hawk02
Seasoned Member
Let me start with a rant:
Why in the heck did GM not include an intercooler reservoir on its LT4 engines? The Hellcats have one, and so do the GT500s. Why GM insists on a closed system that isn’t truly closed makes me scratch my head.
Okay, with that off my chest—I just finished bleeding the intercooler on my '23 CT5-V Blackwing. While there wasn’t a large amount of air in the system, there was still some. I used the Tapout Tuning Intercooler Fill/Bleed Kit:
www.tapouttuning.com
When I had my ZL1, I bled the intercooler using the Dedicated Motorsports LT4 SC Coolant Filler Adapter Tool:
dedicatedmotorsports.com
The Tapout Tuning kit makes for much less mess in terms of coolant spillage. I didn’t replace part of the intercooler hose with the clear one that comes in the kit—it’s not needed. You can tell when the pump is running and easily see bubbles rising into the coolant in the funnel.
Unfortunately, on the Global B platform, there’s no way to run the pump with the engine off. On the ZL1, you can jump the pump relay. HP Tuners or a bidirectional code reader may be able to run the pump with the engine off, but I have no evidence to back this up. I just ran the engine for about four minutes each time while depressing the Schrader valve with the wooden dowel that came in the kit. I also squeezed the intercooler hose periodically to release bubbles. I did this about four times with 5–10-minute breaks in between, then I would take the car for a drive. I repeated this procedure over three days until I was satisfied I had removed most of the air.
I plan to repeat the intercooler bleed at least once a year maybe slightly more often depending on how the car is running. No reason to lose horsepower because of air.
Why in the heck did GM not include an intercooler reservoir on its LT4 engines? The Hellcats have one, and so do the GT500s. Why GM insists on a closed system that isn’t truly closed makes me scratch my head.
Okay, with that off my chest—I just finished bleeding the intercooler on my '23 CT5-V Blackwing. While there wasn’t a large amount of air in the system, there was still some. I used the Tapout Tuning Intercooler Fill/Bleed Kit:

Tapout Blackwing Intercooler Fill/Bleed Kit - Tapout Tuning
It’s important to note that any air pocket that reaches your intercooler pump will cause it to shut off after five seconds, rendering your intercooler worthless. This can create an unsafe scenario for a turbocharged or supercharged car, especially when boost is turned up via an aftermarket tune...

When I had my ZL1, I bled the intercooler using the Dedicated Motorsports LT4 SC Coolant Filler Adapter Tool:

LT4 SC Coolant Filler Adapter Tool
Lets face it, the coolant filling system found on the LT4 supercharged Camaro ZL1 and CTS-V can be a real pain in the butt to fill. Over the years we've tried a number of different solutions but none of them did the job without some pitfalls...

The Tapout Tuning kit makes for much less mess in terms of coolant spillage. I didn’t replace part of the intercooler hose with the clear one that comes in the kit—it’s not needed. You can tell when the pump is running and easily see bubbles rising into the coolant in the funnel.
Unfortunately, on the Global B platform, there’s no way to run the pump with the engine off. On the ZL1, you can jump the pump relay. HP Tuners or a bidirectional code reader may be able to run the pump with the engine off, but I have no evidence to back this up. I just ran the engine for about four minutes each time while depressing the Schrader valve with the wooden dowel that came in the kit. I also squeezed the intercooler hose periodically to release bubbles. I did this about four times with 5–10-minute breaks in between, then I would take the car for a drive. I repeated this procedure over three days until I was satisfied I had removed most of the air.
I plan to repeat the intercooler bleed at least once a year maybe slightly more often depending on how the car is running. No reason to lose horsepower because of air.