 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Is it worth cleaning the intercooler? |
 
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2545  
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You need a lot of oil in the system for it to do that, basically your engine either needs to be knackered or the turbo needs to have failed.
My 200Tdi being fairly old (and having a crap design of crankcase breather) has a fair amount of oil residue in the intercooler, to the extent that going up the hairpins on Gatescarth Pass in the Lake District it drew a bit in and started smoking. But it has never caused any problems or damage and I clean it out when I do the timing belt so every 60k miles or so. It can be alarming to the uninitiated when they first see it but unless it’s swimming in it don’t worry about it. |
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14th Apr 2018 7:56am |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
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No, left that joy to Autobritt. 
Eric You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation. http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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14th Apr 2018 8:45am |
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| DC101 Member Since: 01 Jul 2012 Location: Pudsey, West Yorkshire Posts: 249  
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Interesting stuff by all. Thanks.
Has made me think to clean the pipes to the side intercooler. They, too, are likely to be the same age as the motor, and whilst not split in anyway, has made me think about replacing them (silicone?) but again don’t wish to spend the cash unnecessarily. Can they be checked for function? Anything else to check whilst at it? Cheers, Robin |
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14th Apr 2018 8:45pm |
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| DC101 Member Since: 01 Jul 2012 Location: Pudsey, West Yorkshire Posts: 249
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For interest, cleaned the intercooler yesterday, flushing through twice with some petrol...
Some oily residue came out, as per photo. Also cleaned through radiator and intercooler thins from outside, and changed coolant, so reckon it was worth the effort. Just wish I had the readies for an upgraded intercooler now. Cheers  Click image to enlarge |
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24th Apr 2018 9:53am |
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| zsd-puma Member Since: 09 Aug 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 2720 
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I remembered this post when I was changing the rad on my 2010 Defender last night. So thought I'd flush the intercooler through with some brake cleaner, while it was out.
After 8 years and 85'000 miles there was a bit of black gunk came out of it, but very little if any oil. Ie. I mostly just got the brake cleaner out that I'd put in. There is a bit of oil sitting in the hose to the inlet manifold, but no more than you could soak up with a bit of rag. Most of the dirt that came out was probably just from when the injector seals were leaking. I doubt it was enough to make any noticeable difference to the performance. So in line with my previous experience of doing the same on other cars unless you've had a major failure of a turbo or you're rebuilding a worn out engine it's not worth the effort in stripping it down specifically to flush the internals, unless you happen to be taking it out for access to something else. Even then while it won't do any harm it will unlikely make any perceivable difference to performance. A dose of diesel intake cleaner once a year probably does the same thing. |
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24th May 2018 1:49pm |
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| watergypsey Member Since: 17 Apr 2018 Location: oundle Posts: 25 
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Think id rather go for a new larger intercooler rather than clean out ,be nice for the remap..
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26th May 2018 9:35am |
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