Intercooler cleaning after 112K miles (pics).
 

Ok, I'm not sure when or if it was ever done on the truck before because I bought it used with 89K miles. I do know that the intercooler recall has been done on the truck and the new 10 row intercooler is dated December 9, 2001. So lets say it has 75k miles on the intercooler.

Anyway, I tried cleaning the intercooler with carb cleaner and did not get anywhere after 7 or 8 bottles. My mechanic (backyard type, literally) then suggested Formula 88. I ran out and got a gallon ($8) and sprayed it directly onto the intercooler and it cut through the oil instantly. Rinsed and re-applied 6 or 7 times and it came out real clean. This stuff has been around for a while (about 15 to 20 years) and I thought I should let you guys judge for yourselves.

Here are the pics:

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...664&anum=11704

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...665&anum=11704

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...666&anum=11704

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...668&anum=11704

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...670&anum=11704

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...672&anum=11704

#$%*@&# $#^&:mad: ...Someone please post the images for me instead of the link. I have forgotten how to do this.


Peace. :coffee:

Nice Job (Thumbs Up)

To post an image all you do is put [ i m g ] in front of the url address,
and [ / i m g ] after the url address
NO SPACES OF COURSE
BUT if it's in the F-150 Gallery (as yours are), when your looking at the pic in the gallery all you do is click the forum codes button in the bottom right corner and copy and paste the Code ; o )

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...704-165664.jpg

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...704-165666.jpg

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...704-165668.jpg

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...704-165670.jpg

Again Nice Job (Thumbs Up)

Thanks Rob. You get a :thumbsup: .

Peace.

Nice job, props to your "backyard mechanic", that is one of the best cleaning jobs I've seen. Formula 88 huh? I'll have to try that next time. Thanks for the Heads Up:thumbsup:

I got to do this to my turck and see what it looks like. I have never done it yet, 65,000 on my turck now.

Yeah he's great for this kind of stuff. A couple of weeks ago my L spit the last spark plug on the driver's side and he helicoiled it for me and when I asked him how much he said, "I don't know, $30". I gave him $75. He came back a week later for the intercooler cleaning and changing the rest of the plugs and a tune up and he charged me $120. Start to finish 3 hours and he comes to my house. He also had extra spark plug boots on hand for my cracked one. He rocks :rocker: .

Cesar

The hole on the bottom of the lower intake... is that the hole that the pcv line is attached to in the back of the motor when the intake is in the truck?

I ask because I need to change that hose/line and just want to pull my thoughts together. Can't reach the darn thing so I am going to clean the IC and replace it then.

how hard is this to do? is there a how-to somewhere?

For possibly 75k miles that thing didn't look that bad IMHO.

Now truthfully when all is said and done. Other than peace of mind. Do you notice a difference with the seat of the pants meter?

I had to change out the original in my 99 that was a leaker. Now that thing was a mess. I think it was at 20k miles but they weren't known to leak till around that time anyway. What a PITA.

Not sure? I think that it is plugged up. My mechanic cleaned that part of the plenum. Maybe someone else can chime in and confirm.


Not hard at all. I didn't even break a sweat :D . My mechanic did though. Seriously, it wasn't that hard. I would do it next time if I have the time. It took him 3 hours in total. It would of probably taken me 4 to 5 if I would have done it by myself. As for a how-to, just do a search for "intercooler cleaning" or "how to clean intercooler". They're in there. Good luck.



I really couldn't tell a difference in the old pants meter. I could here the SC whine or suck much louder though and possibly, slightly rev up quicker. More than anything, I feel better that I am getting a more efficient drop in air temp going into the motor because of the clean IC. And even after all that, I have not put in breathers or a catch can yet because of the possible oil smell and/or rotor damage in the SC because of the lack of oil in the plenum. Still not sure which way to go for effectiveness and safety to the SC.

Peace,
Cesar

how do you clean the lower intake?

Nice job! I'll say it again, it doesn't look that bad for the amount of mileage you had on the truck. Besides the recall(new intercooler), someone(previous owner) might have cleaned it once???? Again, nice job!

[QUOTE=I have not put in breathers or a catch can yet because of the possible oil smell and/or rotor damage in the SC because of the lack of oil in the plenum. Still not sure which way to go for effectiveness and safety to the SC.[/QUOTE]

If the supercharger is properly maintained, i.e. change the nose case oil at the scheduled intervals, the lack of oil in the plenum will not hurt the superchager. the supercharger has sealed style rear bearings and oil bath bearings in the front along with the gears. The oil that is in the plenum could cause issues with the spark plugs though. IMHO a catch can and or plugging all oil lines to the intake will not hurt the motor or the supercharger.

Easy, spray some carb cleaner and wipe with a rag. We didn't use the Formula 88 there because we didn't want to go through the trouble of trying to rinse it with water.



Thanks :thumbsup: . I couldn't believe how clean that degreaser got it. It was almost spotless. The carb cleaner sucked next to this stuff.

Looks can be deceiving. That IC was drenched with oil all the way down the fins and baked on closer to the top. It cleaned up all the way through. And yes it's possible that the previous owner could have cleaned it but I doubt it. He really wasn't into the truck that much. Just a DD to him. I doubt that he ever knew that this even happened.

Thanks Dave. I really didn't think it would be affected either but this issue keeps getting tossed around. Not to mention which is the most effective way to keep the oil out of the IC. Do you have any suggestions :D ?

Peace,

Cesar

Regarding oil mist and lube of SC.
I'm curious about the effects of oil on the teflon coating of the rotors.
My 99 had accesive chipping of teflon coating and it was sprinkled all over the top of the intercooler. Looked like fingernail clippings.

A few years back they were experimenting with teflon impregnated rotors instead of the coating.

Somewhere along the line it improved and you don't hear as much about it on the later years......

I'm just crossing my fingers on my 04.

Don't know if the oil blowby helps or it is just dry heat that did it or just poor design??????

I agree with the peace of mind of doing a good job and yours turned out real nice.
ezgz