Problem & solution to my D3s poor MPG & Performance
Finally got around to stripping down the D3 this weekend and where the OEM intercooler is normally I found a clay brick
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So out it comes:
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It’s current lying in water having a good soak prior to being gently washed out.
As this isn’t the first time I’ve had to clean the intercooler (link here), and then it’s not a perfect clean, I decided to fit an Allisport High Mount intercooler to replace the OEM one.
The product is great, but the DIY fitting instructions are , they don’t tell you what parts are required or what other parts need to be removed or relocated. As a result, I was put in the not too pleasant position of having a D3 in bits on the drive only to find I had a box with the intercooler, 2x silicon elbow connections, blanking plate and 2x lower mounting bracket plates, but was missing the fitting kit, which should include :
- 2x connection pipes,
- 4x M6 bolts & nylon nuts,
- 6x M6 washers,
- 4x 50-70mm Jubilee clips.
Thanks to PaganUK, I managed to get them in time for me to complete the work this weekend and MrsH have a car for Monday
So next I removed the plastic air cowling to make room for the new intercooler, again not mentioned in the instructions and it was a case of undoing two not very easy to reach screws from behind, one either side of the radiator, then pulling it out.
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Then I installed the blanking plate where the original unit was and fitted the new intercooler in place - you need to drill two 6mm holes in the diagonal braces:
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Notice the mounting bracket plates are one piece – I had to cut these into strips because we have the winch and that inserts into the vertical slots.
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Next connect the original hoses to the new intercooler pipes with the short straight connections and elbows:
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Then refit the bumper
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Straighten the bracket from the Hi-tone horn and fix to the right-hand diagonal brace, like so:
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The ambient air temp sensor also needs to be repositioned, I fitted to the back of the steel bump next to the Winch solenoid box – it needs to be out of direct air current to avoid getting false readings due to the wind-chill factor.
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Edited: My thanks to TFC and AndrewS for some telephone technical advice re parts removal procedure and fitting kit content
Last edited by MrH on 4th Jul 2010 8:46 pm. Edited 2 times in total
That certainly looks a much more sensible inter-cooler. I'd like to hear how you get on with running on hot days as it will reduce by quite a bit the cooling of water in the radiator, but the D3 is perhaps a bit overcooled (for non-tropical users anyway) by design.A vaccine does not stop you catching a virus, or passing it on, or getting ill from it, really ill. It does reduce the likelyhood of you dying when really, really ill. Stay Alive - KEEP AWAY FROM PEOPLE.
4th Jul 2010 5:04 pm
lad
Member Since: 17 May 2008
Location: Blackburn
Posts: 634
Nice job! I see you had your own intercooling too. The can of beer
4th Jul 2010 5:28 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72810
That's probably still in there!! Good job Matthias, better than my feeble attempt to hose mine down with bumper in place.
Member Since: 18 Apr 2008
Location: away
Posts: 10723
Very Well done, and a write up some can follow.....Keep us informed on your findings over the standard, as its something I may consider after deciding mines for the long haul now
I don't have any issues/concerns re performance and quality as I've had an Allisport intercooler previously on a 300TDi and I also based my commitment to purchase on AndrewS's information and experience. Unfortunately this experience was a little soared by my experience on the support received from Allisport themselves on ringing them to ask, politely, about the fitting kit. As apposed to the "oh sorry, we'll get the kit ready for you to collect" I got, "well what do you expect me to do about it, I'm in France at an LR show" Not quite the customer friendly response I'd expect after spend near £500 with them.
That said, once I made clear who was the customer and what I expected after leaving a considerable amount of readies with them , I was then told a kit was being made up and would be ready for collection within 30 minutes. Thanks again, to PaganUK for the couriering
Unfortunately the issue was further soared by the fact that the clips they hurriedly put in the kit were too small and I had to waste further time and effort locating and purchasing the correct sized ones
4th Jul 2010 8:44 pm
PaulP
Member Since: 04 May 2007
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 4317
Nice one Mr H.......that looks very nice and should be much easier to keep clean in the future.
Any plans to remap it with even more boost (than a "normal" remap) to see how it performs?
Quite dissapointing the fact that half of it was missing and you received that response from them
Thanks for sharing.....definitely one for consideration 2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE AutoBuckingham Blue 2007 Golf GT DSG
Member Since: 04 May 2007
Location: Barcelona
Posts: 4317
But surely you could get Iain to give it even more boost now?
It's just a guess, but if you have a better/more efficient intercooler, you could probably increase the amount of air going in, without the air temperature increasing too much??2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE AutoBuckingham Blue 2007 Golf GT DSG
4th Jul 2010 9:31 pm
grzesiul
Member Since: 11 May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 6274
top job MrH
can wait to get enough dosh for mine
hope you can provide some road test observations some time soon especially on MPGs and pleasure of driving with it
cheers
6th Jul 2010 11:16 am
grzesiul
Member Since: 11 May 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 6274
MrH did you get the new IC? I was informed new high mount costs 580+vat + postage?
It is a bit disappointing with the cust service / approach knowing the quality of the product itself.
It's too early to say about fuel consumption changes, but the new IC definitely gives her a fair bit more whooosh
Not sure if it's more than before the OEM IC was new, but certainly better than with the OEM claybrick.
BTW - the claybrick has now been cleaned - after 3 days soaking in water I gently rinsed it out, removed embedded twiggs and from the vanes and will be putting it up for sale; so anyone wanting to do similar and swap out a clogged OEM IC, but not go for the expense of an Allisport unit, - offer me £85 and you can have my old one
Matthias - how easy is it to remove the bumper bar and get the intercooler out ? Just a few more bolts to undo ?
I took off my bumper cover etc yesterday to get a good look at the IC and it looked okay. But I'm thinking I should actually remove it for a good soak as well.The next American ex-pat that calls it a "truck" is going to find out what 2.7 tons feels like on their foot...
Club "yes, I too have had the EGR's replaced..."
Club "yes, I too have had the compressor replaced..."
Club "yes, I too once had the car at the dealer for a couple of weeksnearly 4 weeksover 4 weeks...5 weeks"
Club "yes, I too have had EPB failure..."
Club "yes, I too get mysterious bings and bongs..."
You obviously need to remove bumper & Mantec plate, but also the little OEM front bashplate and two side ones which protect the radiator:
- The middle one is a metal plate and once you've removed the mantec is only held in by two 10mm bolts at the front - BTW this is the plate with the captive nuts which the rear mantec plate bolts go into, so it's a good opportunity to check these and clean them up.
- The two outer radiator guards are held in, each with 4 plastic fastners
- Now undo the two little plastic clips which are at the back of the bottom part of the IC locating it to a plastic tab on the radiator:
- You then undo the two hose-clips
- Remove the two plastic fastners which lock the IC to the bottom of radiator (push plastic centre pin out first, the the plastic plug ),
- Bend back the rear tab of the IC fixing bracket and the IC pulls out forwards tilting it upwards as you go.
- Refit in reverse order
Make sure you seal the in/out pipes on the IC before soaking it - you don't want water ingress nor the oilly residue dripping everywhere - I found a surgical glove and two cable/zip ties on each pipe work really well for this
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, they don’t tell you what parts are required or what other parts need to be removed or relocated. As a result, I was put in the not too pleasant position of having a D3 in bits on the drive only to find I had a box with the intercooler, 2x silicon elbow connections, blanking plate and 2x lower mounting bracket plates, but was missing the fitting kit, which should include 
:
Not quite the customer friendly response I'd expect after spend near £500 with them.
, I was then told a kit was being made up and would be ready for collection within 30 minutes. Thanks again, to PaganUK for the couriering 
),
