cayo71

Guys,

Since I've been loosing a bit of coolant, like half quart every 3 months, I pulled off my intakes today, I found a lot of crud stuck on them, it feels oily with a green hue. Can anyone advise if it is coolant cacked in or gunk from the PCV?

Pictures below:

Thank you!

Velociabstract

Sorry but your intercooler isn't just leaking, it's a flood! Buy now. https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...lug-wires.html

Les

Dasauto

Yup, classic intercooler leak. Hit those intakes with some simple green..........let them soak and hose them out. They'll look good as new. Be more careful with the intake portion near the valves. Make sure no gunk that breaks off while you're cleaning falls in there.........stuff some rags down there before you start cleaning that or better yet.........wait to clean that until you actually remove the supercharger as it has to come off anyway to get the intercooler replaced. Safer that way and way easier to clean.

cayo71

Thanks guys. Figured that that was the problem. I was getting misfire on multiple cylinders at WOT. I hope this fixes it.
Thinking on tackling this job myself. Can the SC be lifted off the car by hand or I need a lift + the special bracket?
Appreciate any tips, tricks and things I should be paying special attention to.

Dasauto

The SC can be lifted off the car by hand but you'll want help, it's HEAVY. No lift needed if you have 2 guys, one on either side. Somewhere there is a great write up I've seen, it's not especially difficult, just takes some time. Also a great time to change the SC oil if you have not done so. Easy access with it off the car. Remember you're picking up the SC and the intercooler together as they're bolted together.

Velociabstract

It's a one man job. A helper is good to have but not imperative. I lifted mine twice and had to set it back down to find what was still connected. Setting it back in was a pain because of the vacuum lines that run under the assembly.

With a leak as bad as what you seem to have your pumping air/fuel into the intercooler circuit under boost as well as ingesting antifreeze while cruising around.

Les

C3Duece

can the gaskets between the surge tanks and the intake be re-used or do you need new ones each time the tanks are removed? Also, is there any sealant that needs to be applied to the gaskets?

kuneefay

Don't know if you need to use any sealant but in my generalized experience if you ever remove a gasket its good practice to replace them while your there.

Velociabstract

If the old gaskets come off without being bent out of shape you can reuse them with copper spray. New gaskets don't require any sealant however I still use copper spray on them. That way they come off easy at the next removal. I've known about copper spray for decades but never saw the need until the new gaskets I had in the closet were the lower ones and I had no choice but to reuse the old gaskets. The stuff works.

Les

jvakos

seeing those gunked up intakes me nervous about the state of mine since i've never checked them and i'm at 112,000 miles!!

Do the intakes only get gunked up if the inercooler is leaking?

wasnt sure if they get normal wear and build up so good to get them opened up and cleaned out every year perhaps even if not leaking?????

Velociabstract

If the air filtration is good and the intercooler isn't leaking you won't find anything but clean surfaces. Well, I have a catch can, if you don't it's possible to find a bit of oil. My intercooler was leaking from the first day. The amount of goo is related to how bad the leak is and how long it's been leaking. It doesn't seem to hurt anything except performance.

Les

cayo71

Some pictures of the process I'm going through:

macbryanie

Clean and RCompart IC. The EC PH spacers work well but you need two sets of gaskets, the NW cork ones didn't work for me only the OEM metal,
Happydays

macbryanie

oh and drain replace the SC oil whilst blower is off

macbryanie

Speed driven aka Rudy RCompart
https://mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c...ers-stock.html

WaveyKat

yep leaky intercooler.. good time to change your SC Oil and Bearing along with your MAF Sensor, And Crank Position Sensor..

Good Luck

cayo71

Thanks! Are those sensors prone to fail? This project is getting expensive by the minute.

cayo71

Guys,

Thanks for all the help so far. Any tips when I lower back in the S/C? I can envision that to be tricky. I mean specially line up the gasket while bringing it down and avoid damaging it in the process of reposition it. And any other thing you may think of.

Thanks!

kindafast

I remember doing this same thing to save a few k back in college a few years ago. Good luck!

C3Duece

Good to know! I was thinking of just casually pulling the tops off to have a look into my intake but was assuming the would seat w/out any spray. I'll pick some up.

thx

insame1

FYI C32 has no MAF. It has a MAP.

cayo71

I don't know how the car was running:





Intake Temp sensor





Intercooler intake





Intercooler out