1G Stock Intercooler Removal/Cleaning

The main purpose for removing the stock intercooler is:

1) You want to replace the SMIC with a FMIC
2) You want to clean out the intercooler (oil build-up)
3) Boost leak (to get fixed)
4) Replace because of missing or broken/leaking stock

I wanted to remove mine so that I could clean it out and make sure that it was still in good condition as well as make sure the hose clamps on the intercooler had a nice clean connection point with the hoses and were tight.

First thing to do if you can, would be to jack up your car and put it on jack stands it is easier to remove the intercooler as well as get to the lower intercooler hose. ( I didn't have a jack at the time so mine was done on the ground.)

The next thing that you have to do is to remove the splash shield in front on the passenger tire. This is usually held in place by 5 10mm bolts across the top and 2 plastic screw clips on the side facing out. (Mine didn't have the bolts from the previous owner on the fender/bumper). The you might have to back out the clip screws a little bit with a phillips screwdriver and then grab them with a screwdriver as they might not want to come out a on their own.

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After you remove the splash shield, you will see the intercooler. At this point you can disconnect the hoses from the top of the intercooler and the side from the turbo j-pipe.

To remove the upper hose, I unscrewed the metal piece from the air can that holds the BOV in place. This allows more movement to get the hose free from the intercooler as I had issues with the hose sticking after loosing both clamps on the short hose, so you might have to get a little rough to get it off. By moving that piece out of the way, you get a lot more room to maneuver.

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To remove the lower hose, if your car is on jack stands, just get underneath the car and find the hose clamp attaching it to the side inlet of the intercooler and loosen it. Just work it a lot as it was also very attached to the intercooler. ( I waited until I unbolted the intercooler and just pulled real hard as I couldn't get it off the other way. I wouldn't recommend this unless necessary)
If its not on jack stands, You might have to find a way to wiggle yourself into an easy enough position to get to the clamp or you can loosen the hose at the j-pipe and wait until you lower the intercooler to get to the clamp.

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*tip* if your hose clamp is one that uses the steel bands that unscrews on the band(like on my hoses) and it won't loosen, jam a flathead screwdriver behind the band where the screw is attached and apply pressure so the screw connects with the band.

Now you can remove the intercooler. The intercooler is only held on by 3 12mm bolts. 2 are easy to get to as 1 is hidden to first look. The first two are on the backside (facing tire) of the intercooler and the other is from the front on the right side next to the black plastic air flow sleeve from the bumper ( when looking at your car from the front.) If you have trouble getting them out, which I didn't, you can use PB Blaster or WD-40 to help out. To get the one next to the black plastic air flow sleeve, I just removed two clips from the plastic to make it somewhat mobile and pushed it enough out of the way to get my ratcheting wrench on the end.
(You can remove this piece by removing the two screws from the left lower fog light and then removing the screw from the bracket that holds the assembly in place.)

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[AlaskanDsm]

Once you remove all the the intercooler should just drop right out. (If the intercooler intake hose is still connected, now would be the time to remove it.) If you car is not on jack stands then you will have to turn your wheel all the way to the left and pull the bumper out and work it out. If you have jack stands under the car you should be able to pull it out without a problem.

Now that your intercooler is out you can pressure check it for leaks, you can replace it with the FMIC or clean it as I did.

The first thing I did was use a can of brakleen and spray it back and forth through the intercooler dumping out the VERY oily remains. After about spraying 1/4 the can in and rising it I just emptied the whole can into it at one time and shook it around and twisted it till I figured I got most of the sections in the intercooler and I dumped it out.

(the remaining oil residue after brakleen evaporated)

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The next thing was a 2 hour heat soak in a big sink or you can use a bathtub. (This just happened to work for me) I used normal dish soap and soaked the whole outside with the stuff. the set it in the sink and turned the faucet on HOT HOT HOT. (Remember to plug the drain!!) Make sure the entire thing gets submerged and let it soak.

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About every 30-45 minutes change the water and resoak the thing in soap and water. After about 2 hours get yourself an abrasive sponge, or whatever you want to use, and be prepared to scrub scrub scrub.

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I never figured out a good way to actually clean the fins but soaking it at least got all the bugs out! After you scrub it make sure you run hot water through the intercooler making sure there is no soap left in it and then let it dry completely.

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Other ideas :
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/pro...-cleaning-ic-merged-11-7-clean-smic-fmic.html

Once its nice and clean and dry, check now for any cracks and damages to the flanges, tubes and fins. Replace it or have it repaired as necessary. If it looks ok, then you may reinstall it in the same fashion that you removed it.

*tip* once you have all the hoses off the intercooler, you can that that point either replace them, or as I did, wash them with boiling water (from a kettle if possible) or some other rubber safe cleanser. After if you can run a rag or something similar through to pick up any residue, inspect them for and tears, holes, or cracks. Replace as necessary.

*tip* during installation, I had issues installing the intercooler with the lower intercooler hose on, the best procedure I found was Intercooler, upper IC hose, re-attach metal hose connector to air can, Lower IC hose at IC and then at J-pipe, splash shield. Make sure as you put the clamps back on that you position them at angles that benefit to you as you are putting them on as well as if you need to remove them again.

Goodluck!!

-AlaskanDsm