Thread: Allisport intercooler installation

When i fitted my 300tdi intercooler[allard-same size] I modified the mounting brackets as my bull/winch bar sits level with the headlight shrouds as most 110 bars do in Australia where as English bars are generally mounted about 3-4 inchs lower, the reason being that with the brackets supplied the intercooler sits to low and is behind the winch and not getting full air flow, my intercooler sits just below the bonnet latch with out touching[be carefull you dont want to close your bonnet and puncture the intercooler], its not difficult to fit at all but use common sense[not that common any more]. I also run the larger allisport radiator.
Richard

Originally Posted by redrovertdi

When i fitted my 300tdi intercooler[allard-same size] I modified the mounting brackets as my bull/winch bar sits level with the headlight shrouds as most 110 bars do in Australia where as English bars are generally mounted about 3-4 inchs lower, the reason being that with the brackets supplied the intercooler sits to low and is behind the winch and not getting full air flow, my intercooler sits just below the bonnet latch with out touching[be carefull you dont want to close your bonnet and puncture the intercooler], its not difficult to fit at all but use common sense[not that common any more]. I also run the larger allisport radiator.
Richard

What sort of difference did you notice with the larger radiator fitted? Any difference at all to the running temps? Makes sense to me to install one as the bigger intercooler restricts the airflow to the radiator, maybe not necessary though...

Its a hard one to answer, my temp guage would always climb on a steep hill, so i fitted a vdo guage. i had a kbx grille that i drilled a lot of holes in because i figured it stopped alot of air- have since cut the guts out of it so now it is a frame with mesh, also run twin thermos from a vt commodore behind the radiator, my engine is fully reconditioned, the block was acid washed and i cleaned out the water jacket and checked with a borer scope that it was clean and replaced all welsh plugs.
car currently runs at 90 degrees normally with a 82 degree thermostat, gets upto 110-15 on a steep hill and comes down after the crest, the fans are set to come on at 92

We recently ran some non-scientific tests in South Africa. Take a look here:

Defender Puma Intercooler Testing - 4x4 Community Forum


On the Puma there is a huge difference from standard. Take a look at the video i recorded while testing the difference in acceleration. Although the video makes the road look flat its actually quite a steep hill. We were traveling in single file with airconditioners on in 6th gear, when someone said "go" over the radio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzkmz...ature=youtu.be

Well, that was a fairly straightforward install and the instructions were really useful. Took me longer than expected due to hose fitting.

A couple of things worth mentioning...

Be REALLY careful of the plastic brackets that the fan top cover screws onto. When fitting the new intercooler I managed to break one of these off because I'm a clumsy oaf.

Hacksawing the plastic brackets is easy enough just with a blade on its own, although it didn't look like an absolutely necessary job - I thought there might be enough clearance without it. Nevertheless, I got rid of them.

I took the opportunity to clean out the radiator and the air con fins with a garden hose until the water was running clear - this took a good twenty minutes. I think I had half the Watagans in there, which may go some way to explaining the overheating issues I've been having.

Silicone hoses
Fitting silicone hoses is HARD WORK! The engine bay is so crammed with components that there's an awful lot of very hard to reach clips and screws....and getting purchase on the hoses to push them onto the housings was difficult. I was lying on the engine at one point, much to my neighbours' collective amusement.

Fitting the hoses to the intercooler first is the way forwards, I think, rather than the engine-side components. This is just to give yourself enough wiggle room fore and aft. Form a side-to--side perspective, there is not a lot of room between the radiator and where the hose clamps onto the intercooler - this was a tough fit but we got there with the loss of a small amount of knuckle skin!

One of my hose clips failed as I was tightening it so I have cable-tied the hose on it thrice and will get a replacement clip for it. Might be worth giving the clips a good clean before you put them back on with the new hose.

Overall

The performance is very noticeable...and so is the noise - the turbo spooling up and really breathing freely sounds wonderful. I'm impressed.

I need to take the big fella out for a more thorough road test but so far I'd say it's definitely a modification worth doing.

Bobby

Hey Bobby,

Did you take any photos of the intercooler fitted...would like to have a look, Thanks

Chilly

Originally Posted by Chilly

Hey Bobby,

Did you take any photos of the intercooler fitted...would like to have a look, Thanks

Chilly

Yes, photos please.

One thing I found out was that the NON ac cooler can be fitted to aus spec ac cars (longer nose).

Its 20mm thicker so a fare bit more cooling.