Since the car is on jack stands for about another month or so, I am getting around to some things I have wanted to do for awhile but haven't taken the time, like cleaning the intercooler. When I pulled it off, there is some oil film, but nothing too bad. I am wondering what is the recommended way to clean this thing out?

 

i made a post while back showing how i cleaned mine which it came out really nice after its all finished. I can't seem the find the afterward picture but here is what it looked like before
here is the link to the thread
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ht=intercooler

 

Use a hose, you'll be amazed some of the crap in there.

 

I rinsed with acetone, then ran water through both directions, then acetone again. The first acetone wash was very dirty. The last one was clean. As a precaution, I ran compressed air through it before installing it to remove any residual solvent. If it sits for a month or so, you will have no problem with that.

 

The best way is to take it to a radiator shop that can ultrasonically clean it. They put it into a solvent bath and use ultrasonic waves to clean the crap out.

Orrrr...

You can pour brake cleaner in it, place it on a loud stereo and play some Megadeth. Same thing as above.

 

Thanks for the advice and the link. Mine pretty much looks like yours did to start with daniel. Yours turned out great by the way. This may sound kinda stupid, but would running my softened tap water through this aluminum intercooler cause any potential problems? I have heard that you should only use distilled water if you use water at all in your radiator. But I wasn't sure if that was a heat related issue or something else. I might call a local shop here just to see what they would charge.

 

When I cleaned mine I put plastic wrap around one end, put in some castrol super clean, put plastic wrap around to other end and shook it around a whole bunch. I got a lot a crud out of there. I then rinsed it out with a garden hose until the water that was comming through was clear, then let it dry for a while since I had other things to do. It seemed to work well for me.

 

Water will only be a problem in your intercooler if you leave it in there. If you do, you will have lots of problems, but none of them relating to whether the water was distilled or not.
The intercooler cools air, not water. Just make sure it is completely dry before putting it back into the car.