner and saw a silverCRD parked in the parking lot there.
Got my best fuel mileage yet going from Espanola to Durango. Even with the steep grades and heavy snow.

Do you think the Elbow is improving the mileage or something else?

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 10:01 am

Elbow? No.

Slower speeds with less wind resistance? YES

dthdcrd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 10:42 am

Not sure at what point the elbow popped off but just as an FYI... My kit popped off where the hose meets the weeks adapter that bolts directly to the intake manifold. Its a great kit and I endorse it but I did notice the heavy duty clamp that holds the hose on to the adapter is almost as wide as the adapter is long. In my case it was difficult to get the hose clamp completely on the other side of the flare in the adapter. So it was clamping the hose on the flare. I ended up getting a heavy duty but narrower clamp so that it clamped completely on the hose on the other side of the flare. Problem solved. My hose came of twice in the same place. This solved that problem. I do not have a provent and I think the oil in the intake didn't help the issue. Made things a little more slippery...

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 10:56 am

dthdcrd wrote:

Not sure at what point the elbow popped off but just as an FYI... My kit popped off where the hose meets the weeks adapter that bolts directly to the intake manifold. Its a great kit and I endorse it but I did notice the heavy duty clamp that holds the hose on to the adapter is almost as wide as the adapter is long. In my case it was difficult to get the hose clamp completely on the other side of the flare in the adapter. So it was clamping the hose on the flare. I ended up getting a heavy duty but narrower clamp so that it clamped completely on the hose on the other side of the flare. Problem solved. My hose came of twice in the same place. This solved that problem. I do not have a provent and I think the oil in the intake didn't help the issue. Made things a little more slippery...

That is exactly what happened to me.
I wound up swapping clamps between the elbow and the CAC outlet.
Now it holds in place.

65Corvair · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:19 pm

flash7210 wrote:

And my Weeks intake elbow popped off which left me stuck on the side of the highway trying to wrestle it back into place and tightened down.

I had the same issue on my trip from Illinois to Maine in August. If you clean all the oil residue off the aluminum and silicone with brake cleaner, it helps alot. Using constant torque hose clamps eliminated the issue after a good cleaning.
http://www.breezehoseclamps.com/breeze/constant-torque/

From experience, it is not fun on the side of the highway trying to fix this with traffic zooming by.

thermorex · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:38 pm

Took many long trips and never had an issue with hoses popping out. Either I forgot to tie them properly, and got a cel right away, either no issues.

flman · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 3:37 pm

I guess I am going to see if I can tug my El connections off by hand?

dthdcrd · **Posted:** Mon Dec 15, 2014 11:20 pm

I hear ya. I was under the hood on the shoulder doing the repair. Not fun. I don't think pulling on it by hand will tell you if it will hold. It's a different force. After the first timer mine popped off I put the clamp back on and gave it a GOOD tug. Seemed fine, until it popped off again. When you pull on it, it elongates the hose and makes it tighter like the finger trap toy. Under boost the hose swells and gets larger. Also there is 20 psi trying to push somewhere, and pow. Off comes the house.

flman · **Posted:** Tue Dec 16, 2014 6:51 pm

dthdcrd wrote:

I hear ya. I was under the hood on the shoulder doing the repair. Not fun. I don't think pulling on it by hand will tell you if it will hold. It's a different force. After the first timer mine popped off I put the clamp back on and gave it a GOOD tug. Seemed fine, until it popped off again. When you pull on it, it elongates the hose and makes it tighter like the finger trap toy. Under boost the hose swells and gets larger. Also there is 20 psi trying to push somewhere, and pow. Off comes the house.

I do the pedal to the metal test a few times as and additional test, I also made mine good and tight with a socket wrench until there was no more turning.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2014 9:24 pm

Finally arrived in Apple Valley CA last night.
Confirmed that with all that stuff packed on the roof I get 20mpg at speeds above 65mph.
If I maintain 60-65mph I can get 25mpg.

Also noticed "winterized" diesel for sale in CO and UT.
It didn't seem to have any effect on my mpg.

Just to re-cap my trip so far:
day 1- drove from JAX to Nashville, visited friends, stayed one night.
day 2- drove from Nashville to OKC, stayed one night.
day 3- drove from OKC to Durango. Strong headwinds the entire way on I-40. Intake elbow popped off somewhere east of Amarillo (fixed on side of highway). Caught first glimpse of snow heading toward Santa Fe. Stopped for dinner in Santa Fe (the best dinner I have had in a really long time). Lots of snowfall when crossing the mountains between Santa Fe and Durango. Stayed two nights. Visited Mesa Verde and enjoyed the town.
day 5- drove from Durango to Moab, stayed one night. Visited Arches NP.
day 6- drove from Moab to Ely, stayed one night.
day 7- drove from Ely to Carson City, visited family, stayed three nights. Drove to Donner Pass (lots of snow) and visited Virginia City.
day 10- drove from Carson City to Apple Valley.

thermorex · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:30 pm

I'm really envious, this sounds like a great trip (side of popped hose), I always wanted to do old rte 66 but never found the time... Your route is also tempting.

Have fun for me too

!

ArmyChief · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:34 pm

Flash, I'm on the west coast of Florida..you ever down this way..hit me up!

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:56 pm

Approximately 3600 miles so far.

time for some pictures.

Mesa Verde

Arches

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:10 pm

US-50, Americas Loneliest Highway

Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park, near Gabbs NV.
This was absolutely a ghost town of a ghost town. Nobody here. Not even a Park Ranger.

weeks101 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:29 pm **Posts:** 747

It's easy to under-tighten the t-bolt clamps because the nylon lock-nut provides resistance when tightening, making it seem like they are tighter than they are. If your elbow is popping-out of the coupler, make sure the clamp is not seated right on top of the bead-roll. This is probably the most common installation mistake and it will cause issues no matter the tightness of the clamp. Also, as has been mentioned, make sure you clean any oil residue off all surfaces of the elbow, coupler and clamps themselves. As always, if you have any issues, don't hesitate to get in touch.

I just quickly slapped a kit together, here are (bad quality) photos showing how everything is intended to fit together. As you can see, the components fit together tightly, the adapter is basically seated in the elbow. Push both the adapter and the elbow in as far as they will go, ensuring they are seated fully inside the coupler. This allows for the clamps to sit fully behind the bead-rolled edge while using the full "contact patch" if you will. If your installation doesn't look like this, it should.

And sorry for hi-jacking the thread, enjoy your road trip! :JEEPIN:

CIMARRON13 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 24, 2014 11:50 am

flash7210 wrote:

US-50, Americas Loneliest Highway

Berlin Ichthyosaur State Park, near Gabbs NV.
This was absolutely a ghost town of a ghost town. Nobody here. Not even a Park Ranger.

I drove hwy 50 over the summer. Loved it. When I camped at the petroglyph blm campground along the way I could hear jets doing night maneuvers fairly low. I have heard that sometimes you can get a nice light show at night compliments of the nearby Air Force base.

cross country trip- Christmas vacation (with pictures)

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