Oil in used intercooler

[21rangerCactus]

I picked up a used mountune intercooler this past weekend. Looked it over and didn't see any damages. It honestly looks pretty new. I get home, get it out the truck and oil pours out the hot side. Is this something I should be concerned with?

I poured simple green in it, shook it around and then flushed till clear. I then got my blower out and used it to dry out the inside.

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[k1w1t1m]

It would appear that the seal went out on the previous owners turbo. Now you've cleaned it out you should be good to go. Not something I'd worry about as long as there were no chunks in there.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

It would appear that the seal went out on the previous owners turbo. Now you've cleaned it out you should be good to go. Not something I'd worry about as long as there were no chunks in there.

Also could be blowby oil/ gunk from the upper pcv system being sucked in the cold side of the turbo. Or if the original owner didn’t maintain their air filter or ran a wet K&N filter it would allow oil to be sucked by the end gap of the cold side piston ring in the turbo without the turbo being failed.

 

[Dereku]

Feel sorry for the last owner of the truck. Cooler should be solid. Check your factory one for oil now. Just to be safe.

 

[ctechbob]

I'd be more worried about bits of fragged turbo in it, but sounds like you cleaned it out, should be good to go.

 

[21rangerCactus]

I'd be more worried about bits of fragged turbo in it, but sounds like you cleaned it out, should be good to go.

I didn't even think about that. I think I'll run the hose through it one more time.

Feel sorry for the last owner of the truck. Cooler should be solid. Check your factory one for oil now. Just to be safe.

He traded it in for an Explorer so I guess it's the dealers problem now.

 

[ctechbob]

I didn't even think about that. I think I'll run the hose through it one more time.



He traded it in for an Explorer so I guess it's the dealers problem now.

Maybe flush it 'backwards' hose and air in the output. Just in the name of being thorough.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

I didn't even think about that. I think I'll run the hose through it one more time.



He traded it in for an Explorer so I guess it's the dealers problem now.

Just because there’s oil in the intercooler doesn’t mean there was a turbo failure. Most likely something less sinister. I would bet that a good portion of Rangers have some degree of gunk in their intercooler. Especially after seeing what gets caught in the Ford Performance catch can.

 

[Dereku]

Just because there’s oil in the intercooler doesn’t mean there was a turbo failure. Most likely something less sinister. I would bet that a good portion of Rangers have some degree of gunk in their intercooler. Especially after seeing what gets caught in the Ford Performance catch can.

Wasn't there an ecoboost problem with the 3.5 when it came out. Or was it just condensation in the intercooler?

 

[ctechbob]

Wasn't there an ecoboost problem with the 3.5 when it came out. Or was it just condensation in the intercooler?

Believe they were freezing up due to trapped condensation, and I think a few of them sucked a big slug of water into the engine.

Certainly oil doesn't mean something bad happened, but as easy as it is to clean while its out seems like a no-brainer to just make sure you don't suck something into the motor that doesn't need to be there.

 

[Racket]

Just because there’s oil in the intercooler doesn’t mean there was a turbo failure. Most likely something less sinister. I would bet that a good portion of Rangers have some degree of gunk in their intercooler. Especially after seeing what gets caught in the Ford Performance catch can.

Regular draining of the catch can is critical for keeping gunk out of the intake although I don't think the system returns air ahead of the IC?

The UPR dual vacuum setup gets secondary vacuum - what they call the WOT option from the intake elbow ahead of the turbo on my version. Modern versions use a billet adapter.

Just wonder what other engine air is introduced ahead of the turbo/intercooler?

Here's the elbow that connects the intake to the turbo inlet by @Loweredon33s
I wonder what all those connections can introduce.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

Regular draining of the catch can is critical for keeping gunk out of the intake although I don't think the system returns air ahead of the IC?

The UPR dual vacuum setup gets secondary vacuum - what they call the WOT option from the intake elbow ahead of the turbo on my version. Modern versions use a billet adapter.

Just wonder what other engine air is introduced ahead of the turbo/intercooler?

Here's the elbow that connects the intake to the turbo inlet by @Loweredon33s
I wonder what all those connections can introduce.

The outlet at the top of the valve cover feeds into that elbow before the turbo. The Ford Performance catch can interrupts that feed. Outlet from valve cover goes to catch can. Outlet from catch can goes to the elbow. It does collect gunk especially in cooler weather ( 6-8 months around us LOL). Otherwise it’s a direct shot right to the compressor wheel and then the intercooler.

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