intercooler upgrade

Turbolena · Post by **Turbolena** » 31 Jan 2021, 11:48

It looks like I need to clean and or replace the intercooler on my 1994 850 turbo wagon. Obviously there is the Do88, but has anybody had a good experience with the cheaper all aluminum found on ebay? It is after all a pretty simple piece of equipment.
Your thoughts are appreciated.

Post by **jreed** » 01 Feb 2021, 05:39

What part of the original intercooler isn't working? If it's damaged, it might be a good option to pull a replacement from the junkyard if available.

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 01 Feb 2021, 10:12

The eBay ones are alright, but just alright. There's no real performance gain with them anymore. The older intercoolers that were sold on eBay were a little better (larger core, I believe), but the ones you see now aren't any better than the stock one. The only advantage is that the mounting brackets are welded to the core, so you don't have to fiddle with those upon installation.
I have a do88 in my car, and it's a really nice intercooler. Weighs a ton, but it's HUGE. I probably wouldn't bother with it unless you're going for a performance build, but it's worth it when you're making much beyond stock power. Eventually I'll make mine worth it!

Post by **wizechatmgr** » 01 Feb 2021, 11:02

Turbolena wrote: ↑31 Jan 2021, 11:48 It looks like I need to clean and or replace the intercooler on my 1994 850 turbo wagon. Obviously there is the Do88, but has anybody had a good experience with the cheaper all aluminum found on ebay? It is after all a pretty simple piece of equipment.
Your thoughts are appreciated.

If you're thinking it's clogged/gunked up it just may be frozen. Toss a pizza box in front of the cooling stack and go for a highway drive. Should melt all the built up crap out. Watch your coolant temp, you may have to do less blocking if it isn't getting just the right amount of air.

Post by **volvolugnut** » 01 Feb 2021, 12:07

A random thought here. Are there larger, more effective intercoolers available from later model Volvos that could be used to replace yours? Should be cheaper than new with a performance increase over the OEM.

volvolugnut

Post by **bmdubya1198** » 01 Feb 2021, 17:53

I don't think so, since the P2 ICs have side tanks rather than top tanks like the P80s. P1s have a totally different design, so those definitely won't fit. I'm 99% sure all P80s have the same IC, even the later C70s.

Post by **Goupil** » 03 Feb 2021, 14:12

I have an ebay intercooler in mine. It's fine for the price, but you can see where they cheap out compared to a Do88, the brack alignement is really crappy.
Once sandwiched between the rad and A/C condenser it's not going anywhere.

It's fine if you want to replace a tired old original I/C, don't mind having to work a bit to make it fit and don't plan on making massive power.

Turbolena · Post by **Turbolena** » 05 Feb 2021, 20:04

Thanks everybody for the insight!