Quick disconnect fittings

Discussion pertaining to positive pressure E28s.
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George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

A few years back, when I still worked in the performance aftermarket sector, I used Staubli quick disconnect fittings on a race build: fuel lines, oil cooler, turbo lines ect could all be removed and installed with virtually no leaks and more importantly, not having to re-bleed whatever system you're working on. It was pretty slick - functional and "automotive" in appearance. Unfortunately, that was several thousands in fittings alone..

Since then, I had wanted to use something similar on the w/a intercooler lines. I find I often have reason to remove the intercooler on my e24 and doing so usually means draining the water, refilling and re-bleeding. The bleeding process is usually the most cumbersome.

Earlier this year, I came across the Jiffy Tite brand of quick connect fittings. Not quite as expensive as the Staubli. They spill a small amount of fluid that is held in the internal cavity between the valved sections of each end. All in all, not bad, I don't need to re-bleed the water system. They are a little longer than Id like but the intercooler can be removed and installed in about 5 minutes.


I'm in the middle of changing quite a few things in the engine bay so its a bit messy but I thought I'd share.

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Coldswede
Posts: 6859
Joined: Oct 10, 2008 1:48 PM
Location: Back U.P. North,. Where the water's blue, the wind is free and seasons four.

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by Coldswede »

Welcome back George!! 'Bout time you resurfaced!

Your pictures are broken. :cry:
George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

Coldswede wrote:Welcome back George!! 'Bout time you resurfaced!

Your pictures are broken. :cry:
I'm back. Will never be as active as I was prior but I'm back to enjoying wrenching on old BMWs and modifying them as I see fit :D :D

Finally got my own shop south of the city with enough space for a small fab area and storage for a few vehicles.

Let me try the pictures again:


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T_C_D
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Joined: May 27, 2009 11:42 AM
Location: Twin Cities
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Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by T_C_D »

Cool. I had something similar to that for my intercooler on my first turbo e28. I still have the fittings actually.
George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

I still need to figure out a bleed screw for the 1/2 female NPT on the top of the intercooler. I'm thinking a 1/2 Male to 1/8 female that uses a 1/8th bleed screw inserted in. It would be nice to have the water/coolant bleed through a nipple that I can attach a brake bleed bottle to and watch for when all the air is out of the system.

I'm hoping in the winter I can build a water tank that runs along the inner fender that would help solve this issue.

I'd also like to move to a larger compressor and with more some injector headroom this winter as well. I'm hoping the on-center turbos are still available.
T_C_D
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Joined: May 27, 2009 11:42 AM
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Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by T_C_D »

The Intercooler fill port is metric thread. ONC still
Available.
George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

T_C_D wrote:The Intercooler fill port is metric thread. ONC still
Available.
Yea...
I re-tapped it for NPT like 10 years ago when I was installing the kit. I lost the plug you included and went to Home Depot to buy something that might work. Ironically enough, when I moved all my tools to Seattle last year, I found the missing plug.
q20v
Posts: 64
Joined: Dec 26, 2015 10:50 AM
Location: Ontario, Canada

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by q20v »

I snagged a few Battlefield quick-disconnects from a show a few months ago and immediately wondered if I could use them on the car. These are a bit big but maybe some of their smaller ones would work. Not sure about cost though, I would imagine they are cost prohibitive for a budget build.

The design is supposedly dripless. Fit, finish, and quality is very very nice.

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And a real big one:
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George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

q20v wrote:I snagged a few Battlefield quick-disconnects from a show a few months ago and immediately wondered if I could use them on the car. These are a bit big but maybe some of their smaller ones would work. Not sure about cost though, I would imagine they are cost prohibitive for a budget build.

The design is supposedly dripless. Fit, finish, and quality is very very nice.

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And a real big one:
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Those looks pretty baller - i just wish they were shorter. I couldn't find any pricing for the -12 fittings. I spent about $200 for the two Jiffy Tite couplings which wasn't too bad. If I used them for fuel or oil I would definitely consider the dripless set-up.
George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

Bumping this thread simply because I did a valve adjustment on the turbo car last night and having these quick disconnect fittings has changed my life.

I know that sounds like hyperbole but being able to pull the intercooler in less than 90 seconds with virtually no coolant loss is incredible.

I used to dread draining, re-filling and bleeding the system every time I needed to change plugs, adjust valves, etc.

No more dread. Easy peasy.

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tschultz
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Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by tschultz »

Great to hear!
Hffvdbl
Posts: 413
Joined: Nov 21, 2011 3:50 PM
Location: DFW TX

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by Hffvdbl »

It looks like you have a new reservoir too. Did you make it yourself? Looks nice.
George
Posts: 2889
Joined: Sep 12, 2007 11:23 PM
Location: Seattle, WA

Re: Quick disconnect fittings

Post by George »

I did. I bought a TIG welder at the end of last year and I figured it was a good project to try to dial in a lot of the AC settings on the welder.

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I didn't have a sheet metal bender or shear at the time so some of the panels weren't perfect. Oh well. It turned out OK. I think I'll remake it this coming winter and probably make it a litter bigger so I can dump ice into it for a 1/4 mile pass.
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