Flushing your intercooler

Trichloroethane
Genklene


isn't that the stuff that seemed like it would go boom! if a match went near
it,
But it put the match out?

Used to be the component in Tippex solvent


"Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Trichloroethane
> Genklene
>
>
> isn't that the stuff that seemed like it would go boom! if a match went
near
> it,
> But it put the match out?
>
>

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 20:05:53 +0100, "Jon" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Trichloroethane
>Genklene
>
>
>isn't that the stuff that seemed like it would go boom! if a match went near
>it,
>But it put the match out?
>

Tric used to be used in fire extinguishers, those old ones with the
pump handle on top.

Pretty evil stuff, I think the EU banned it a while ago, but it was
fantastic at cleaning old car parts, dissolved the grease something
fantastic. Has a similar effect on brain cells as well.

Alex

Heard an old timer tell a story about them being used in WW2 to remove
grease stains from uniforms, when it came to putting out the fire there was
none left in the extinguishers!!



> Tric used to be used in fire extinguishers, those old ones with the
> pump handle on top.
>
> Pretty evil stuff, I think the EU banned it a while ago, but it was
> fantastic at cleaning old car parts, dissolved the grease something
> fantastic. Has a similar effect on brain cells as well.

Mainly depends on two parameters.

how much distance you have travelled between intercooler flushings and
the condition of your turbocharger and its bearing.

Diesels have a tendency to soil the intercooler's internals with lots of
black oily and sticky stuff.

Petrol powered cars (my other car is a petrol turbocharged AUDI) are less
prone to such soiling but they do it too.

If the intercooler is very dirty you will DEFINATELY feel an improvement
both on performance and on faster spooling up of the turbo.


Take care
Pantelis

"Simon Barr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Pantelis Giamarellos wrote:
> > Simon Hi again,
> >
>
> Hi,
>
> >
> > I clean the intercooler of both my discos since 1996 like that and have
not
> > yet had a problem.
> >
>
> Does much muck come out and is there a noticeable improvement after the
> flushing?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
> Simon Barr.
> '97 110 300Tdi.

In article <[email protected]>, Pantelis Giamarellos wrote:
>
> If the intercooler is very dirty you will DEFINATELY feel an improvement
> both on performance and on faster spooling up of the turbo.
>
>

I like the sound of that! The 110 was owned by the AA before I bought it
so it has been supposedly well maintained. All but the last few services
were carried out by a Land Rover dealer in Inverness so if they were
following the recommended schedules then the intercooler should have been
flushed before.

What is a bit worrying is that the last few services were done by Halfords!
I think that the AA own Halfords or t'other way round, still worrying though.


Thanks for everybodys suggestions, with a bit of luck I'll have enough tuits
at the weekend to attempt this.

--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.

Simon Barr wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Pantelis Giamarellos wrote:
>>
>> If the intercooler is very dirty you will DEFINATELY feel an improvement
>> both on performance and on faster spooling up of the turbo.
>>
>>
>
> I like the sound of that! The 110 was owned by the AA before I bought it
> so it has been supposedly well maintained. All but the last few services
> were carried out by a Land Rover dealer in Inverness so if they were
> following the recommended schedules then the intercooler should have been
> flushed before.
>
> What is a bit worrying is that the last few services were done by
> Halfords! I think that the AA own Halfords or t'other way round, still
> worrying though.
>

Halfords Autoclinics (The garages attached to the stores) were bought by the
AA a long while ago. They actually do a pretty decent job most of the time,
however they aren't fully tooled garages as they can't do little things
like reset service interval indicators on newer cars.

Never actually had much bother with my local one with the exception of them
deciding that a TD5 disco was too close to the limits for their ramp and
asking me to take it elsewhere for brake work.

To be honest, I'd be more worried about it having been serviced by Macrae
and Dick (that was who the Inverness dealer was, wasn't it?)


P.

In article <[email protected]>, Paul S. Brown wrote:
>>
>
> Halfords Autoclinics (The garages attached to the stores) were bought by the
> AA a long while ago. They actually do a pretty decent job most of the time,
> however they aren't fully tooled garages as they can't do little things
> like reset service interval indicators on newer cars.
>

I suppose in reality they couldn't employ the same level of muppets they seem
to have in their stores.

> Never actually had much bother with my local one with the exception of them
> deciding that a TD5 disco was too close to the limits for their ramp and
> asking me to take it elsewhere for brake work.
>
> To be honest, I'd be more worried about it having been serviced by Macrae
> and Dick (that was who the Inverness dealer was, wasn't it?)
>
>

It's a while since I looked at the service record I have but yes, I think
that's who it was. The 110 spent its whole working life around Inverness
I think.

Are they (M&D) not so good then?

--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.

Simon Barr wrote:

> It's a while since I looked at the service record I have but yes, I think
> that's who it was. The 110 spent its whole working life around Inverness
> I think.

I would hate to think what the guys at Halfords Inverness did to it, AA 110s
must be pretty much the only Land Rovers they ever see!

> Are they (M&D) not so good then?

They don't have a good reputation, no. Overpriced non-customer orientated
not particularly knowlegable etc. they are the last place I would go to get
advice about anything LR related in Inverness.

Whereabouts are you if your LR was in service up here?

Regards

William MacLeod

In article <[email protected]>, William MacLeod wrote:
> Simon Barr wrote:
>
>
> I would hate to think what the guys at Halfords Inverness did to it, AA 110s
> must be pretty much the only Land Rovers they ever see!
>

Well someone in its past managed to strip the transfer box drain plug
threads as I found out a couple of weeks ago. It's now held in by some
PTFE tape, gakset sealant and bit of luck.

Do you get a lot of AA 110s up there then? I've never seen one on the road
anywhere. Do they all have winches fitted or did I get lucky?

>> Are they (M&D) not so good then?
>
> They don't have a good reputation, no. Overpriced non-customer orientated
> not particularly knowlegable etc. they are the last place I would go to get
> advice about anything LR related in Inverness.
>

Oh well, they can't have been too bad as it's still going after 150,000mls.

> Whereabouts are you if your LR was in service up here?
>

Nowhere near Scotland, I live in Hertfordshire but I got the 110 through
the Defender Centre in Stourbridge.

--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.

Simon Barr wrote:

> Well someone in its past managed to strip the transfer box drain plug
> threads as I found out a couple of weeks ago. It's now held in by some
> PTFE tape, gakset sealant and bit of luck.

Oh dear.

> Do you get a lot of AA 110s up there then? I've never seen one on the
> road anywhere. Do they all have winches fitted or did I get lucky?

Most of them are probably 110s - maybe the odd van. The AA use a lot of
local garages here for recovery work. I occasionally see perhaps 3 of them
sitting at the Halfords in Inverness.

I think they all have winches (superwinch(?)), do you have an anderson
connector at the front for connecting jump leads as well? and the 8 spokes?
The 110 station wagon configuration with 90 van sides instead of windows in
the back?

> Nowhere near Scotland, I live in Hertfordshire but I got the 110 through
> the Defender Centre in Stourbridge.

Surprised they didn't sell it up here. Is it rotten, or can you just not
see the rot yet?

Regards

William MacLeod

In article <[email protected]>, William MacLeod wrote:
> Simon Barr wrote:
>
>> Do you get a lot of AA 110s up there then? I've never seen one on the
>> road anywhere. Do they all have winches fitted or did I get lucky?
>
> I think they all have winches (superwinch(?)), do you have an anderson
> connector at the front for connecting jump leads as well? and the 8 spokes?
> The 110 station wagon configuration with 90 van sides instead of windows in
> the back?
>

Mines got a Warn 8274, jump lead connectors front and rear and wolf wheels.

Its got 5 seats with van sides where the bench seats would be on a CSW. There
is a roller shutter comnpartment on the LHS of the rear and its all ply lined.

Oh and its got an Eberspacher too but it packed up just in time for the
cold weather earlier in the year and all it does now is create a smoke screen.
Must sort that for winter.

You can see pictures of how it looked when I first went to see it at:

http://www.sbarr.demon.co.uk/110/

It looks pretty much like that now except it's now all yellow and the lightbar
is in my garage.

>
> Surprised they didn't sell it up here. Is it rotten, or can you just not
> see the rot yet?
>

IIRC previous keeper info on the V5 is some AA dept in Birmingham which may
explain how it ended up at the Defender centre.

I hope it's not rotten. There are some problems with electrolytic corrosion
where the two outer rear seats bolt on, the ally panels having been holed in
places. The chassis was waxolyed in the past but has now mostly come of now
it been jet washed a couple of times. The rear cross member is on the to-do
list for painting and waxoyling.


Hopefully with some waxoyl and paint applied in the right places it'll last
a few years yet

--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.

Simon Hi,

using a can of spray carburator cleaner will do a good job.
If this is not handy then use some of the diesel you burn in your 110.
Lay the intercooler flat, pour a bit of diesel in it, shake it well, empty
it and repeat.
Then fill it up, let is stay for a few hours and then pour some of it out
and shake it well again.
then empty it and try pouring some fresh diesel in it and shake again.

It must be clean by now. If now repeat above procedure.

LR sells a special intercooler cleaning fluid but I do not see a reason to
pay for it.

Take care
Pantelis

"Simon Barr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It's been suggested to me that flushing my intercooler may give my 110 a
> little performance boost. I was speaking to a fellow Glass member about
> how getting up some hills the 110 drops to under 50mph when loaded up for
> camping (two adults, two kids, camping stuff + small trailer).
>
> He reckoned that some members of another club have said it's well worth
> doing and will almost certainley make a difference.
>
> As I can't afford one of the sexy Allisport ones I saw at Billing I
> thought I might have a go at flushing mine, after 150,000 miles there
> is a fair chance it may be a bit bunged up.
>
> But what should I use? I was thinking of removing the intercooler and
> filling it with some sort of degreaser and leaving it overnight for the
> degreaser to disolve whatever may be in there.
>
> Anyone have any suggestions?
>
> --
> simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
> Simon Barr.
> '97 110 300Tdi.

I've used parafin to clean my intercooler, comes out ok.

JInx


"Simon Barr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> It's been suggested to me that flushing my intercooler may give my 110 a
> little performance boost. I was speaking to a fellow Glass member about
> how getting up some hills the 110 drops to under 50mph when loaded up for
> camping (two adults, two kids, camping stuff + small trailer).
>
> He reckoned that some members of another club have said it's well worth
> doing and will almost certainley make a difference.
>
> As I can't afford one of the sexy Allisport ones I saw at Billing I
> thought I might have a go at flushing mine, after 150,000 miles there
> is a fair chance it may be a bit bunged up.
>
> But what should I use? I was thinking of removing the intercooler and
> filling it with some sort of degreaser and leaving it overnight for the
> degreaser to disolve whatever may be in there.
>
> Anyone have any suggestions?
>
> --
> simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
> Simon Barr.
> '97 110 300Tdi.

lol
An excellent idea.
Only problem is that now it is summer here in Greece and heating oil is
almost the same price as diesel fuel.

Take care
Pantelis


"Niamh Holding" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Simon Barr)
> wrote:
>
> > I didn't realise you could use diesel to clean things too, could I put
it
> > back in the tank after using like this?
>
> Do as we do and be cheapskates by using heating oil.
>
> --
> Niamh
> 4x4 Cymru
> http://www.4x4cymru.co.uk

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Pantelis
Giamarellos) wrote:

> Only problem is that now it is summer here in Greece and heating oil is
> almost the same price as diesel fuel.

Neither are €1.20 I'll bet, which is about the cost of white diesel in the
UK, heating oil comes in at something like €0.30

--
Niamh
4x4 Cymru
http://www.4x4cymru.co.uk

LR said Genklene, which if I remember from a past posting is simply an
organic solvent that quickly evaporates from the ic when it has been flushed
out. I would imagine they supply it or a substitute still. You could use
almost any organic solvent that evaportes similarly, providing you are aware
of the hazardous nature of most organic solvents.
Personally if I were to do it I would stick to the LR product simply because
it should be safe to use and effective.
I've got a degree in chemistry and a very healthy respect for solvents, so
I'm a bit paranoid.

May be worth trying an indipendant garage and see what they use, I think
thats what I would do.
I suspect that whatever is used, if it is effective it will cost.

Incidentally the flush is part of the maintenance schedule listed by LR for
300 Tdi

Good Luck, let us know how you get on as I might have a go myself

John H

> But what should I use? I was thinking of removing the intercooler and
> filling it with some sort of degreaser and leaving it overnight for the
> degreaser to disolve whatever may be in there.
>
> Anyone have any suggestions?
>

On or around Wed, 21 Jul 2004 09:13:32 +0300, "Pantelis Giamarellos"
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>Diesels have a tendency to soil the intercooler's internals with lots of
>black oily and sticky stuff.

how'd they manage that then?

AIUI, you go inlet > filter > turbo > intercooler > engine.

so where does the gunge come from? Unless the turbo's dodgy?


--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Too Busy: Your mind is like a motorway. Sometimes it can be jammed by
too much traffic. Avoid the jams by never using your mind on a
Bank Holiday weekend.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

Simon Hi again,

The main reason I am using diesel fuel is because it is readily available
and extremely cheaper than the LR stuff.

I do not thing using diesel will harm the engine as the engine runs on
diesel and fresh air.
Exactly the kind of thing that will come out of the intercooler after you
fit it in the car following its cleaning.

I do take extra care to remove as much as possible of the diesel fuel used
for cleaning the intercooler before fitting it back.

I clean the intercooler of both my discos since 1996 like that and have not
yet had a problem.

Water based solvent is something that I have not yet used and can not
comment.

Take care
Pantelis

P.S. As for using the "dirty" diesel that is left over from cleaning the
intercooler I would propose you don't do it mainly because of the fact that
it is dirty. This kind of dirt must mainly be thick engine oil with a high
carbon content so it must not be harmfull to your engine but on the other
hand it is always better to keep the engine fed and lubricated with as clean
fuel and air as possible.
"Hirsty's" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> LR said Genklene, which if I remember from a past posting is simply an
> organic solvent that quickly evaporates from the ic when it has been
flushed
> out. I would imagine they supply it or a substitute still. You could use
> almost any organic solvent that evaportes similarly, providing you are
aware
> of the hazardous nature of most organic solvents.
> Personally if I were to do it I would stick to the LR product simply
because
> it should be safe to use and effective.
> I've got a degree in chemistry and a very healthy respect for solvents, so
> I'm a bit paranoid.
>
> May be worth trying an indipendant garage and see what they use, I think
> thats what I would do.
> I suspect that whatever is used, if it is effective it will cost.
>
> Incidentally the flush is part of the maintenance schedule listed by LR
for
> 300 Tdi
>
> Good Luck, let us know how you get on as I might have a go myself
>
> John H
>
> > But what should I use? I was thinking of removing the intercooler and
> > filling it with some sort of degreaser and leaving it overnight for the
> > degreaser to disolve whatever may be in there.
> >
> > Anyone have any suggestions?
> >
>
>

In article <[email protected]>, Pantelis Giamarellos wrote:
> Simon Hi,
>
> using a can of spray carburator cleaner will do a good job.

That sounds like an expensive way to clean it, I bet it would take more than
one can too.

> If this is not handy then use some of the diesel you burn in your 110.
> Lay the intercooler flat, pour a bit of diesel in it, shake it well, empty
> it and repeat.
> Then fill it up, let is stay for a few hours and then pour some of it out
> and shake it well again.
> then empty it and try pouring some fresh diesel in it and shake again.
>

I didn't realise you could use diesel to clean things too, could I put it
back in the tank after using like this?

>
> LR sells a special intercooler cleaning fluid but I do not see a reason to
> pay for it.
>

Didn't know it was something that should be done regularly, just looked in
my workshop manual and in there it recommends using Genklene. Isn't
Genklene a solvent that has been withdrawn from use?

I was going to use a detergent water based cleaner, bad idea??

--
simon at sbarr dot demon dot co dot uk
Simon Barr.
'97 110 300Tdi.