Why It Pays to Replace the Intercooler While Servicing the Timing Belt | Project Toyota MR2

Any car enthusiast who’s ever turned a wrench knows the pain of “as long as I’m in there…”

You begin one process with a plan and realize halfway through that you’re close enough to some other processes where starting the job over wouldn’t be worth the effort.

That’s how our 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo ended up with a new intercooler …

Read the rest of the story

Snorkel time. 

Does that IC get any air flow without the fan, or is it exclusively fan driven?  Is there a failsafe that tells you if the fan fails?

I've always preferred an IC that has ducted forced flow and in some cases (my Fiero that I turboed) I opted to keep the boost no higher than 10-12 psi as there was no way to mount an IC without butchering the car .

You engine bay looks pretty full. Although there have been systems that mount a turbo at one end and the engine at te other end of the car without undue lag, I don't know if running a duct all the way to thr front and back to a front mounted IC would do the same.

The coolant spray on the IC works great for short runs - drag racing or solo events, but hard to carry enough fluid for a half hour road race.  Ditto for NOX.....

In reply to wspohn :

There is an air intake that directs airflow to the IC when the car is moving. ISTR that the fan is basically there for when the car is stationary (to avoid heat soaking the intake air) and when the engine bay gets really hot even when the car is moving,

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Don't tempt me...

BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to wspohn :

There is an air intake that directs airflow to the IC when the car is moving. ISTR that the fan is basically there for when the car is stationary (to avoid heat soaking the intake air) and when the engine bay gets really hot even when the car is moving,

Yeah, this.

There are kits that adapt top mounted water to air intercoolers to the engine, but that's additional complexity for minimal gains when I've got lower hanging fruit to pick in the case of this car. The IC is fairly well exposed to the side intake, but even so there's probably batter ways to force air to it than the negative pressure method it uses now. I haven't looked into it much yet, but it wouldn;t surprise me if there were extensions for the intake to grab a little more air. I can't imagine a front mounted intercooler being any more efficient bythe time you actually got the thing mounted and ran decent size pipe all the way to it. You'd end up with 20 feet of tube between the turbo and the intake. 

JG Pasterjak said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Don't tempt me...

Ill just leave this here.
 

The true "No Fs given" path is to put the IC in the trunk and run the hot and cold pipes through the rear firewall. Bring fresh air in from the top or bottom and vent it out the back. Not sure I'm ready to lose that much grocery room, though.

crankwalk (Forum Supporter) said:

JG Pasterjak said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Don't tempt me...

 

 

 

Ill just leave this here.
 

 

That side feeds the airbox. Some guys ague that it's actually counterproductive because MR2s flow air from bottom out the top. On true Toms T020 MR2s, I believe the scoop is sealed against the airbox.

fatallightning said:

crankwalk (Forum Supporter) said:

JG Pasterjak said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Don't tempt me...

 

 

 

Ill just leave this here.
 

 

That side feeds the airbox. Some guys ague that it's actually counterproductive because MR2s flow air from bottom out the top. On true Toms T020 MR2s, I believe the scoop is sealed against the airbox.

I'm aware that side is the airbox but the point was snorkel.  Here's one on the other side. They are available for both sides.

Not sure it matters if those work or not, they look fantastic

Back in the '90's my MR2 Turbo needed a timing belt change.  My buddy owned a shop and wrote on the ticket:  Needs timing belt, Lift Hood, Replace Car.  I did the next one.  Yeah, replace everything near it.  

Snorkels are cosmetic.  The air is supposed to go the other direction through the engine bay.  There is actually a little plastic tray/scoop under the car in the front of the engine bay to encourage airflow up, past the engine, and out the engine lid.  Most of those got knocked off some time in the 1900s.

Tyler H (Forum Supporter) said:

 Most of those got knocked off some time in the 1900s.