Sonic cleaning the intercooler?
12-25-2003, 04:57 AM
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Sonic cleaning the intercooler?
Anyone here ever had an intercooler sonically cleaned? I've never heard of the term before. What is it and how much should I expect to pay?
My mechanic is recommending this while repairs are taking place. My turbo was spitting oil and fine metal particles.... fortunately it was caught early and he believes my engine is ok. The boost tubes and intercooler, on the other hand, look ghastly on the inside. Is it adequate to just use solvent and reverse flush with a garden hose?
oh, and Merry Christmas to all!
My mechanic is recommending this while repairs are taking place. My turbo was spitting oil and fine metal particles.... fortunately it was caught early and he believes my engine is ok. The boost tubes and intercooler, on the other hand, look ghastly on the inside. Is it adequate to just use solvent and reverse flush with a garden hose?
oh, and Merry Christmas to all!
12-25-2003, 07:21 AM
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It is quite common to use ultrasonic in combination with a solvent bath to improve cleaning. Any company working with degreasing should have this. Sounds like a good idea.
Otherwise your question is a bit dangerous to answer. I would be comfortable with cleaning and looking at what comes out of the cooler to see when metal particles stops coming, but I can't recomend you what to do since I can not guarantee you that you will be able to remove all the particles. I had the same question regarding the oil cooler. I got lots of recomendations to scrap it to be on the safe side, but after having cleaned with solvents and degreasing liquids and high pressure air, I can't imagine that there would be anything stuck in the channels.
In the end it is your own decision.
Bengt
Otherwise your question is a bit dangerous to answer. I would be comfortable with cleaning and looking at what comes out of the cooler to see when metal particles stops coming, but I can't recomend you what to do since I can not guarantee you that you will be able to remove all the particles. I had the same question regarding the oil cooler. I got lots of recomendations to scrap it to be on the safe side, but after having cleaned with solvents and degreasing liquids and high pressure air, I can't imagine that there would be anything stuck in the channels.
In the end it is your own decision.
Bengt
12-25-2003, 07:27 AM
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"adequate" is a bit of a risky term when all it takes is one tiny metal particle to ruin a turbo, head, or cylinder wall... but yes, it is technically possible to rinse it out, but not w/ household cleansers and a garden hose imo.
12-25-2003, 10:22 PM
#4
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The PO of my car tried the clean the oil cooler trick which failed miserably on my dime. For an oil cooler I'd pitch it. I'm not sure about the intercooler. However, they can be had for no more than $200.00 which is cheap compared to damaging an engine.
Alan C.
Alan C.
12-26-2003, 12:41 AM
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Have it cleaned as you would a radiator.
When you get it back, put a large shop vac on the input side, and let run for an hour.
The large shop vacs hose fits perfectly into the rubber coupling on the intercooler.
TonyG
When you get it back, put a large shop vac on the input side, and let run for an hour.
The large shop vacs hose fits perfectly into the rubber coupling on the intercooler.
TonyG
12-26-2003, 05:45 PM
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I just used Castrol Super Clean about 3 times with HOT water in my garage sink, let it sit, shook it, drained and repeated. I then stuck a hair dryer in it for overnight drying. I got quite a bit of black oily stuff out of it, the original one, then I purchased a LR I unit about a year later.
12-27-2003, 02:58 AM
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I spoke more indepth with my mechanic today... learned that this process is just like Bengt mentioned; ultrasound in a solvent bath. I was assured that sonic cleaning is the only way to remove all the varnish and metal particles lodged in the intercooler and that the garden hose method is only going to remove stuff that is already loose. So it looks like I will play it safe and follow his recommendation. The service costs around $100 (gasp). I'll post some 'before and after' pictures for anyone interested.
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06-03-2004, 01:50 AM
#10
Three Wheelin'
Sonication is awesome. It's amazing how clean something gets by sonicating in the appropriate solvent. If you're unfamiliar with the theory, I'll give you a short intro.
By introducing intense sound energy into a solvent, the small bubbles of gas that are present in the liquid undergo a series of growth steps until they reach a critical size where they implode on themselves, called cavitation. At the point of cavitation, the pressures and temps are HUGE (~5000Atm and ~10,000Kelvin), and are porportional to the amplitude of the sound that is put into the solvent, so the louder the sound, the more cleaning power you get. Depending on how much power your mechanic has on tap, it is possible to actually fuse metal atoms under these conditions, but I seroiusly doubt he has a bath capable of this. Nevertheless, it would be one way to get rid of those nasty little metal bits! It should be noted that while the temperatures at the cavitation sites are very high, the temp of the bulk solvent will not be heated by much.
Jewelers will use this sort of bath (on a smaller scale) to clean jewelery, but due to the extreme conditions, they should not use it on all precious stones, as some do not hold up and begin to dissolve.
So to answer your question (even though this is an old post), yes, it's a great way to clean parts, as long as they can hold up under the conditions.
By introducing intense sound energy into a solvent, the small bubbles of gas that are present in the liquid undergo a series of growth steps until they reach a critical size where they implode on themselves, called cavitation. At the point of cavitation, the pressures and temps are HUGE (~5000Atm and ~10,000Kelvin), and are porportional to the amplitude of the sound that is put into the solvent, so the louder the sound, the more cleaning power you get. Depending on how much power your mechanic has on tap, it is possible to actually fuse metal atoms under these conditions, but I seroiusly doubt he has a bath capable of this. Nevertheless, it would be one way to get rid of those nasty little metal bits! It should be noted that while the temperatures at the cavitation sites are very high, the temp of the bulk solvent will not be heated by much.
Jewelers will use this sort of bath (on a smaller scale) to clean jewelery, but due to the extreme conditions, they should not use it on all precious stones, as some do not hold up and begin to dissolve.
So to answer your question (even though this is an old post), yes, it's a great way to clean parts, as long as they can hold up under the conditions.
06-03-2004, 03:16 AM
#11
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It is normal for the intercooler and the pipes to have a light film of oil in the. But over time, these light films of oil builds up. You would need to clean our the intercooler and pipes once every year or so. Not too sure on the frequency of cleaning, but it does help if you clean them.
