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View Full Version : Cleaned the intercooler today...



Tex Arcana
10-25-2006, 11:15 PM
Me and rickgig got together to clean my intercooler, blower, intakes, and change my plugs. Didn't get alot of pics except for these:
http://i14.tinypic.com/2afdc0j.jpg
http://i14.tinypic.com/2nlfmo3.jpg
http://i13.tinypic.com/2uohudd.jpg

These are the original, stock plugs, I was just past 60k on the clock. Rick said that all but one or two plugs were actually LOOSE, as in it took almost no torque to break them loose. :eek: Surprising, considering how well it's been running. :shrug:

Not sure how to interpret the look of the old plugs, they look fairly nasty (and show the blowby on the threads), but like I said, the damn thing ran great. If anyone can offer some insight, I'd appreciate it.

The grey stuff on either side of the plugs in the pics is the teflon from the blower rotors. Yep, when I went to clean 'em, the stuff bubbled--of course, dummy me, I used Berryman's B12 Chemtool carb and choke cleaner to clean them, oops. But, it all peeled off pretty well, and some research showed that it's not too big a deal (I hope). They cleaned up quite nicely, as did the inside of the case. I changed the gear oil as well, and lubed the back bearings while I was at it. It turned nicely, and sounds a bit more metallic, but sounds okay.

The intercooler was a nasty mess, too, damn near black. That purple cleaner Rick used on his did the trick, tho, and it cleaned out really well, as did the upper and lower intakes.

I did notice something disturbing while we were doing this: my cheapie oil separator isn't doing the job. Found a considerable amount of oil in the PCV vacuum hose in the upper plenum, and the gasket between the upper plenum and blower showed some oil migration across the seal, which I fixed with silicone gasket sealer.

Which begs the question: with the blower rotors stripped clean now, will they work better with a film of oil on them (thanks to the PCV), or should I try harder to eliminate the oil contamination??

Anyway, that was the gist of my day. Much thanks to Rick for his help, he did a lion's share of the work today, especially while I was researching the "stripping rotors" thing (difficult to do when your internet is down 3 out of every 5 minutes :hammer:). And much thanks to anyone's response on the questions posed in this post.

bluesvt
10-25-2006, 11:25 PM
How long did it take to do all of this minus the plugs? I just rolled 60k as well and was thinking of doing this but I would def need some help. I was forced to quit my job last week so I have a little free time at the moment. Maybe doing some cleaning could help out with the noise my truck has been making. What cleaner did you use as well. Thanks -Kyle :beer:

Tex Arcana
10-26-2006, 12:30 AM
How long did it take to do all of this minus the plugs? I just rolled 60k as well and was thinking of doing this but I would def need some help. I was forced to quit my job last week so I have a little free time at the moment. Maybe doing some cleaning could help out with the noise my truck has been making. What cleaner did you use as well. Thanks -Kyle :beer:

We started at 8am, wrapped up about 6:30-ish, after a fairly lengthy pause to go pick up blower oil from a chevy store. When we did his truck a few weeks back, it took us two days, but I didn't arrive at his hacienda 'til 10-ish. :rolleyes:

I'll get the name of the stuff, but it's purple and made by Castrol and bubbles madly when you dip the intercooler in it.

What sort of noise?

bluesvt
10-26-2006, 01:28 AM
That buzzing noise I made a post about a while back.

dboat
10-26-2006, 11:00 AM
Tex,
what drugs are you doing?
Dana

Tex Arcana
10-26-2006, 05:37 PM
Tex,
what drugs are you doing?
Dana
Dana:

Apparently better ones than you're on. :tongue:

Tex Arcana
10-26-2006, 05:37 PM
That buzzing noise I made a post about a while back.

Does it happen at idle?

bluesvt
10-26-2006, 06:12 PM
No under light to moderate acceleration. I can't really describe it better than that. I was gonna get some one to ride with me at the track a few Sundays ago but no one ended up showing.

Tex Arcana
10-26-2006, 09:32 PM
No under light to moderate acceleration. I can't really describe it better than that. I was gonna get some one to ride with me at the track a few Sundays ago but no one ended up showing.

Bummer. If we end up at the same event in the near future, I'll take a listen to it.

bluesvt
10-26-2006, 11:01 PM
Well I'm gonna post up and see if anyone wants to help do mine maybe this weekend. I don't need a plug change I already did that about a year ago but I will need help w/ intercooler and blower.

Tex Arcana
10-27-2006, 03:12 PM
Well I'm gonna post up and see if anyone wants to help do mine maybe this weekend. I don't need a plug change I already did that about a year ago but I will need help w/ intercooler and blower.
I can't help you this weekend, but if you need it, I could help one day next week. Just let me know.

bluesvt
10-27-2006, 03:25 PM
Did you find out what the purple stuff was called?

bluesvt
10-27-2006, 03:43 PM
Coming back from dallas this morn it was making that noise more than ever and was quite loud.

Tex Arcana
10-27-2006, 03:43 PM
Did you find out what the purple stuff was called?

"Super Clean Cleaner and Degreaser". Autozone, NAPA both carry it, dunno about WalMart. Works like a champ, don't let the intercooler sit too long, or you'll be cleaning corrosion from the fins.

bluesvt
10-27-2006, 03:47 PM
Hopefully I can figure out what a fin is once it's off. :o

Tex Arcana
10-28-2006, 11:27 PM
Didja do the deed?

bluesvt
10-29-2006, 03:16 AM
Didtha deed. I lost some boost though but did a pretty well cleaning thanks to Jason (silver2000svt). Think I can manage on my own next time, not too bad of a job. Used the purple at first then sprayed 4 bottles of degreaser through it and that seemes to work a lot faster. Thought we may have found the buzz too, put a little glue on it and I did not hear it as much but dunno if it's fixed. It was well worth it I believe with how much junk that came out. He took a few pics but his net is down at the moment. Thanks again Jason. :beer: :tu: - Kyle

Tex Arcana
10-29-2006, 11:13 PM
Didtha deed. I lost some boost though but did a pretty well cleaning thanks to Jason (silver2000svt). Think I can manage on my own next time, not too bad of a job. Used the purple at first then sprayed 4 bottles of degreaser through it and that seemes to work a lot faster. Thought we may have found the buzz too, put a little glue on it and I did not hear it as much but dunno if it's fixed. It was well worth it I believe with how much junk that came out. He took a few pics but his net is down at the moment. Thanks again Jason. :beer: :tu: - Kyle

Yah, talked to him tonite, and I agree with him, that cleaning the intercooler "dropped" your boost, but improved airflow and heat exchange, so you should net more power.

I should'a told you: use the cleaner full-strength, and soak the IC in a container full of it (I used a Home Depot orange bucket, and 3 gallons of the cleaner), and soak it at least an hour.

As for the boost dump controller: keep an eye on it, make sure it's going to hold. Jason said it was som sort of silly plastic rivets, might want to think about changing to screws instead.

Good job, tho. :tu:

bluesvt
10-30-2006, 12:56 PM
Ya I think that was a crappy way to put it together. I guess they want you to have to buy a new one if something happens. :hammer: