When the intercooler arrived, the weather was poor and I was short on time — which, in hindsight, wasn’t ideal. As expected, the installation turned out to be anything but straightforward, especially when done in a hurry.
Preparation and Removal
For easier access, I decided to drain the cooling system, which is highly recommended for this job. While doing so, I also removed the right-hand radiator support bracket that bolts to the chassis. This creates much-needed space to manoeuvre the intercooler into position.
Because this upgraded intercooler is thicker and shaped differently compared to the OEM unit, the original mounting points cannot be reused. On top of that, the fit is extremely tight.
Intercooler and Oil Cooler Installation
Once the intercooler was positioned, I reinstalled the radiator. Due to the increased thickness of the intercooler, the engine oil cooler now has to be mounted above the intercooler instead of below it.
With everything loosely in place, I marked the mounting points and drilled new holes in the side support pillars to secure both the intercooler and the oil cooler. To improve clearance, I added a 3 mm thick washer behind the intercooler.
The vertical position of the intercooler is largely dictated by the oil cooler, as it sits just below the top of the radiator. Positioned this way, the intercooler hoses line up properly with both the turbo outlet and the intake piping. One important thing to watch out for is clearance on the left-hand side near the washer bottle filler neck.
For now, I used self-tapping screws to secure everything. I may replace these with proper bolts and nuts at a later stage.
Results and Driving Impressions
So, does it make a difference?
First of all, I discovered that the old intercooler was leaking, which meant I was losing boost pressure. That alone justified the upgrade.
I haven’t driven the car extensively yet, as the transfer case still needs attention. However, even from limited driving, the engine feels stronger at lower RPM, and throttle response seems improved.
I also noticed that the engine is running cooler. That said, I did clean the radiator while the coolant was drained, so that likely contributed as well.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I’m very happy with the result. Once the drivetrain issues are sorted, I may experiment with a slight increase in boost pressure to extract a bit more power — nothing extreme.
But first things first:
the transfer case, ball joints, and panhard rod bushes 😏😐😂
That’s a job for another time.
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