Intercooler cleaning

[Deleted Member S]

When I come to fit my new oil catch tank I was going to remove the intercooler & try to clean it on the inside to remove some of the oil which is prob in there :roll: I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what to use to do it. The only thing I can realy think of is using parafin to shift the oil :? I'm going to wipe out as much oil as I can from the inside of the turbo & iduction pipes just to clean it up a bit.
Any ideas most welcome :smile:

 

[Giggsy]

Silit Bang! the guy on the tv says it'll shift owt!

Seriously what about 'gunk' and boiling water don't they use it to clean oil from engine bays, don't know what residue it leaves as i've never cleaned an engine bay!

 

[Deleted Member S]

I'm just worried about using water in it incase any get into the engine because it got stuck/trapped in the cooler:roll: I know it won't mind a drop of prafin

 

[Giggsy]

not that im an expert (very far from it) but a drip or two of water in engine i would of thought would just cook instant either by glow plugs or just temp in chamber neway. If parafin cleans it off i'd stick with that though as it'll just evaporate (i think) and burn in engine, may improve performance a bit of para!

 

[rsaddo]

Just done mine today inside and out with unipart brake cleaner we use it were i work so got a gallon of the stuff and its cleaned it up a treat good thing about this stuff it totaly evaporates in a few minutes

 

[Terranosaurus]

Gunk (or any other water soluble degreaser) followed by boiling hot water, leave the intercooler in a position that it can drain and the heat from the boiling water 'stored' in the metal will dry it off quite effectively. As said a few drops won't do any harm anyway, but if you're worried stick it in the airing cupboard overnight or a hot oven for 10 mins.

Be careful using kitchen type cleaners on ally parts, some of them are caustic and could attack the alloy.

Biological washing powder is quite a good degreaser too but needs to be left to soak for quite a while, very good on plastic parts like washer bottles etc.

 

[Guest]

Same principle, just adapt to yours

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/stage1v8/TechnicalIntercooler.htm

As said a few drops won't do any harm anyway,

Rubbish! Talking about stuff he has no comprehension of again. Intercooler is for air only

 

[Deleted Member]

Keep us informed sweety,would be good to see how you get on.
Might service mine sometime this year!!

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

Cameraman, I just checked you link I am with him 100% right up until he starts talking about nitrus oxide :lol: I think the parafin may do the intercooler no harm but the fumes are obviously no good for a DIY mechanic :wink: :lol:

 

[Deleted Member S]

Well been to where I used to work & got a gallon of parafin for £2.50 it's just a shame the boss was'nt in as I would have got it a bit cheaper :lol: All I got to do know is wait for my tank to come & then I can get started on cleaning the intercooler & see how much crap comes out off it :roll: On the plus side the old girl may end up a bit quicker as she'll be able to breath a bit better :lol: :lol: :lol:

Oh & to give you all a laugh it looks as my new waterpump has a slight leak from around 1 of the top mounting nuts :evil: tightened it up a bit more to see if that helps if not ragweld here I come :lol:

 

[theduck]

As you may all remember last year when I blew the LHD T2 up in switzerland 8O I had got oil in the intercooler and the mechanic tried to clean it out with parafin that worked OK :wink: but I also had oil in the turbo :roll: . He said exactly what that guy with the disco has said wash it oput then rinse it well and make sure you leave it to dry or put it in the airing cupboard. :idea: Think I may do this in the warmer weather before we go to Italy :smile: .

 

[woody1]

Im about to do mine with carb cleaner, spray a tin in, block the ends off and slowly rock about and rotate, then stand to drain confident that and left in there will evaporate.

 

[jace]

bitove leftover water/gunk mix in there aint gonna hurt an intercooler full might not be so nice

 

[Deleted Member S]

It's not the intercooler I was worried about Jace it was getting water into the engine if i had any traped in the cooler :roll: but once it been cleaned i'm going to put the hair drier on it or get someone to do it whilst
i get on & do other jobs :lol: :lol:

 

[jace]

if you take it off cean it and leave it drain give rattle about aint gonna be lot water drips in there to damage i drowned my mistral at bourton on water pulled heaters out spun over put em back in an away we went so if your realy worried pull em out turbo will force smallest amounts out

 

[Deleted Member S]

Well cleaned out the intercooler today, I took it off the truck & layed it flat on it's back & filled it right up with parafin & left it to soak for about an hour whilest I fitted the oil catch tank. I stuck a pair of latex glovers over the pipes were the intercooler fits to keep any muck out :wink: When I poored out the parafin I was shocked to see the colour of the parafin as it was black 8O I refilled it again & left it for about another 15 mins then emptied it out & rinsed it with the hose & this pushed out the last bit of rubbish in there. To dry it out I used my wife hair drier & luckely it fitted inside one of the openings so left it going & got on with cleaning the turbo & the pipes.
I would say it's worth doing if not just to see how much muck is in yours :lol: I took the truck for a quick spin down the road & it does seem a bit more lively now but I will be able to confurm this more tomorrow when I take my wife out in it as she knows my driving style & will be able to tell if there is a difference :wink:

 

[Deleted Member]

Good man sweety,think mine is due for a clean sometime!!! may even come down to Garage sweety to get it done!! :lol: :lol:

 

[Deleted Member S]

Good man sweety,think mine is due for a clean sometime!!! may even come down to Garage sweety to get it done!! :lol: :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Thats not a prob m8 you know where I am:wink: :lol: :lol:

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

your wife may not notice the difference..... she will be preocupied by the diesel and gunge in her hair :lol: