# Sticky  How Many Under-tightened Diesel Intake Clamps



## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

I could check, not that it would affect my Cruze at this point anyway. I did the intake modification where I removed a piece of the intake piping closer to the wheel-well. Gives the turbo a bit more un-restricted airflow and gives off a bit of a nicer sound that I feel a diesel should have.


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

I need to check mine now that it has been mentioned. Just to head off any possible down the road issues.


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## tunes (Jun 18, 2015)

Thanks for the tip. 2014 with 10,500 miles. 2 not tight. One of those was not even finger tight.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

LiveTrash said:


> I could check, not that it would affect my Cruze at this point anyway. I did the intake modification where I removed a piece of the intake piping closer to the wheel-well. Gives the turbo a bit more un-restricted airflow and gives off a bit of a nicer sound that I feel a diesel should have.


If you just did the resonator delete, but have the factory intake from the air filter through the turbo inlet, then you would still have these 5 hose clamps and this would still apply for you. If those joints are allowing air to enter after the MAF sensor, then you are getting un-metered air that could be a contributing factor to sensor failures.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

revjpeterson said:


> If you just did the resonator delete, but have the factory intake from the air filter through the turbo inlet, then you would still have these 5 hose clamps and this would still apply for you. If those joints are allowing air to enter after the MAF sensor, then you are getting un-metered air that could be a contributing factor to sensor failures.


Okay. I don't remember seeing that many clamps in that area when I did the modification. I'll have a look tomorrow morning and report back here! Thanks for the heads up.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

revjpeterson said:


> On the intake of the Diesel, there are 5 hose clamps holding together the various pieces between the air filter and the entrance to the turbo. These are the type that use a flat head screw to tighten them around the tube. When I checked mine tonight while changing my air filters, I discovered that 3 of the 5 were under-tightened--two of them so loose I could turn the screws by hand without a screwdriver. As un-metered air entering the intake has been proposed as a contributing factor to the sensor failures that some of us have experienced, this is something we should all probably check, along with visually inspecting for areas that could be drawing air. I would like as many Diesel owners as possible to check their hose clamps and report in the poll above how many were under-tightened. If you had any under-tightened clamps, post the age and mileage of your vehicle below. (2 years, 46,000 miles for me.


Very interesting post. I am guessing that mine are all tight, otherwise I would not have made 141K miles without any sensor issues, but I'll bet you are onto something with this idea. In fact, I'll bet that many of the reported sensor issues we've seen on this forum would not have happened if this wasn't an issue.


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## LulzT1 (Aug 24, 2015)

I had the pipe after the turbo disconnect completely at 451miles. Had a lot of issues after that, seems to have been resolved now with some new sensors and cat. Wish I had known earlier, didn't expect a new car off the lot to have loose parts though !


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## LulzT1 (Aug 24, 2015)

Oh and I only voted 1 because the dealer fixed it, so I'm not sure. At another trip to the dealer for a CEL around 7k miles they sent me on my way saying the intake hose was loose, again.. CEL came back on within 20mins of driving so I never went back to that dealer.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

ill check mine today


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

voted 4....4 were significantly loose, 5th was just shy of tight.

26 mos 49,000 miles


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

I forgot to check mine...few days of rain....two replacing fuel tanks in my truck and time dragging wife around town..and a morning getting my Cruze windows tinted..will check mine tomorrow.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

You know, when I went to the Lordstown meet, I learned that they randomly pull cars off the line to go over them with a fine toothed comb. I always suspected mine was one of those cars, but I will likely never know. This could explain why I never had many issues with my car, such as loose clamps. I will try to remember to check this weekend.


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## operator (Jan 2, 2015)

I had 1 fairly loose screw. all the others were relatively to completely tight.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

I'm thinking I'm going to continue monitoring the clamps to see if they hold or if they loosen on their own. If I have found that they loosened after being left alone for a few thousand miles, then I'm thinking that I will loosen them up, coat the contact area with light or medium thread-locker, and re-tighten them to see if that keeps them from loosening again.


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## boneheaddoctor (Dec 10, 2014)

I am assuming these are the 5 clamps between the air cleaner box and the turbo.

I barely had any movement from the screwdriver before they were tight on 3 of mine. So little I considered them already tight.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Guess I could check these when I get home.

But I'll probably just forget.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I'll look at mine. Would be a great thing to check


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Oh look at that, I forgot to check. :laugh:

Guess I'll have to put a reminder in my phone.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

I rechecked them again yesterday (6 weeks and 2500 miles later). 4 of the 5 were looser than when I tightened them at the time of the original post, but none had backed all the way off to finger-tight or far enough to allow air to enter. Unfortunately, I can't know if this is due to normal operation or if they had to diassemble/reassemble any of this while repairing from my car-deer accident before Thanksgiving. So, I'll re-check again in a few thousand miles to see what it reveals.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

All are tight on my Cruze, there is also a smaller tube coming off the intake going to the head with 2 spring clamps. I have the Australian Cruze so this may be different on the US Cruze.


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## Keith H. (Apr 23, 2015)

I found 3 in total, 2 that were loose enough to possibly let unmetered/unfiltered air in, and one that needed to be snugged up. Its definitely worth the time to do a quick check during oil changes.

2014 CTD with 14,000 miles when I checked them.


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## Cruze2.0TD (Feb 12, 2014)

Just checked. 3/5 were loose. July 2013 build, purchased February 2014, 31,500 km's


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I finally went down and checked mine, and had 3 that were slightly loose. The tow on the left, and the one on the far right by the turbo. I don't think they were loose enough to let air in, but I was able to get between 1/2 and about 3/4 turn on them to snug them up.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

So anyway, I tried to go into the poll and update my answers and somehow managed to lose one of the options. Sorry everybody! I ended up removing the option that had zero votes.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Anybody with a newer build (January 2014+) have any loose clamps?


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

Im getting home today and checking definitely, sorry for late poll results been very busy. im a 

Build Date: 02/18/2015 Build Plant: 7 
 


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## Canadian Cruzer (Oct 27, 2014)

diesel said:


> I finally went down and checked mine, and had 3 that were slightly loose. The tow on the left, and the one on the far right by the turbo. I don't think they were loose enough to let air in, but I was able to get between 1/2 and about 3/4 turn on them to snug them up.


I just checked mine and all five were at least 1/2 turn loose and three were 1 and 1/2 turns loose. I voted three of five because the two 1/2 s were somewhat snug.


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## Canadian Cruzer (Oct 27, 2014)

money_man said:


> Anybody with a newer build (January 2014+) have any loose clamps?


Mine built Feb 14 and 3 of five clamps loose.


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## TheRealHip (Sep 1, 2014)

I had my 2014 for 2 days and one of the hoses popped off. The dealer fixed it and tightened all the clamps.


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## magnusson (Jun 15, 2014)

How do you open the hood? havent done it in 25000 miles...


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

magnusson said:


> How do you open the hood? havent done it in 25000 miles...


http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-chevy-cruze-diesel-how-diy-library/8538-how-open-hood.html


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

magnusson said:


> How do you open the hood? havent done it in 25000 miles...


Sounds like my wife, she can't open her petrol cap either.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

> Sounds like my wife, she can't open her petrol cap either.


Thats why my girlfriend drives my jeep zj. every single thing that can take a fluid is color coated so that it follows the legend on the radiator frame. red cap on the stick is ATF, green cap is rad overflow, yellow is motor oil and so forth. they literally wife proofed the jeep.... yah never mind


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

I have a feeling this post/poll will save more than a few people from check engine lights that would have otherwise happened and potentially turned into nightmares.


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## Canmechtech (May 30, 2015)

None that I know of but then again I'm a horrible mechanic. 20000 km and only the dealer has lifted the hood. You'd think being a mechanic I'd want to check out my own car but no as long as I don't have to pay for service I reefuse to go near it!!!


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Canmechtech said:


> None that I know of but then again I'm a horrible mechanic. 20000 km and only the dealer has lifted the hood. You'd think being a mechanic I'd want to check out my own car but no as long as I don't have to pay for service I reefuse to go near it!!!


That's me!!! I'm an electrician but for 6 years I worked at my dad's shop. I open the hood only to top up windshield wash and sometimes just to see what it looks like under there.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

pandrad61 said:


> Thats why my girlfriend drives my jeep zj. every single thing that can take a fluid is color coated so that it follows the legend on the radiator frame. red cap on the stick is ATF, green cap is rad overflow, yellow is motor oil and so forth. they literally wife proofed the jeep.... yah never mind



I just take a black sharpie and mark everything. Battery, radiator, radiator overflow, windshield washer fluid , oil, brake fluid etc. my dad taught me all about cars, but I don't expect my kids to know unless I teach them. Most people just want to put gas/diesel In their Cruze and just go........


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

In case any forum members might have had questions about how to check these clamps, I put up a quick How To article on the procedure at: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/169-...w-check-diesel-intake-clamps.html#post2205410


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## theonlypheonix (Oct 8, 2015)

2015 at 9087 miles with no loose clamps at this time, but then again I'm :idiot:the ONLY one that ever touches the car!


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## theonlypheonix (Oct 8, 2015)

2015 at 9087 miles with no loose clamps at this time, but then again I'm :idiot:the ONLY one that ever touches the car!


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

2015 with 500 miles, all 5 loose, 2 of them closer to intake side on left ( not engine) took three full rotations with flat head screwdriver to tighten. Great thread and thanks for the help. Color me shocked that GM would not issue a TSB to have these checked every time upon service and/or sale of vehicle.


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## Cruzator (Dec 31, 2014)

2 very slightly loose on mine, and 3 with 1/2 to a turn loose.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

Is there a thread for 1.4L engine hose clamp tightness? I haven't checked but I will next time I get under the hood.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

chevrasaki said:


> Is there a thread for 1.4L engine hose clamp tightness? I haven't checked but I will next time I get under the hood.



This is for us diesel guys, but no reason you can't start a thread. It's an issue with us because of a sensor. I'd grab a flat head screwdriver and check yours anyway, nothing to lose. Just don't over tighten the hose clamps.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

chevrasaki said:


> Is there a thread for 1.4L engine hose clamp tightness? I haven't checked but I will next time I get under the hood.


Not in the diesel section.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

diesel said:


> Not in the diesel section.


Yeah, sorry still newish to the forum, just saw this post it got me curious, I will check anyway, couldn't hurt.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

chevrasaki said:


> Yeah, sorry still newish to the forum, just saw this post it got me curious, I will check anyway, couldn't hurt.


No problem, it never hurts to check, that's for sure! Welcome to the forum!


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I wouldn't say any were really something I'd consider "loose", but two were able to be tightened - the two nearest the airbox. The second one in allowed more turns and was the "looser" of the two - but neither were going anywhere.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

MP81 said:


> The second one in allowed more turns and was the "looser" of the two - but neither were going anywhere.


It's really more of a question if it would allow an air leak big enough to throw off the air/fuel mixture.


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

My 15 diesel has 4750 miles and three of the five were loose, turned about one round or little more each. Not sure loose enough yet but with vibrations probably would be later, will just be on my radar at each oil change to check. Great thread.


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## vwgtiglx (Jun 13, 2013)

At 24,000, my 2014 had 2 screws that I could tighten about a quarter to a half turn. That wasn't an option on your Poll.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

vwgtiglx said:


> At 24,000, my 2014 had 2 screws that I could tighten about a quarter to a half turn. That wasn't an option on your Poll.


 2 was accidentally deleted.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

vwgtiglx said:


> At 24,000, my 2014 had 2 screws that I could tighten about a quarter to a half turn. That wasn't an option on your Poll.





Aussie said:


> 2 was accidentally deleted.


Yeah, you can read back through the posts to see what happened.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

My 02/18/2015 Build Plant: 7 CTD had 0 loose clamps. not one clamp could i get a quarter turn let alone half. 8,400 MILES


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

I finally got around to doing this after I remembered when I was out rinsing down my car today. My 2014 Diesel had 4 clamps that I could get at least 1-2 full turns out of before they felt snug. The last one I got maybe a quarter turn so I felt that could be adequate. I voted for 4 under tightened clamps. I have around 25,000kms on the clock. 

So I suppose I should expect the +10HP gain out of this new modification? /sarcasm


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Wistfully waiting for it to rain so I can drive my CTD with salt free roads, I checked this and found my 4500 miles 2015 Cruze to have zero loose intake fasteners.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

mrbrefast said:


> Wistfully waiting for it to rain so I can drive my CTD with salt free roads, I checked this and found my 4500 miles 2015 Cruze to have zero loose intake fasteners.


I have never driven on a salted road and hope I never have to in the future. I have driven in snow, but not with the Cruze so far, in the 3 1/2 years that I have owned it I have driven it almost every day. I have not seen a badly rusted car that has been built in the last 30 years, even in the scrap yard.


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## mrbrefast (Aug 9, 2015)

Aussie said:


> I have never driven on a salted road and hope I never have to in the future. I have driven in snow, but not with the Cruze so far, in the 3 1/2 years that I have owned it I have driven it almost every day. I have not seen a badly rusted car that has been built in the last 30 years, even in the scrap yard.


Consider yourself lucky - Ohio is the heart of what they rightfully call "The Rust Belt" - not least of all because in more recent years they have begun reducing the quantity of rock salt granules, in favor of a brine solution. 

They basically dump seawater onto the roads.

Oddly enough, it CONSUMES cars. :angry:


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## Cruz15 (Mar 17, 2016)

1 was very loose just before the filter, 3 were more than 1/2 a turn loose. I am going to check every 6 months.


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## Rickster (Feb 13, 2016)

I have a 2015 Cruze diesel with 8000 km so I checked the clamps on the intake plumbing. One was about 3/4 of a turn loose while the rest were fine. 

FYI,
Rick


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## Black20cruze (Mar 8, 2015)

I put all five on the survey, but it was definitely 4 and the fifth I wouldn't call loose, but it turned a half turn, others were more like 2-3 turns


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

A pretty high percentage of people responding to this survey have found loose hose clamp(s). Interesting miss on the factory QC. Or is it? I wonder if they just work themselves loose over time due to the diesel vibration....


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

diesel said:


> A pretty high percentage of people responding to this survey have found loose hose clamp(s). Interesting miss on the factory QC. Or is it? I wonder if they just work themselves loose over time due to the diesel vibration....


I think they work themselves loose after the factory due to vibrations, I have a couple clamps I have tightened a couple times and I have 8650 miles on the car.


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

IndyDiesel said:


> I think they work themselves loose after the factory due to vibrations, I have a couple clamps I have tightened a couple times and I have 8650 miles on the car.


I have 45,000km on my car that I bought new in 2012 and the clamps have been fine. Apart from the noisy high pressure injectors there really isn't much vibration that I have noticed. Noisier than petrol, yes, but not rougher.


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## LiveTrash (May 24, 2015)

Aussie said:


> I have 45,000km on my car that I bought new in 2012 and the clamps have been fine. Apart from the noisy high pressure injectors there really isn't much vibration that I have noticed. Noisier than petrol, yes, but not rougher.


The diesel engine in the North American Diesel Cruze is definitely rougher than the gas version. Not by much, but definitely noticeable. I test drove the gas before I bought my diesel. I notice the difference in feeling mostly in the steering wheel at lower RPMs.


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## MilTownSHO (Oct 9, 2013)

Finally got around to checking mine, none of them were lose after 73,000 miles.


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## Cruz15 (Mar 17, 2016)

My first two were loose again about a 3/4 turn.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

Cruz15 said:


> My first two were loose again about a 3/4 turn.


They worked themselves loose?


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## Cruz15 (Mar 17, 2016)

Yes that is correct.


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## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

Sounds like a job for Loctite.


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

diesel said:


> They worked themselves loose?



Ditto, I rechecked mine after three months and found them "starting" to get loose again. Not horribly loose, but enough to require another 1-2 turns .


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

I rechecked my clamps at 16k miles and all of them were loose, I have tightened them at least 3 times in 12k miles I have owned the car in seven months of ownership. It seems like it is a activity on my car that needs checked every couple months.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

IndyDiesel said:


> I rechecked my clamps at 16k miles and all of them were loose, I have tightened them at least 3 times in 12k miles I have owned the car in seven months of ownership. It seems like it is a activity on my car that needs checked every couple months.


That reminds me, I am about due to check mine again. They definitely seem to work themselves loose.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

> Originally Posted by *IndyDiesel*
> I rechecked my clamps at 16k miles and all of them were loose, I have tightened them at least 3 times in 12k miles I have owned the car in seven months of ownership. It seems like it is a activity on my car that needs checked every couple months.
> That reminds me, I am about due to check mine again. They definitely seem to work themselves loose.



Maybe time to replace them with a better brand of them lol


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## IndyDiesel (May 24, 2015)

pandrad61 said:


> Maybe time to replace them with a better brand of them lol


I don't think it is a clamp problem, I think this engine vibrates more than a gasoline engine and the clamps are going around a rubber hose that probably gives a bit, but mostly vibration. Not really a big deal, I just check every couple months and retighted the clamps.


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## pandrad61 (Jul 8, 2015)

> I don't think it is a clamp problem, I think this engine vibrates more than a gasoline engine and the clamps are going around a rubber hose that probably gives a bit, but mostly vibration. Not really a big deal, I just check every couple months and retighted the clamps.


thats a strong possibility. auto zone sells these clamps that have a huge butterfly on them so you can hand tighten if needed. if plastic breaks its a simple Philips or flat under it.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

T-bolt band clamps might work better, than the worm-gear style.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Checked mine. 1 needed about 3 turns. The rest were good.


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## DslGate (Jun 29, 2016)

I check mine about once a week and sure enough, they start getting loosey goosey and need a turn or half to tighten them up.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

I just got about a 1/4 turn on most of the clamps when I checked yesterday afternoon (while the engine was still hot).


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## beaurrr (Aug 27, 2016)

MP81 said:


> T-bolt band clamps might work better, than the worm-gear style.


Egg-zactly. The Cummins in my Ram had all sorts of high grade fasteners such as T-bolt bands with nyloks, which never came loose. I think I'll look around for some that might fit.

Also, unlike the CTD, the pressurized intake section was high grade stuff. 

I put a bit of blue Loctite on the the band for now. Anybody tried that?


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Is there clearance to replace the intercooler to throttle body tubing with metal tubing and silicone couplers?


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## beaurrr (Aug 27, 2016)

MP81 said:


> Is there clearance to replace the intercooler to throttlebody tubing with metal tubing and silicone couplers?


I was just out looking at mine again. I'm not quite clear on how that fitting works on the TB end. I see there is a little flex there. How does that seal work?


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## Aussie (Sep 16, 2012)

I just rechecked my clamps and in just over 4 years they are still tight. Could where they are located on my engine make a difference?

View attachment 207122
View attachment 207130


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## beaurrr (Aug 27, 2016)

Yours seem to located in about the same places. The style appears to be slightly different, though.


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## Cruz15 (Mar 17, 2016)

My clamp after the air box was loose a full turn, my clamps come loose all the time.


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## beaurrr (Aug 27, 2016)

I last checked them at 19000 miles and one or two were a little loose. I put some blue loctite on the threaded part on all five clamps. Today, at 27,000 miles, all five are still tight. Not sure if the loctite had anything to do with it, though.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

This reminds me, it's time to check mine again. They always work themselves loose.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

2014 (2 1/2 years old) 65,000 miles. 4 of 5 clamps took 1 1/2 to 2 full turns. The one closest to the turbo took 1/8th turn only.


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## Rivergoer (Mar 30, 2017)

After almost a year and 27,000 miles, did another check today. The first three clamps starting from the air filter box required about 3/4-1 turn each. 

The last two clamps near the turbo were still tight.


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## beaurrr (Aug 27, 2016)

Mine seem to have tight (now at 42k), although I dab some blocke loctite on the threads.


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