Another WAIC (Water to Air Intercooler) for TRD SC (1 Viewer)

[djsixbillion]

Figured I'd share some pics of this project, now that it has been up and running for about a year and close to 10k miles. Sorry I don't have any in-progress shots, it was quite an involved installation that took me several months to complete, working an hour or two here and there as I had free time. Thankfully the 80 is not my DD so down time wasn't too much of an issue.

I designed the intercooler itself in Google Sketchup and sent the drawing off to these guys for fabrication:

Bell Intercoolers - Custom Intercooler and Core Solutions

Turnaround time was pretty quick, and in the meantime I found a local welder/fab guy who made up the adapter plate that attaches to the intake manifold - just a piece of thick aluminum plate cut to match the outline of the OEM gasket, with a piece of 3" aluminum pipe with a bead-rolled end welded on.



The front-mounted heat exchanger and fan, along with the silicone hoses and various fittings, were sourced from www.frozenboost.com. The heat exchanger actually fit really well, and is secured by the radiator support center brace and a couple little Al brackets that mate up with existing captive nuts near the PS headlight. A little grinding on the back of the grille was required to clear the fan, but nothing major.

 

[djsixbillion]

The circulation pump is made by Meziere. It's all aluminum (except for a stainless impeller I believe), good for about 20-gpm. I mounted it on a plate bolted through existing holes in the PS frame rail. It is very well tucked up and protected from any harm/excessive heat, etc.. The pump is triggered on by the "Alt Good" signal, picked up from the engine bay relay box (thanks to Landtank for that idea). Power is supplied from a Blue Sea aux fuse panel mounted in the OEM passenger-side battery tray (my aux battery is actually mounted in the rear cargo area.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Perfomance?

 

[djsixbillion]

A couple more shots. The EGR modulator had to be turned and relocated with a little bracket. As you can see, the system is filled with coolant from the top, right near the intercooler to allow all the air to be purged out. The puller fan on the front heat exchanger is wired to the AC pressure switch and controlled by an OEM rear heater switch. The switch functions work like this:

"Low" position - fan will cycle automatically based on the signal from the AC pressure switch, this allows for after-run when the engine is shut down

"High" position - manual override, fan always on

"Off" position - manual override, fan always off

The intercooler has been working great, I can't really say that I've made a scientific study of intake temps or any such thing, but I recently got back from a ~2,200 mile trip through Death Valley, North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Moab, UT with no cooling or detonation issues whatsoever. I'm running a 2.8" pulley on the blower as well, which brings max boost up to about 8 psi, and it has power to spare even when towing a loaded M416 up and over the passes.

 

[djsixbillion]

Perfomance?

I haven't done dyno runs or anything like that, but even on stock gears this truck goes VERY well. I have a full set of 4.88 gears sitting in the garage that I will probably be putting up for sale soon, as the engine has plenty of power now to turn the 315's and I am liking the lower cruising rpm on the highway.

 

[Tapage]

really neat setup .. you have detailed pics of the intake manifold adapter .?

 

[landtank]

Perfomance?

In my opinion intercooling a SC is not about performance gains.

A SC forces a given amount of air regardless of intercooling. But intercooling reduces the bad effects related to compressing the air (heat) which can cause some detonation and performance loss.

Reducing that risk allows you to increase the compression (smaller pulley) and produce more power.

So adding an intercooler IMO just bolsters the existing system which provides a more robust setup that can be made to produce more power.

 

[djsixbillion]

In my opinion intercooling a SC is not about performance gains.

A SC forces a given amount of air regardless of intercooling. But intercooling reduces the bad effects related to compressing the air (heat) which can cause some detonation and performance loss.

Reducing that risk allows you to increase the compression (smaller pulley) and produce more power.

So adding an intercooler IMO just bolsters the existing system which provides a more robust setup that can be made to produce more power.

Exactly, I see it more as extra insurance than anything else in this application.

 

[djsixbillion]

really neat setup .. you have detailed pics of the intake manifold adapter .?

I can snap a closeup, but it's really pretty simple, just an aluminum plate that matches the bolt pattern of the intake with a piece of pipe welded on.

 

[landtank]

Exactly, I see it more as extra insurance than anything else in this application.

I think you've done that.

 

[swampfoxSC]

SC MPG?

How does the SC affect the MPG? It seems you would get more power per gallon.

 

[akarilo]

Very nice man.

 

[iptman]

What winch is that in your shortbus? M12000?

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View attachment 644549

 

[djsixbillion]

How does the SC affect the MPG? It seems you would get more power per gallon.

Power per gallon, yes; miles, not necessarily! It does no worse than stock if you can keep your foot out of the boost, but that can be a test of will and patience.

What winch is that in your shortbus? M12000?

Warn XD9000, I think others have made the M12000 work in this bumper as well though?

 

[FirstToy]

That's really nice, do you use a reservoir tank for the IC to capture expansion and contraction of the coolant?
Interesting placement of the fill cap, tidy!

this reminds me I have a 2.8 pulley I never had the chance to install.

 

[beachcomberspi]

I agree it reduces heat. I also agree the performance gain is often secondary on these rigs. My .02 even without a smaller pulley the charge will be more dense if the IC is set up reasonably. By definition the same PSI and volume at a lower temp will produce more power.

In my opinion intercooling a SC is not about performance gains.

A SC forces a given amount of air regardless of intercooling. But intercooling reduces the bad effects related to compressing the air (heat) which can cause some detonation and performance loss.

Reducing that risk allows you to increase the compression (smaller pulley) and produce more power.

So adding an intercooler IMO just bolsters the existing system which provides a more robust setup that can be made to produce more power.

 

[djsixbillion]

That's really nice, do you use a reservoir tank for the IC to capture expansion and contraction of the coolant?
Interesting placement of the fill cap, tidy!

this reminds me I have a 2.8 pulley I never had the chance to install.

Thanks for the compliment, your writeup was definitely an inspiration for me to attempt this project. There is no reservoir in the system, just an overflow line from the pressure cap that's routed down near the frame rail. I've yet to experience any coolant exiting via that route. I'm thinking that the total volume of coolant in the system is small enough (maybe 2-3 liters or so) that any expansion can be accommodated by a slight swelling of the silicone hoses, which are rather lengthy. IOW, not an issue in my opinion.

 

[FirstToy]

The one thing I wanted to find was a reservoir tank to add capacity to the system. My initial one was leaking due to my welding skills (or lack thereof). If you come across something, PM me... last I checked, it was surprisingly hard to find.

Engine looks very clean! Nice work. Your truck looks great, love that Slee front bumper too.

 

[alia176]

Very nice job! Curious, the IC fan comes on only during A/C operation so pretty much during winter the fan stays off? I like the logic of this - no heavy load, no IC fan. Do you notice if your A/C vent temps during the heat of the summer not getting as cool as you'd like to see?

 

[djsixbillion]

Very nice job! Curious, the IC fan comes on only during A/C operation so pretty much during winter the fan stays off? I like the logic of this - no heavy load, no IC fan. Do you notice if your A/C vent temps during the heat of the summer not getting as cool as you'd like to see?

Correct, in "auto" mode so to speak, the IC fan kicks on and off with the cycling of the AC pressure switch. It can also be turned on and off manually though, for situations like slow trail crawling with the AC off, etc.

I've had no issues with AC performance, vent temps are plenty cold enough to freeze you out if left on high.