We have had our '94 FD for 16 years and 102K miles, but I've never cleaned the interior of the intercooler. Sgt. Blue mentioned in another thread that dishwasher soap and hot water is a good method, and I'd like to know if anyone has considered how often this should be done. I'm sure there's oil coating the interior, inhibiting heat transfer, but if it's cleaned out, when does it need to be done again (and is it worth it? The amount of oil in the intake air system on our car is probably about average).

 

if theres a radiator shop nearby they should be able to dunk the i/c in their cleaning tank

 

I'd be more worried about getting contaminants INTO my IC from a radiator shop than anything else

I would clean it yourself at home with water and soap. Just make sure it's emptied out before you reinstall it.

 

i just run some striaght gas throw it and striaght all the fins

 

My oil amount isn't bad either....probably about the same as yours since our cars have roughly the same mileage. I only do it once a year or so, usually in the spring. It's part of my routine when I get the car out of storage from winter. I just set the IC in a big utility sink I have and run hot water and a little soap through it. And just to be clear, I'm talking liquid dishsoap...you know, the stuff that makes your hands all nice and soft. Not "dishwasher soap" with all that grit in it.

That said, I think it's worthwhile, but hesitate to suggest how often to do it knowing that the stock IC is a bit more hassle to R & R than my PFS.

 

I used aerosol spray carb cleaner, an entire tall can, followed by a thorough water rinse. I'm guessing that most solvents like carb or brake cleaner would work. The car's mostly stock (all of the reliability mods) and had 104k miles when I cleaned the IC. I was amazed by how much gunk washed out. I plan on cleaning mine every 2 years or so...

 

I'd avoid using brake cleaner on a factory IC, it's pretty strong stuff, and would probably attack the plastic end tanks.

 

I just ran some gas through the I/C and it cleaned it right out really well. It came out the other side pretty black, so I kept sloshing some through until it was clean.

I went with gas because it breaks down the oil really well, it evaporates really quick and doesn't stick around long enough to damage the end-tanks, it obviously does no damage to the engine to have some gas fumes in the intake, and not to mention it's cheap.

I'll be doing it every spring. It's easy, it's cheap and it can definitely hurt the performance of the car to have a dirty intercooler inside OR out.

-Devan

 

Thanks for all your replies... I have a better idea now of the issues. Sgt. Blue, thanks for the clarification on type of soap!