Intercooler?

[Rabbit TD]

I am putting a 1600TD together, rebored .020, new top-line head, bearings, ect.  I got a turbo from mjmturbos which is a totaly rebuilt unit with the compressor side upgraded to a stage 1, I can't say how much bigger  the wheel is but is deffinately bigger just looking at it compared to the stock one.  It is a Garrett T03 I believe, the one with the actuator for the wastegate pressed into the hot end, I don't have the part # handy but it is the factory one  from a 83 Jetta TD upgraded a little on the compressor end.  I have been wondering if an intercooler would help it or not.  I don't know what these little turbos made as far as boost when new or what to expect from this one when it's all done.  The IP is completely stock with just a new seal on the shaft for now, hoping it's ok because this motor came out of a car that was in a field for about 6 years and I just rebuilt it and never heard it run but it was running when they put it there.  What would be a reasonable intercooler for this application.  The car is used for highway comuting 75 miles a day in the summer with 2 pretty steep grades on the trip.  Can you get an intercooler that would fit in the engine bay somehere that wouldn't cost a fortune or offer any suggestions of what type or if it would even be worth the effort or not.  I'm new to turbos and need all the help I can get and this looks like the place.

[catlin_cava]

I believe an intercooler would help with power/fuel economy. Engines always getting better performance when they have cold air. My brother's transport running a Cat C15 twin turbo is intercooled so they must be good

[Rabbit TD]

I figured it had to help a little, I'm not looking to make 150 hp. or anything like that, and something I don"t have to worry about blowing head gaskets from too much boost and as economical as possible.  As it is now with my current engine which is just a .020 over N/A it is all it can do to maintain 70 up those grades on the highway and you have to be watching the temp. gauge pretty close in the Summer on a pull like that but it is a great economical motor otherwise.  I was wondering if an intercooler could be made to fit in the cowling area where the blower motor is because that is a good source of cool {ram} air and close to the turbo.  I'm sure somebody has tried it before.  Anybody ever seen anything like that or any simple suggestions.  One of those $1,200 to $1,500 setups is out of the question for me.

[carrizog60]

go to a junkyard and grab one i.c. that will fit in front of the radiato.
do some plumbing,install a boost gauge and set it to 1 bar and fuel to match.
there you go.

[TurboJ]

Remember that an intercooler also reduces engine stress and improves fuel economy. Actually, there is no reason whatsoever why one should not fit an intercooler on a turbo engine.

[arb]

Remember that an intercooler also reduces engine stress and improves fuel economy. Actually, there is no reason whatsoever why one should not fit an intercooler on a turbo engine.

agreed !

[Rabbit TD]

The reason I was asking is the 83 jettaTD this motor came out of didn't come with one and since this is mostly a stock turbo with a little bigger compresor wheel I didn't know how much boost this thing should make or how hot the air woud be on a small one like this to justify one.  And if anybody knew a specific factory one that would be easy to adapt. Does all the piping have to be metal on a small one like this, PVC maby after you get away from the turbo a little way, and how about turbo lag with the intercooler clear out in front and loss of boost over that distance, I imagine there would be some wouldn't there? :?:

[TurboJ]

The stock intercooler that came on some A2 Golf and Jetta TDs had plastic end tanks and the pipework was also partially plastic. Even so a stock I/C has been tested at 1.8 bar of boost pressure without failure. To be safe, though, alu or S/S tubes are the way to go.

So, there is the stock I/C available from mk2 Golfs/Jettas, which is otherways fine but doesn't allow much airflow onto the core.
Then there's the Golf Rallye intercooler, which is really good (FMIC), but also costly.

I think the best bet is to fit a generic intercooler in front of the radiator, or connect a decent cold-air feed to a engine room -fitted I/C. You can find cheap, good quality I/Cs on eBay these days, so there's not much point using a 20 year old, plastic-ended OE intercooler anyway.

Is it a Mk1 or Mk2 ? In case it's a Mk1, the GTD or Rallye I/C wouldn't fit anyway...

[Rabbit TD]

Thanks Turbo, That's the kind of things I was wondering about as far as intercooler types to look for.  The engine is out of a 83 jetta 1600 TD, I guess that's a MK 1 isn't it.  But the egine will be going into my 81 Rabbit N/A I'm now driving.  I'm still gathering things up for his transplant probably in the Spring and still tinking about different possibilities and pre-fitting things so it won't tie the car up for too long.  Prothe has a intercooler on his site for $120 for the 99 through 05 Golf & Jettas TDI and 1.8.  It has the plastic end caps but it should be OK I would think if they used the cooler on those cars and it looks like it wouldn't be too hard to fit some place. I would like to keep it in the back someplace, in or aroud that tray area where the heater blower is if possible and maby even adapt another  heater blower blowing through  the intercooler with some ducting & fabricating.  I still have access to alot of parts like that for nothing, I'm just running things through  my brain for now, considering the possibilities.  Thanks for your help.

[MJF]

There is lots of cheap aluminium-coolers in ebay, why donīt you get one from there? One for example.

[dieselherb1]

You can pickup a 1.8T intercooler(about the same size as a TDI IC) at a salvage yard for $25. Jetta 2000 1.8T-

[Jimmy Diesel Junior]

Hey guys, i have a mercedes sprinter intercooler in front of my radiator./ Bit of a squeeze but fits ok none the less.