98 V70XC freezing intercooler

[lantvin]

I have had the same problem. If it was -20C or below it would happen everytime I parked the car for more than a few hours. It did not happen unless I was on a flat surface or slightly downhill. It never happened on my driveway which is facing uphill. Once I realized that, I would always park on an incline upwards to avoid it freezing up. Before I realized that, I bypassed the intercooler the previous winter.

It is simply that hot air off of the turbo warms the intercooler and below a certain temperature the intercooler will cool off rapidly and the warmer air and its moisture content will condense on the inside of the intercooler. Set a cold glass of water on the counter and see the moisture condense on the outside or watch your glasses fog up when you come from outside to inside.

When the water condenses inside the intercooler and you are on a flat surface, the water will tend to remain on all the surfaces evenly, thus clogging most of the air flow. If you park on an incline, it will tend to run towards one side and freeze, allowing at least a fair amount of air to flow.

It worked for me, (parking on an incline) or you could spend countless hours coming up with enough pieces to somehow bypass the intercooler for the winter. I was lucky enough to have the parts from 240's and 740's laying around to make it work last winter, but it weren't pretty.

[sony2000]

A bypass in very cold temps should improve gas mileage a little. Possibly a pin hole at the lowest point of the cooler would be all that is necessary to keep it perpetually water free.