legacycentral bbs

I was out with my buddy to drop his car off at the body shop for a bit of paint fixin, and there happened to be a SAAB dealership right next door (a run down style joint).

Well, talked out back with the mechanic and he told me to go talk to the owner.

Long story short, they had a bunch of SAAB intercoolers and I got me an ALL Metal Intercooler with no bent fins and a SMALL dent on one of the channel things for $50.

It was great. I'm stoked!

However, there is a bit of oil in the inlet and outlet elbows so I need to figure out a way to clean it (and the exterior of the IC as well).

Anyone have any cleaning tips?

I'm stoked that I found one for that cheap. All metal too!

Phil

BAC5.2 wrote:Anyone have any cleaning tips?

Desil fuel.

do you have access to a shop parts cleaner? Those work best, if not aerosol brake cleaner works really well to flush out the oil.

Mark,

Congrats Phil! Mine was the same way when I got it.

Both of the above options would work well. If you already have some you could also use Sea Foam or intake cleaner w/ techron but both of those options will cost a lot more then either diesel fuel or brake parts cleaner.

So do I just fill up the IC like 1/2 way with diesel and shake it all up, then open the drain plug and when it's all empty just let it air out? Then just spray off the exterior with diesel or brake parts cleaner?

What about GUNK Engine degreaser for the exterior?

$50 for an all metal IC, seemed like a deal I couldn't pass up!

Matt - Will you be down here anytime soon? I don't know what other parts I need to pick up to install this thing. I am kinda hoping to finish it tomorrow or Sunday would be nice.

BAC5.2 wrote:So do I just fill up the IC like 1/2 way with diesel and shake it all up, then open the drain plug and when it's all empty just let it air out?

Ya, pretty much.

Then just spray off the exterior with diesel or brake parts cleaner?

Ya, you could probably just do that. I used steel wool and PB blast to clean the outside of mine and it came out real clean and shiney.

What about GUNK Engine degreaser for the exterior?

Is it greasy on the outside? If it is then it will probably work. I mean as long as what ever cleaner you use is safe on aluminum then you should be fine. Mine was more straight up grimey with old dirt and road grime on the outside so just using cleaner wasn't enough, which is why I used steel wool and PB blast.

$50 for an all metal IC, seemed like a deal I couldn't pass up!

Ya, that's pretty sweet. Plus you didn't have to pay shipping! Does it have 10 air channels or 15? Pics would be cool, well... then again I'm sure I'll see it soon.

Matt - Will you be down here anytime soon? I don't know what other parts I need to pick up to install this thing. I am kinda hoping to finish it tomorrow or Sunday would be nice.

I won't be down until around 11pm Sunday night. I'm going to be really busy this whole next week too because we're working a job in Annapolis and the travel time is murder. I know that Monday is no good but I might be available Tues. or Wed. late evening. I'll try and help as much as I can.
Good luck!

Wednesday is no good next week because of my fubard schedule thanks to the snow days my school so easily distributed. I'll be home Thrusday night but I have to work, and I don't have class on Friday. I'll be out of school for Summer soon enough, so I can make plans almost any night.

This is a 15 channel IC. If it was a 10, I'd be even more excited. I didn't even think to ask if they had a 10 channel, all aluminum one. I should go back and ask when I go up with my buddy to pick up his car.

I'll get pictures today when I take pictures of my BAC Bolster mod.

I used ethanol to clean my intercooler out. I capped off all but one of the openings, poured in about a third of a gallon (maybe 3 bucks' worth), swooshed it around and around and around, and poured it out; it was dark and yucky. I did it again for completeness' sake, but the second time it came out pretty clear. Then I let it dry until it stopped smelling of ethanol.

I just cleaned it out with GUNK engine degreaser. "Spray it on, wash it off"

Just sprayed it in there, added water, swished around, emptied out into a container. Ran water through it for a good bit of time. Did it a few times and it came out OK.

Might try the ethanol idea just to be sure. Might head out to the store tomorrow. She cleaned up REAL nice though. Looks brand new almost. GUNK engine cleaner worked on the outside too.

Here are the pics post-cleaning!

It was BLACK before.... GUNK cleaner was great!

Hard to tell it's 14 years old!



Just a few dents, nothing I am concerned about.



Bottom side



Test fit



Test fit shot 2 (which also shows my bitchin paint color, lol)



And my coffee mug setup for those interested (still unpainted. I had bigger fish to fry this weekend)

OMG, that coffee mug adapter looks hillarious, but it appears to fit like a glove!!!

AWESOME!!!

That white stuff is epoxy. I love my car, but not THAT much...

hahah

You mean you could've used epoxy to glue those down?

Good to hear you found yourself an intercooler! So when are we gonna install it?

Not sure yet. Maybe this coming weekend or something. I gotta find a place that will weld up the pipe I need.

I don't have a boost gauge yet, so I hope I don't experience boost creep or anything detrimental. I should be OK I think. The IC didn't leak any water, so I think it should be pretty good on the pressure front.

Do you know anyone with a welder, Jason?

For the pipe, couldn't you just get a little tailpipe extender from an auto parts store, get a tiny piece of steel 3/4" OD tube (maybe a 1/2" pipe threaded nipple?), and braze it on yourself?

BAC5.2 wrote:
Do you know anyone with a welder, Jason?

I do, but he can only weld up mild steel. I'm not sure what kinda welder that is.

Vikash - I guess I could give it a shot, I've never brazed anything before (my tools are limited when it comes to fire).

I'd probably just go to Pep-Boys and get a peice of exhaust pipe, since you can get it for almost no dollars.

For all of the fittings, my local home depot will supply the rubber couplings. Just use the rubber style couplings. They should be able to handle the heat and such. I'll also make a support bracket for the IC so I don't put any pressure on the coolant nipple that seems to chronically break on people.

What is involved in relocating the ignitor?

Brazing is a lot like soldering but at a higher temperature. Have you done any soldering before?

When we needed to put a fitting on my brother's oil pan for the turbo oil drain ASAP, we went to Home Depot and bought a super cheapo oxy-MAPP torch and some bottles of oxygen and MAPP gas. The torch was like $60 and the bottles weren't cheap either; it wasn't economical but he needed it done that night, and having the torch has come in handy a few times since.

I used a drill and a Dremel to cut a hole in the pan, then used some 20 Mule Team borax as flux, some brazing rods from Advance Auto Parts, and brazed on a steel pipe fitting.

Anyway, for this job you should be able to take it to any decent automotive shop. Even ones that don't usually do much welding should have the equipment around.

I've done a bit of soldering in high school, so I have a decent basis in it. I'll probably just go to mineke or my mechanic and have them hook it up in a few seconds.

What about the ignitor?

If you want to peel back some of the electrical tape on the harness you can move it over behind the clutch master cylinder or something, and ziptie it in place. A lot of people do that.

In the long run I think it's a good idea to keep it mounted on metal for cooling. What I did was bolt the bracket to the rear of the passenger side strut tower. You have to extend the wires to do that, though; I cannibalized an ignitor and harness and made an extension harness about 2 feet long.

Hmm, I just might make an aluminum heat sink and then zip tie it over behind the clutch master cylinder.

Thanks!

is that custom paint? its pretty.

Hehe, nope, that's factory. Aegean Blue Metallic. Supposedly a very rare color (I've never seen another Sedan in this color, and people here seem to have only seen wagon's in it).

I love the color, and I'll be getting the whole thing re-sprayed in the same color at some point (probably next summer).