Thread: Cheap updated intercooler

Originally Posted by PAT303

Personally I think fitting a $600+ dollar intercooler is a waste of money,you would be much better off cleaning the original,replacing the hoses and giving the vehicle to a good diesel tuner and getting it tuned,anyone who thinks sticking a go fast bit on and getting results without doing anything else is living in la la land,when was the last time you check valve clearances?. Pat

Allisport intercoolers come complete with tuning instructions, anyone clever enough to work out how to fit one can do the adjustments. An EGT gauge completes the setup so you can monitor the thing. Doing the valve clearances is regular maintenance for anyone sufficiently awake.

Originally Posted by POD

Cleaned mine out a few months ago and it definitely made a difference. How would replacing the hoses, unless they are delaminated or something, make any difference?

Why go to all the trouble of removing a 300 Tdi intercooler,they are a PITA to get out,clean it all up and then refit with the the old hoses?,just do the job once. Pat

Originally Posted by PAT303

Why go to all the trouble of removing a 300 Tdi intercooler,they are a PITA to get out,clean it all up and then refit with the the old hoses?,just do the job once. Pat

He said it made a difference, didn't he? Maybe he also didn't want to spend extra money when it wasn't necessary.

Like I said,just do the job once. Pat

Originally Posted by BadCo.

He said it made a difference, didn't he? Maybe he also didn't want to spend extra money when it wasn't necessary.

Pretty much; I only intended to do the job once, and replacing the hoses unnecessarily is a job I don't actually plan to do at all. Mine is a tdci by the way, don't have the same problems as the td5 with delaminating, from what I have been told & read. I'm still unclear how new hoses, be they silicon or whatever, would make any difference unless the existing hoses are faulty?

Coming from heavily modified rice burners into my 2012 Defender. I can't really see the benefit of upgrading the intercooler being a good investment bang for buck. If you are going to do engine mods down the track and hunt for more power etc later on then sure, but otherwise I wouldnt bother. Unless the current intercooler is at it's maximum efficiency, which it very well may be, I have no idea, just leave it and look more for cooling of oils and water as a priority for longevity. Any performance gain increases heat and that's where reliability starts to waver and a whole chain of events can occur. Maybe not just from upgrading the intercooler though.

Originally Posted by POD

Pretty much; I only intended to do the job once, and replacing the hoses unnecessarily is a job I don't actually plan to do at all. Mine is a tdci by the way, don't have the same problems as the td5 with delaminating, from what I have been told & read. I'm still unclear how new hoses, be they silicon or whatever, would make any difference unless the existing hoses are faulty?

A delaminating hose is not just a TD5 thing. My understanding is it can happen to any old rubber hose. TDCI hoses probably haven't aged enough for it to be a common issue yet. I doubt you could ever notice the difference but silicone hoses won't buldge like a rubber hose either which affects boost. I expect this is also what causes delamination over a long period of time.

Be aware that if you are hoping to get a huge increase in performance just by replacing the hoses, you need to pick the right colour. I fitted black silicone hoses and there was no perceptible improvement. I believe that the red ones improve things more.

I have also learnt that if you want a noticeable increase in power from cleaning the intercooler, then you need to let it get really dirty before you do the job. I cleaned mine out while I was doing the timing belt and didn't detect any benefit at all.

I had the same disappointing result when I adjusted the tappets. That may have been because they only needed a tiny amount of adjustment.

So you might get a benefit from any of those things, but don't bank on it.