oldharry
Well-Known Member
Blocked intercoolers will rarely show up in the coolant temp as they are not there to cool the engine. Only becomes noticeable if it interrupts the circulation of the coolant round the rest of the engine..
The turbo compresses the air which heats it up (remember the bike pump as you blow up your tyres?), and the intercooler cools it down again, which makes it more dense so that more oxygen is drawn in per cylinder charge. Usually this gives around 5 - 10% increase in power output at full throttle.
Partially blocked intercoolers would mean there is slightly less oxygen reaching the engine, so power output may be slightly down, and the engine will increasingly burn 'rich' and begin to smoke as it gets worse and the air /fuel ratio changes. Whether that matters to you depends on how often you run at or near full throttle!
The main danger in ignoring it is, as has been pointed out, if the intercoolers are corrroding away because of the salt blockage - seawater getting in the air intake tends to be terminal for the engine!
The turbo compresses the air which heats it up (remember the bike pump as you blow up your tyres?), and the intercooler cools it down again, which makes it more dense so that more oxygen is drawn in per cylinder charge. Usually this gives around 5 - 10% increase in power output at full throttle.
Partially blocked intercoolers would mean there is slightly less oxygen reaching the engine, so power output may be slightly down, and the engine will increasingly burn 'rich' and begin to smoke as it gets worse and the air /fuel ratio changes. Whether that matters to you depends on how often you run at or near full throttle!
The main danger in ignoring it is, as has been pointed out, if the intercoolers are corrroding away because of the salt blockage - seawater getting in the air intake tends to be terminal for the engine!
