Just purchased rllywgn's 1987 GL turbo wagon 4x4 and it is equipped with an intercooler that is not hooked up. The Subaru Shop that I took it to said that the intercooler would cause the car to run lean at the altitudes I am going to operate it at in Colorado (8000 to 14,000 feet) and further stated that this would result in damage to the engine. Is this true or am I being feed a line? Would love to run it with the intercooler hooked up, but not if it will effect dependability or engine life.

 

 

Dog1

Just purchased rllywgn's 1987 GL turbo wagon 4x4 and it is equipped with an intercooler that is not hooked up. The Subaru Shop that I took it to said that the intercooler would cause the car to run lean at the altitudes I am going to operate it at in Colorado (8000 to 14,000 feet) and further stated that this would result in damage to the engine. Is this true or am I being feed a line? Would love to run it with the intercooler hooked up, but not if it will effect dependability or engine life.

Dog1

Dog1,

 

You are being 'fed a line'. The intercooler WILL NOT make your car run lean at any altitude and will not result in damage to the engine. The purpose of the intercooler is to cool the hot air from the turbo that is going into your engine. The only way your engine will run lean is if there is less fuel or more air being introduced into the engine.

 

Yes, the intercooler hooked up will effect the dependability and engine life. It will make your engine more dependable and increase the engine's life.

 

You want to read something really interesting? Read this post about air temperature data collected before and after an intercooler was installed.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15554&highlight=intercooler+air

 

After reading said post, you should be quickly installing your intercooler in a pool of sweat, terrified that you haven't done so already.

Myxalplyx,

I thought it sounded a little flakey. I talked to a buddy in South Carolina about it last night and he mirrored your thoughts. I wonder what his true reason is about balking to hook up the intercooler? His is a racing shop/japanese import repair shop, so I don't think it is a lack of knowledge. Anyone out there hook up an intercooler to a turbo motor and would like to share thoughts/experiences?

 

Dog1

I had a nice long response typed up and the board quit.. ate my response.. so heres the short version.. The guy at the shop is full of crap.

 

Here's my photo album. theres pics of my IC in my 87 Turbowagon in there.

http://usmb.net/gallery/albuo11

yup yup. you say its already there? and not hooked up? why thats just crazy talk.

 

yeah the temp drop is great for performance and engine life. I have also tested to see if my car runs lean at all and it actually runs rather rich under boost just like its supposed to.This with an intercooler that appears to be verry efficient with my simple test methods.

 

just do it.

 

what kind of set up is it? got pics?

 

there are more and more intercooled EA82T's all the time. I love it.

Thanks all.

I'll have to get with rllywgn to find out what he got the intercooler out of. I'll have the guy at the shop get it tuned up for this altitude and then take it to someone who specializes in carbs and fuel systems to get the intercooler hooked up (unfortunately, I know my limitations when it comes to working on cars. ) I'll try to borrow a digital camera, or possibly rllywgn might post some of the particulars that would help identify what I'm up against. I do know that he left a lot of plumbing for it in the back of the car.

 

Dog1

as far as I know, there is no special tuning to be done for altitude differences on an EA82T. the computer automatically adjusts everything accordingly(at least the owners manual/FSM says it does.

I don't notice any difference in the way mine runs in Seattle, Denver or Dallas.

Calebz,

In rllywgn's original post offering the car for sale, he said that he had installed the motor, but hadn't been able to get it tuned correctly(mainly just ignition timing and making sure the tps sensor was in the proper position). I'm having the guy in the shop handle this job and check over any other potential areas of concern. As I get more used to the car (and read a heck of a lot more of what you guys post here) I'll try my hand more and more into the maintenance of this car. This is my first turbo powered vehicle, so I probably have a lot to learn. Most of the vehicles I own have over 250,000 miles on them, so I'm not afraid to get dirty maintaining them. It's just I am a very old dog and it takes me awhile to learn new tricks.

 

Dog1

Calebz,

In rllywgn's original post offering the car for sale, he said that he had installed the motor, but hadn't been able to get it tuned correctly(mainly just ignition timing and making sure the tps sensor was in the proper position). I'm having the guy in the shop handle this job and check over any other potential areas of concern. As I get more used to the car (and read a heck of a lot more of what you guys post here) I'll try my hand more and more into the maintenance of this car. This is my first turbo powered vehicle, so I probably have a lot to learn. Most of the vehicles I own have over 250,000 miles on them, so I'm not afraid to get dirty maintaining them. It's just I am a very old dog and it takes me awhile to learn new tricks.

 

Dog1

So Dog1,

 

How did everything work out for you? Did you get the intercooler installed yet?

So Dog1,

 

How did everything work out for you? Did you get the intercooler installed yet?

Myxalplyx,

 

Unfortunately no. Had several unforseen things come up that pretty well wiped out the money I had saved up to do the job. As soon as I get back on my feet financially, it will be on the front burner. I now believe the intercooler is off of a Mitsubishsi (SP) 3000. I think rllywgn has disappeared off the Subaru scope, so I'm just guessing. Any thoughts of what type of stuff I should start looking for to do this job?

Myxalplyx,

 

Unfortunately no. Had several unforseen things come up that pretty well wiped out the money I had saved up to do the job. As soon as I get back on my feet financially, it will be on the front burner. I now believe the intercooler is off of a Mitsubishsi (SP) 3000. I think rllywgn has disappeared off the Subaru scope, so I'm just guessing. Any thoughts of what type of stuff I should start looking for to do this job?

If you have the intercooler already, I'd think all you need is some piping, silicone or other hoses and some metal clamps. I'm ignorant of this since I've never done this on these cars. I'll be heading out this upcoming week to get the parts I think I need. Seems simple enough. I just have issue as to whether the intercooler needs to be elevated or is it naturally elevated by how it's connected to the the turbo piping and throttle body piping. I don't have welding skills and such. Seems the intercooler setups here have the intercooler elevated up some, somehow.

If you have enough creativity, anything can be accomplished. I managed to get my IC all plumbed and mounted with the only welding being done on one of the IC pipes.. just a little tube welded on to plumb the recric valve.

something you may want to consider is if you want it mounted to the motor or to the body. If you attach it to the motor you can keep the hoses real short and simple but you may have some trouble hitting the hood or scoop that you use. if you attach to the body then you will need to consider the flexible sections of hose a little more carfully but alignment with the scoop will be easy.

 

or there is always the front mount option.

something you may want to consider is if you want it mounted to the motor or to the body. If you attach it to the motor you can keep the hoses real short and simple but you may have some trouble hitting the hood or scoop that you use. if you attach to the body then you will need to consider the flexible sections of hose a little more carfully but alignment with the scoop will be easy.

 

or there is always the front mount option.

I'd rather go with mounting it to the motor. This would allow some flexibility in movement rather than strain on the hoses and clamps had it been mounted to the body. All we'd need is for the hoses/clamps coming lose due to repetitive twisting/flexing from the intercooler being mounted to the body. I'm sure some here have done this without incident but it would seem more likely for some type of failure due to high boost, bad motor mounts, etc if it were mounted to the body.

When I did mine, I didn't really see a satisfactory way of mounting the IC to the motor.. perhaps this had to do with my choice of intercooler. Cureently its mounted to the spare tire tray. the mounts are actually somewhat flexible and the piping is a combination of both hard and soft lines. This seemed to be a pretty good compromise and it hasn't caused me any heartache.. its about the only thing on that damned car that I can say that about

 

The impending introduction of a new turbo and IC will completely change the logistics of plumbing and mounting though.. we'll cross that bridge very soon.

my new intercooler will be mounted to the spare tire area as well. I devised a method to keep the motor in one place with out much movement. the last time it was out I saw that the right side mount was torn. I drilled a hole for two 3/8 bolts to drop thru. I then cut the heads off and welded the remaining bolt sections on both ends to the mount on both sides. It has worked rather well. the only time you notice that its different is with the A/C on at idle. it was supposed to be a temp fix untill I got a new mount but I really like it now.

Mine is only mounted by the hoses....sitting on the spare tire area edge....being held inplace by the hood and hoses....lol

 

its a WRX TMIC btw

here is how i did my IC, it is out of a WRX. i think it is the best option.

 

it is mounted to the body, i did have the hose from the pressure side of the turbo to the intercooler blow off a few times till i got it tight enough, but it has been working for 3 months now with no problem at 11Psi.

 

 

 

click for larger pic

 

-=suberdave=-

Has anyone seen a noticable difference in their system by adding a hood scoop to their TMIC?

Also, has anyone found a hoodscoop that isn't designed after a WRX one and still looks good?

Dude, the IC doenst work unless there is air, from a hood scoop, going to it. SO ofcourse there are going to be noticable differences with a hood scoop. :-p

 

There is an offbrand WRX (the GC8 style) hoodscoop found on ebay that fits the hump of the EA82 hoods, and it doenst look that bad.

Has anyone seen a noticable difference in their system by adding a hood scoop to their TMIC?

Also, has anyone found a hoodscoop that isn't designed after a WRX one and still looks good?

If you have a TMIC and no scoop, you are better off without the IC. It just heatsoaks..

 

Here

 

I think I saw that wrx scoop hood for the RX a while ago, but can't find it now. Any other sugestions/links?

I think I saw that wrx scoop hood for the RX a while ago, but can't find it now. Any other sugestions/links?

Thats actually the scoop on my white wagon. And its not a WRX scoop. The RX with the WRX scoop had some buildup of the sheet metal to accomodate. Mine needs nothing but a hole. (which it has cleverly hidden under the scoop)

Hey guys, I found this engine at school and just thought I'd show what the hot technology in the 80's looked like, sorry for the bad pics, I'll get a new one soon:

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/album287/EA81_intercooler?full=1

Hey guys, I found this engine at school and just thought I'd show what the hot technology in the 80's looked like, sorry for the bad pics, I'll get a new one soon:

 

http://usmb.net/gallery/album287/EA81_intercooler?full=1

 

WTH?!?!?!?

 

edit: i know its an ea81...but whats with the rest of it?