19J Intercooler pipes - for Ben

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Ben Breese asked for pictures to show how to connect an intercooler to a 19J engine. Here's how mine works....

At the time of writing, the engine's back in the engine bay and the turbo pipes are lined up but not connected. The fan has been removed.

We're standing on the right (driver's) side of the engine bay, at the front. The two pipes running to and from the intercooler are fairly obvious.

Photo resized by Moderator

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Next, we are looking from the front: you can see the pipe from the turbo, heading off behind where the cooling fan should be. If you look closely, you can also see the pipe that goes to the air intake manifold, back from the intercooler.

Loads of space for all the plumbing!


Hope this helps.

Nick.
Photo resized by Moderator

[tenderometer]

Keeper what type of intercooler have you got? I am going to fit a 300 tdi intercooler in between the two chassis outriggers and modify the bumper to suit, what you think? Ben seems interested in how i get on so i will kee him posted.

From your pictures it seems like the intercooler is further away from the turbo than the 300 tdi intercooler is on a stanadrd setup, does this effect the boost you get from the turbo?

Also is that stainless steel piping you were using? I work at a Company as a design draughtsman who build stainless steel machinery for industry would it be fine to fabricate my intercooler pipes from st/stl as most people use silicone?

Do you have to contact you insurance company when retro fitting an intercooler?

[Big Sandy]

Nick,

I resized your photo's, as they took quite a long time to download on the ol' steam driven modem!

I aim for pics about 500 pixels wide, as they fit nicely into the margins, and don't take too long to download.

Looks the business in that engine bay though!

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Firstly, Big Sandy, sorry for posting mega-sized images. I'll stick to 500 x 500 in future.

As to the technical questions, Tenderometer:

Mine's a Fearne intercooler, it lives in front of the rad (I think the TDi sits alongside). I cannot take credit for fitting it, Steve Parker (in Rochdale) did that for me about seven years ago... It was all neat and clean once! I think he made up the pipes himself.

I'm sure a TDi intercooler would work. I don't know much about them but I would have thought that a good 'cooler would have low resistance to flow and a large surface area, so there are presumably better (and worse) intercoolers available.

As to the distance of the 'cooler from the engine, I suppose there might be slightly more cooling to be had from the arrangement, but I doubt it makes much difference

All that flows through the piping is clean air (no, don't look at the pics too closely!) so I don't think there's any disadvantage to using s/s. If you look at my photos, you'll see that the pipes are joined with silicone. Sounds like you are in good position to get some stainless pipes!

As to "Do you have to contact you insurance company when retro fitting an intercooler?" I'm sure that would be the correct thing to do.
Do try fitting an intercooler, I swear that my set-up is, to all intents and purposes, as sparky as my 300 TDi.

Good Luck!



I took digital pictures before my recent engine swap (to remember how it all goes back together) Here's what the pipes looked like before I got busy with my toolbox...

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Why won't that last picture load-up?

[tenderometer]

Cheers Keeper that's got me thinking.

One more question, do you think its a good idea fitting a K & N type filter? As these can be washed and reused. Also if i use an induction kit or a bolt on type i can get rid of that horrible air filter housing and pipes.

When i get moifying i will post a thread on the "work in progress" with piccys and stuff.

[Keeper_of_Tess]

I really don't know about K&N filters.

I suppose that if you've boosted your engine's performance to the point where flow through the filter has become the limiting factor, then a bigger filter would give you even more power.

On the other hand, if you're already getting enough air through the standard filter, I don't suppose you would see much improvement.

I used to have a 3.5 turbo / intercooled Mazda engine. The air filter housing wouldn't have looked out of place on a heavy wagon. Now that was a diesel engine.

Tell us if you think your K&N helps. Good luck!

[Ben Breese]

bloody hell, i only just found this! thanks for posting pics and the info. i might have a crack at it myself.
cheers, ben

[TykeSi]

Keeper,

Great pics, these will definitely help if I decide to go down the route of fitting an intercooler. Just out of interest what sort of difference has the cooler made to the fuel consumption, was it noticable or do the main benefits lie in the engine running better?

Thanks mate...

Si

[tenderometer]

Can anyone tell me where i can pick up some Flexi pipe to connect up my intercooler to my turbo and engine? I have a couple of stainless 90 deg bends but i need some flexi to complete the circuit.

[tenderometer]

Found some ace silicone hose. Got about three samples from varying pipe companys which should be enough for the job, cheap way of getting pipe. The pipe attached is reinforced with a steel helix which is a bit over the top for what i need but it was free. Should be fitting the cooler soon, spent the weekend cleaning it and sourcing some steel to mount it on.

Think i will start my own thread with piccys when i do start.

[Luke]

Just read this and thought I'd bump it back up!

Nick, how much difference has it made and as you have removed the fan (in the pics) what have you replaced it with? I know it's probably a stupid question, but I'm just trying to get my head round the whole process!

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Nick, how much difference has it made and as you have removed the fan (in the pics) what have you replaced it with? I know it's probably a stupid question, but I'm just trying to get my head round the whole process!

The intercooler? A big difference. I went from a knackered 2.5 N/A to a rebuilt 2.5 TD with intercooler and the difference was amazing. Off the top of my head I think the power output is about 105 - 110 BHP.

The intercooler goes infront of the radiator - where the crossed struts used to be, so the old fan can stay on. I took mine off to fit a Kenlowe and so try to squeeze a bit more performance out of the system. It works in that it keeps the engine cool, and since it rarely needs to cut in, I must be saving on wasted power. I suspect that this translates to extra fuel economy rather than a big boost in engine performance.

[Cerberus]

Wow. Just found this thread after posting questions of my own regarding fitting an intercooler. Im off to get me spanners!

Erm... Just thought I'd ask though, would I be alright fitting an intercooler to my engine as it ahs done about 82,000 miles?

[Tinker]

Don`t know mate but mines done 98,000 and I still think that looks like a bloody good idea.
Nice one.

Tinker

[Keeper_of_Tess]

Sorry about the delay in replying...

I don't see why there should be a problem in fitting an intercooler to an engine that's done 100,000 miles or so. If you've thrashed the engine and it's about to blow, then forcing it to deliver more power isn't going to prolong its life at all.

I just did a 1,000 mile round trip with a full load in the back and we were able to cruise at 70 mph on the motorway. MPG worked out at about 32/gallon overall. Beats walking. Beats trying to do it with a 12J engine. I think we might have struggled without the intercooler.

Good luck!

[owen]

Been thinking about this for my 130, but it has done 183.000 miles, and i don't think he engine will take it

[Snagger]

If you fit the intercooler without turning up the fueling, you should get a small increase in output, but a large increase in longevity; the 19J suffers from cracked pistons which may be avoided if the induction air is cooler.