Just noticed a big pool of black oil on the garage floor which has dripped out of one of the HKS Intercooler pipes. The IC was part of the kit that I bought secondhand about three months ago. Looks like the engine it came off had suffered some sort of catastrophic failure possibly not dissimilar to my own ringland failure a while back.
Question is, how best to clean it out? IIRC Rene used petrol to flush out a WTA IC on his ST185CS but had to repeat the process four or five times before it remained clear(ish) I was wondering if you could use something like a chemical bath like you use for cleaning old engine blocks.

Thoughts anyone?

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

copied from ARE.com intercooler site;-
"Intercooler Maintenance

An intercooler that has been in service for a couple of years will definitely provide more cooling if it is cleaned properly. That is, soaked in a degreaser bath to remove the interior oil film that has accumulated (which may be ever so thin with a new turbo), then power flushed with water. The exterior fins should sprayed with a proper aluminium acidic cleaner to remove the surface oxidation that will have formed. Both the oil film & oxidation inhibit the transference of heat to the ambient air.

If not sure of the proper procedure & products to use, we strongly recommend having this done by a professional business.
Please see the below picture, which is a 9 month old intercooler that was soaked in a water based degreaser mixed with kero. The caustic base of the degreaser attacked the alloy & rendered the core completely useless, a new core being the only alternative - expensive mistake. Specific acid cleaners must be used on the external cooling fins as the average thickness is only 0.08mm - that's paper thin. Any bent over fins should be straightened so full air flow is allowed through the core. Last word. Intercooling a forced induction intake charge is a compromise. We direct all our energies at minimising the negative compromises & maximising the positive compromises!"

Commrcial type Air conditioning air movement heat exchanger cores are cleaned externally with an aluminium suitable acid and a variety of softish brushes to agitate off the surface corrosion and seeing as the cores look almost identical I see no reason not to follow this procedure externally for car based cores. I also wonder if a 2 or 3 stage internal cleaning procedure should be adopted.

1 - clean in ultrasonic degreasing bath
2 - power flush
3 - final clean with fresh petrol

just suggestions, if it is that bad then it may need to soak for some time.

_________________
JP
GT4DC Treasurer

Grey St185 RC
Silver BMW E46 M3
Multicolour yawn Honda VFR400
Silver Honda Civic Type-R

use a variation on the old bush washing machine. Nearly fill with petrol, seal WELL and stick in the back of the patrol. The vibes while driving about will agitate quite wwll methinks

I also vote for just washing through with petrol until it runs clear

_________________
Kris
95 ST205 - slept for 10 years, now waking up...
Avensis
http://www.gtfours.co.uk
_______________________________________
Turbocharging - the replacement for displacement

Hi,

dito
works simply great

greetz

_________________
KEEP COOL UNDER PRESSURE

street legal?.....perhaps in tschibuti

I would empty the first batch of petrol into a tub, let it settle and check for swarf - just in case.

_________________
If at first you don't suck seed, try drier grain.

Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

Petrol ftw!

_________________
René - Carlos Sainz 2433•5000
Turbocelica.nl | ST185 CS restoration and full rebuild

If it ain't broken.. it soon will be

Samples before, during and after Christmas and New Year

_________________
Vice Chairman
1990 White UK Celica ST185 - Project DTM
1997 Cream BMW R1200C (as seen in James Bond "Tomorrow Never Dies")
2005 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sovereign AWD Automatic
Blood Bikes - https://www.freewheelers.org.uk/

Hi,

LOL

greetz

_________________
KEEP COOL UNDER PRESSURE

street legal?.....perhaps in tschibuti

Was that really 13 flushes

_________________
Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

Yes, the previouw owners only filled the tank and drove the car apparently.

_________________
René - Carlos Sainz 2433•5000
Turbocelica.nl | ST185 CS restoration and full rebuild

If it ain't broken.. it soon will be

Meurz > If you have anything with a 2 stroke engine you can simply mix them all up and throw 'em in

_________________
'92 GT-Four RC - Project Rufus - something of a mover.
'05 Audi A3 3.2 V6 Quattro S Line - not bad for a daily.