Hilux Intercooler.. Which one?

[Micky-Lux]

I'm toying with the idea of intercooling the lux. Mainly for the benifits in Summer when things get warm up here.

Has anyone fitted a top mount intercooler on a 5L (or 3L for that matter)? What intercooler did you use? Has anyone got any pics that they can share?

I'm interested in going top mount if I can with something like a GU scoop, because it's out of the way of the front of the car so less likely to end up full of crap, and also there's less plumbing involved.

[Mr DJ]

Have seen some use WRX, R32 Skyline, RX7 and Pajero intercoolers.
few writeups here ...
http://toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/performance.htm

[thehanko]

Has any one found the intercooler to give significant improvement to performance on the 3L?

I have looked at it and found the surf forum to be the best info on how to.

[Rob Jonno]

I'm thinking of doing the same and thinking of going with the denco air / water kit, looks simple kit to fit as well but is up there in price, I think about 2k

[Micky-Lux]

There is some good info on the surf forum, but I think if it is top mounted directly above the rocker cover, oil changes may be a bit tricky as the filler would be directly underneath the intercooler.

I wonder if it can be mounted off towards the drivers side a bit, with a heat shield between the turbo and the intercooler?

I saw one on ebay that had what looked like a universal intercooler, which was about 300x280x75 I think.

I'm thinking of making a prototype out of a cardboard box to the same size and playing with where it will fit.

The universal ones start at around $250 or so from some of the rice shops. I thought about one of the water to air coolers, but it's a huge outlay for the gain I will get, so if I can get away with making something cheaper, it may be a worthwhile option....

There's one install on the surf that shows a front mount setup, but even with the piping behind the cover, it is still asking to get smashed in the event of a big hit.. Plus where they mounted that intercooler would get in the way of a low mount winch.

[beerdog]

I'm toying with this same dilema at the moment. I had one on my last truck (already fitted when I bought it and don't have any pics).

I have an RX7 intercooler in the shed, which looks about right. Got it of a mate for free, but I think that he got it from a wrecker. It was a Friday afternoon and he offered them 1/2 a carton in lue of cash, they couldn't argue!

The one on my old truck sat over the oil filler, but it was only three (3) bolts and two (2) hose camps to remove it to access the filler. Best part of a few minutes and never bothered me because of the gains it provided, compared with the times I needed to access the filler.

Ask yourself this question.... how often do you actually access the filler?
Would a few minutes of removal and replacement really annoy you? It takes me longer to get the bloody air filter out of it's housing because of all the air-con and associated piping under the bonnet!!

Too many other projects at the moment, but I'll post up some pics when I finally get mine done.

[LuxyBoy]

Or you can change the rocker cover to have a front filler i think the surf have this, can't remember but i have seen it done.

[Micky-Lux]

Or you can change the rocker cover to have a front filler i think the surf have this, can't remember but i have seen it done.

Which engine had the front filler? I think the 1kz-te may have, but it would be a different rocker cover. Mine's the 5L.

How much different are the rocker covers on a 2L or 3L?

[Rob Jonno]

Yes the 1kzte has the oil filler at the front

[ferrit]

there are two different rocker covers for the 1KZ-TE too- The Prado one (with factory intermacooler) has the vapour hump at the back of the block, the Non intermacooled (surf, Hilux) have one in the middle between the two crossover pipes.

[thrashlux]

top mount is the way to go for ease of fittment ,non interuption of radiator airflow,and reducing lag (short plumbing)

BUT
just a tip if you fit one ,put a small thermo fan on it i did mesurements with a temp probe and found at low vehicle speeds it was an interheater due to engbay heat soak.

you need to keep cool outside air moving thru it the whole time

denco not worth the money better off getting a water to air set up off a liberty or even better a gt4 they are twice to 3 times (gt4)the capacity at a tenth of the price

best option is a big air to air with short inlet tract and reliable constant cold air source and keep away from any heat source(this is why the boy racers put them out front)

water to air has to transfer the heat twice between mediums each time causing a slight temp diferenial loss
air to air only once

all in all it is about comprimises
this is not theroy it is tested outcomes

thrashlux

[Mr DJ]

there are two different rocker covers for the 1KZ-TE too- The Prado one (with factory intermacooler) has the vapour hump at the back of the block, the Non intermacooled (surf, Hilux) have one in the middle between the two crossover pipes.

Unfortunately a 1KZ rocker cover dosen't fit a 3L/5L.

[thrashlux]

I would not worry too much about the rocker cover

buy two from the wreckers get a hole saw cut the cap tread out of one get a machine shop to tig it into the other where you want it then holesaw the hole thru

done

you will need to remove all the oil scum before they can weld it

[350hplux]

i,ve got a 500 x 350 x75mm cooler mounted in my arb front bar and it works a treat .it was originally a 2.8 diesel but is still adequate for the 350hp ijz that is in it now. cheers darin

[matt.mcinnes]

Somthing different.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/ftopic139640.php

[RedRat]

After fitting the turbo to my 3L I found the only time heat caused any issues was low speed beach work. In these situations an air to air wouldn't achieve any cooling. I fitted a water to air unit and can still access oil filler and dipstick(which you would want to check between oil changes). The denco price is a bit scary but hunt around and you could find a PWR kit (same bits) cheaper. Mounted radiator behind cab. Works damn well, we ran it on a dyno at full load till the dyno was getting warm and exhaust temps (and therefore inlet temps) were fully stable. Because these little slugs require constant 3/4 to full throttle they're running close to full boost most the time therefore making constant heat which doesn't really suit air-air intercooling as they tend to act more as a heat sink (unless you've got a pretty big one). As for performance gains....I don't think you can use the word performance to describe the sensation of driving a 3L.

[1 tuff lux]

hey guys iv got a ln65 with a 2.8 turbo with a front mount intercooler its a bit stuffing around to make them fit with pipes and all but its worth it i do alot of bush driving and beach work it doesnt seem to worry about the heat that much if you run a boost higher than about 8psi thats where you get your heat from i run 8psi boost with an intercooler size about 300mm x 500mm x 50mm and running 33inch tyres

[80gus]

Have a look here there is a few different options i have had air/ air top mount, Air / Water top mount.

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/forum/showt ... 660&page=3

[tomster]

common misconception with intercoolers is that it just works all the time. if you have an air intercooler when your four wheel driving it truly isnt helping at all. it needs to be force fed like a snorkel for the cooling to work. if you want an intercooler for 4x4 you need a glycol intercooler or even water but glycol i would recommend as it needs no forced induction to work.

[pig 83]

Even the best water to air isnt going to make a major power/temp difference on a 3l/5l because they are not power houses to start with . But i have a xr6 turbo intercooler on mine just made new end tanks for it and it works really well its just air to air top mount but the improvment on the highway with a few other things done to it is quite good it will sit on 115 to 120 no dramas with a roof top camper fully loaded and pyro temps sit about 350 c and it still has the power to overtake . Dont get me wrong its no power house but it does the job well . So my unimformed opinion is an air to air is a better option on a car that sees more highway then offroad because thats when you really see the difference .

[chunkz]

Any of you guys end up doing this? Just a quick question though. With the bonnet scoop, would you face the opening forward of backward towards the windscreen. ( to stop water from creek crossing .etc)

[gizmoe]

A.R.E at Brendale are Guru's with all types of cooling for vehicles.

They did the cooler kit on our 200SX & they do all the kits for the big number Dyno warriors in Oz.

Water to Air is the way to go for the slow moving 4wd brigade, bigger, more costly but can control the temps more consistantly.