[stu007]

It appears my intercooler on my 159 2.0 diesel was damaged when the car was in production and due to several problems recently has been discovered and now needs changing :-/

Has anyone replaced and how big a job was it?

 

[coxy1]

Changed mine for a RS500 intercooler.

To replace an existing one like for like is not that bad its just a bit fiddly. The intercooler sits between the water rad and air con rad and everything is fastened to the front of the water rad, oh and the oil cooler and power steering loop sit in front of it all.

Its a bumper, front slam panel and front bumper re enforcement bar off, if all the bolts come undone and don't snap off and depending on your skill level say 3 hours upwards for a steady pace.

See post 279 on here which shows how its laid out
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/tuning-and-upgrades/304828-clogz-brera-2-4-skunk-works-thread-12.html#post4828874

 

[stu007]

Ah cheers Coxy1!

Hope you don't mind me asking but what kind of price are the RS500 intercoolers

This is what mine currently looks like.. From what I can tell something very heavy has hit it and then over time the hose has then split... and then the engine due to the split hose has got so coked up have now had to get rid of the DPF!!

 

[coxy1]

The RS500 intercooler starts at around £300 upwards for the 60mm core depending which brand you want to buy, but its not a straight fit by any means.

The intercooler inlet and outlets need moving, a new oil cooler and pipe work, mounts for the new intercooler, the power steering pipe work needs modifying and moving, modifying the air box. If you read more of Clogz thread you'll see what's involved.

Apart from welding the new inlet and outlet to the intercooler ( approx £60 ) I did all the work myself, so would not like the hazard a guess how much a garage would charge for this job.

Could you not just sleeve internally the intercooler outlet and hold in place which some appropriate adhesive and then replace the boost hose. Which could most probably be done in place.

 

[stu007]

Yes I was thinking could it be a repair job over replace?

I have already sorted the hose and thats when I discovered the damaged intercooler.. It seems to be running fine with the hose connected right now but expect the hose will end up like the old one and split again??

I could probably have a go replacing it myself but have also dropped AHM for a quote to do!... Very impressed with all the mods on the other link! Spent a fortune myself at the moment so can only dread to think how much all those mods cost haha...

 

[coxy1]

Yes you have to treat modding like a hobby :lol:

But to be fair Clogz Brera is an another planet, you can really see and feel the difference all those mods have made.

 

[97396]

eBay can get you an intercooler for a lot less than the RS500 one - and you can find a replacement for the damaged pipe for less than £100. There is a complete 2.4 intercooler and pipe set 2nd user for £99.50 on there right now.

A month ago I fitted an aircon radiator to a Saab 9-3 and although it is mounted in front of the car radiator it involved stripping the front of the car as you have to do with the 159. Turned out to be not such a big deal once started and the whole repair including brand new aircon condenser and Halfords regassing kit, cost less than £100 compared with a dealer quote of "around £650 which includes £440 for the part".

Not sure if the Vectra intercooler is the same or will fit - but this one is CHEAP >> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vauxhall-Vectra-B-2-0-diesel-TDi-intercooler-radiator-/360689201228?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53fac0704c