I bought my k3 350z with a Stillen SC installed. It has the red pulley and intercooler.

Long story short; the intercooler is leaking into the engine somewhere. If I fill it with water (or coolant) it will idle shitty and throw a code. It drains pretty quick and runs fine when its empty.

I filled it twice the day I got it. I since have driven over 4000 miles with the IC system empty and have no problems. Long trips on hot days with the AC on are no problem. Holding it floored to redline I get no pinging.

I also have a SnowPerformance methanol kit installed that kicks in at 3psi. That system functions perfectly.

So getting back to the original question: should I even bother with the intercooler? I have absolutely no problems with the car now.

 

you mean radiator, not intercooler.

 

No he means the Air to Water Intercooler that is included with the Stillen Kit.

I would seriously get the leak repaired.

 

Yeah, the only problem is that the car is my daily driver. Trying to get a straight answer from stillen is like pulling teeth.

For example: I asked, "Is there a gasket that might need to be replaced?"
They don't know.
I asked, "Would any gaskets need to be replaced just to take off the supercharger and look?"
They said, "Probably, I'll check." and the phone call ended there.

IDK what is so hard about a manufacturer knowing their product.

On the plus side, they do sell a supercharger without the intercooler. The only difference is the boost. I will most likely fix it this summer. The methanol will hold me over until then.

Can anyone with a stillen post up a pic of the inside of the SC on the plenum side. Thanks.

 

Sorry that i dont have any pics of my old stillen setup but if the ic under the blower is leaking you would be a fool not to fix it.You are injesting antifreeze or water in your engine and how good is that gonna be.

Stillen sucks when you need customer service but there are no gaskets so i would say (without looking at it) you probably need the heat exchanger under the manifold.Its $700 bucks by the way.

Also the red pulley is a stage 3 pulley and if you continue to run like that say good by to your motor.

 

amen

 

Sorry, this is the best I can do for you. It is completely self-contained:



Can you be a little more specific regarding the leak and the code???

Do you see any visible water leaking anywhere? The IC system is pretty straight-forward. The hose goes from the top of the SC to the resevoir pump, out the pump into the FMIC, out of the FMIC and back into the other side of the SC. There is a small "radiator" inside the mainfold housing that cools the air coming from the intake and twin-screws.

If you are not leaking fluid from the pump or the hoses or the FMIC then you might have a problem with the small radiator piece inside. However, if it leaked THAT badly, you'd be spitting water out your exhaust till the resevoir was empty. If not, then you could just have a leak around the hoses that connect to the small radiator. There should be two #10 blue anodized bolts holding it in place. Check there...

As for your question: Technically, you could run it without the cooler. Especially with the aqua/meth kit. However, I would suggent capping off the small "radiator" and disconnecting the pump. You might want to change pullies and drop back to Stage 2 for the time being as well. The small "radiator" is going to block the flow of air without any benefits till you either fix it or remove it. Plus, you don't want any additional air leaking into your manifold AFTER your MAF. I'm just saying...

Let me know if you need the bigger pulley. I just so happen to have one:



BTW: Red is not always Stage 3. It depends on the kit and the year it was purchased and whether the FMIC was added later or not.

 

Thanks so much for that pic. Now I understand how the system works. I read on another post to use the copper-colored silicon to make the gasket. Would that work in this application?

I would be willing to bet that little radiator is leaking. I'll check it out. But I'm definitely not paying $700 for it. If I can't get it fixed, I'm removing it permanently.

 

Copper-colored silicon? No...you need to use anaerobic sealant when you reassemble the plennem piece.
It is red - like the gel inside a Stretch Armstrong.

or even if you can't find LOCTITE.

Also, I really don't see how someone would break the internal radiator - unless they tightened the bolts too much, pulling the unit into the housing. But, even then, there really isn't anything inside to damage it on. They fit together rather perfectly.

Again, I would check the connections where both hoses attach. I'd bet the problem is there, if you are not spitting major amounts of fluid out your exhaust.