Engine: D5: - How I fixed my v70 D5 intercooler.

roly · Dec 20th, 2009, 15:54

i've actually come on the forum to see how to fix my wing mirror but I'm so grateful for the information which I find on here that I feel moved to tell this tale in case it helps anyone else.

About 6 months ago my 53 plate V70 D5 with 140K on the clock starting blowing increasiung volumes grey of smoke from the exhaust on acceleration. Although I tried to ignore it for a while, it obviously wasn't going away and evenetually my wife refusing the drive the car until it was fixed was the final straw. One short visit to this forum made it fairly obvious that the intercooler must have split not only from the smoke but also the oil that had been dripping from under the radiator for the preceding 12 months or so.

Having got the intercooler out (Haynes) it was clearly leaking, the bottom tubes were swollen, bowed downwards and covered in oil residue. Incidentally, my guess is that this failure was probably caused by a build up of condenstation in the intercooler eventually freezing when the car is parked in the winter - seems to be the only thing that could casue that degree of swelling and distortion, plus it's only the bottom few tubes which had failled. Wonder if Volvo would consider providing a drain plug - probably not :-(.

Phoned every radiator place in town but apparently it's a delaer only part so called Volve. After some negotitation I got the price down to £200 but being the kind of chap who runs his cars into the ground it still seemed a bit steep so I told them I'd come back to them if I couldn't fix the intercooler myself.

OK- now for the fix. Using engine degreaser and a hose, I cleaned the oil off the old intercooler - yuk. To find, the leak, I taped off one end of the intercooler and blew into the other (put cling film or something over first so you don't get a mouth fulll of oil). On blowing I could hear the air hissing out and subsequent inspection of the tubes revelaed 10 or 15 spots of fresh oil seeping out of pin holes on the cleaned surface.

Figuring that as it was only around the bottom 10% of the tubes which had failled and that Volvo probably designed the car to work in much higher temperatures than it will ever see in the UK, to attemp a repair seemed quite in order.

A trip to Halfords for a large pot of liquid metal left me about £15 poorer. After giving the intercooler another clean, this time degreasing as well with thinners, I mixed the entire tin and worked it in between and all over the leaking tubes so that the lower 10% of the intercooler was packed solid from both sides. I blew into the intercooler again and this time it held pressure eventaully bursting the cling film I was using to seal the other end.

I refitted the intercooler and went for a drive and I can only say that the car was transformed. Performance was noticeably better, and even better - no smoke either! That was six months ago and since then it has run with no problems, average fuel consumption has gone from 42mpg to 46mpg.

i appreciate that many reading this will probably not approve but it seemed to me I had little to lose and so far so good :-)

Clan · Dec 20th, 2009, 17:03

I've often thought of chopping off the few rows which are leaking and crimping the tubes to seal them ... But its such a horrible job to get the intercooler in and out , is it worth it .....

smssms · Oct 3rd, 2010, 11:57

Has anybody ever tried pouring something in that will flow to the bottom and then set to block off the leaky section?

Thoughts?

Suggestions?

Bernard333 · Oct 3rd, 2010, 13:45

I like the idea of these type of repairs and would not be averse to trying anything that might save me the cost of a new part so thanks for the repair tips . The standard intercooler fitted to the Euro 3 163bhp D5 is an economic compromise and not good enough to give maximum economy and power , losing more of its capacity by repairing it this way may not pay if you plan to keep the car for a long time and you enjoy using the full power available . The D5 and T5 intercoolers are exactly the same dimension ( the 2.4T intercooler also looks the same to me ) , there is no way that the one intercooler is ideal for all these engines , it suited Volvo to use the same one and I am sure its 85 % good for the three engines , in my case I potter along most of the time so this is an academic point but for anyone wanting power its a different matter .

Clan · Oct 3rd, 2010, 14:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bernard333

I like the idea of these type of repairs and would not be averse to trying anything that might save me the cost of a new part so thanks for the repair tips . The standard intercooler fitted to the Euro 3 163bhp D5 is an economic compromise and not good enough to give maximum economy and power , losing more of its capacity by repairing it this way may not pay if you plan to keep the car for a long time and you enjoy using the full power available . The D5 and T5 intercoolers are exactly the same dimension ( the 2.4T intercooler also looks the same to me ) , there is no way that the one intercooler is ideal for all these engines , it suited Volvo to use the same one and I am sure its 85 % good for the three engines , in my case I potter along most of the time so this is an academic point but for anyone wanting power its a different matter .

Have you seen the intercooler on the new 205 bhp D5? It is 1/3 the height but twice as thick ...so much less efficient than the old D5 one

Bernard333 · Oct 3rd, 2010, 19:57

Clan , I have not had a close look at the 205bhp D5 engine , does the smaller intercooler used mean that the aftermarket intercooler makers will be able to add even more power than the 15bhp gain they can offer for the old 163bhp D5 ?

Clan · Oct 3rd, 2010, 21:45

I think the twin turbo D5 will easily go to 250 bhp / 500 nm but not sure whether they change the intercooler or just a remap ..

kevin harris · Jan 16th, 2011, 21:00

roly, how has this fix held up, has there been any other problems due to this?

Hms · Apr 23rd, 2012, 06:41

The same happened to my car but I had no time to repair the radiator therefore, I had to have it replaced for a lot of money.
My question: Are you sure that this problem was caused by water condensed in the radiator?
I remember, I washed my car this winter and sprayed the washwater through the grill into the coolers area in the nose of the car. The air intake hose is installed in this area, above the radiators. It was assumed by the mechanic and me that I sprayed some water into the intake opening. This water was then carried away by the air into the intercooler radiator.

Did you wash your car in a similar way before the problem occurred?
Hms

moorgate · Oct 28th, 2015, 19:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hms

The same happened to my car but I had no time to repair the radiator therefore, I had to have it replaced for a lot of money.
My question: Are you sure that this problem was caused by water condensed in the radiator?
I remember, I washed my car this winter and sprayed the washwater through the grill into the coolers area in the nose of the car. The air intake hose is installed in this area, above the radiators. It was assumed by the mechanic and me that I sprayed some water into the intake opening. This water was then carried away by the air into the intercooler radiator.

Did you wash your car in a similar way before the problem occurred?
Hms

No, this is a red herring. the water would have to pass through the air filter! The mechanism that blows the tubes is the MAP sensor becoming oily and dirty and under-reporting the air pressure achieved inside the intercooler.

Dec 20th, 2009, 15:54	#1
roly New Member Last Online: Jan 1st, 2010 21:29 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Gloucester	How I fixed my v70 D5 intercooler. i've actually come on the forum to see how to fix my wing mirror but I'm so grateful for the information which I find on here that I feel moved to tell this tale in case it helps anyone else. About 6 months ago my 53 plate V70 D5 with 140K on the clock starting blowing increasiung volumes grey of smoke from the exhaust on acceleration. Although I tried to ignore it for a while, it obviously wasn't going away and evenetually my wife refusing the drive the car until it was fixed was the final straw. One short visit to this forum made it fairly obvious that the intercooler must have split not only from the smoke but also the oil that had been dripping from under the radiator for the preceding 12 months or so. Having got the intercooler out (Haynes) it was clearly leaking, the bottom tubes were swollen, bowed downwards and covered in oil residue. Incidentally, my guess is that this failure was probably caused by a build up of condenstation in the intercooler eventually freezing when the car is parked in the winter - seems to be the only thing that could casue that degree of swelling and distortion, plus it's only the bottom few tubes which had failled. Wonder if Volvo would consider providing a drain plug - probably not :-(. Phoned every radiator place in town but apparently it's a delaer only part so called Volve. After some negotitation I got the price down to £200 but being the kind of chap who runs his cars into the ground it still seemed a bit steep so I told them I'd come back to them if I couldn't fix the intercooler myself. OK- now for the fix. Using engine degreaser and a hose, I cleaned the oil off the old intercooler - yuk. To find, the leak, I taped off one end of the intercooler and blew into the other (put cling film or something over first so you don't get a mouth fulll of oil). On blowing I could hear the air hissing out and subsequent inspection of the tubes revelaed 10 or 15 spots of fresh oil seeping out of pin holes on the cleaned surface. Figuring that as it was only around the bottom 10% of the tubes which had failled and that Volvo probably designed the car to work in much higher temperatures than it will ever see in the UK, to attemp a repair seemed quite in order. A trip to Halfords for a large pot of liquid metal left me about £15 poorer. After giving the intercooler another clean, this time degreasing as well with thinners, I mixed the entire tin and worked it in between and all over the leaking tubes so that the lower 10% of the intercooler was packed solid from both sides. I blew into the intercooler again and this time it held pressure eventaully bursting the cling film I was using to seal the other end. I refitted the intercooler and went for a drive and I can only say that the car was transformed. Performance was noticeably better, and even better - no smoke either! That was six months ago and since then it has run with no problems, average fuel consumption has gone from 42mpg to 46mpg. i appreciate that many reading this will probably not approve but it seemed to me I had little to lose and so far so good :-)

Dec 20th, 2009, 17:03	#2
Clan Experienced Member Last Online: Today 00:11 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: L/H side	I've often thought of chopping off the few rows which are leaking and crimping the tubes to seal them ... But its such a horrible job to get the intercooler in and out , is it worth it ..... __________________ My comments are only based on my opinions and vast experience .

Oct 3rd, 2010, 21:45	#7
Clan Experienced Member Last Online: Today 00:11 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: L/H side	I think the twin turbo D5 will easily go to 250 bhp / 500 nm but not sure whether they change the intercooler or just a remap .. __________________ My comments are only based on my opinions and vast experience .

Jan 16th, 2011, 21:00	#8
kevin harris New Member Last Online: Feb 12th, 2012 15:28 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Falkirk	intercooler fix roly, how has this fix held up, has there been any other problems due to this?

Apr 23rd, 2012, 06:41	#9
Hms New Member Last Online: Feb 21st, 2014 14:57 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Paks	Inter cooler - the same happened to my car The same happened to my car but I had no time to repair the radiator therefore, I had to have it replaced for a lot of money. My question: Are you sure that this problem was caused by water condensed in the radiator? I remember, I washed my car this winter and sprayed the washwater through the grill into the coolers area in the nose of the car. The air intake hose is installed in this area, above the radiators. It was assumed by the mechanic and me that I sprayed some water into the intake opening. This water was then carried away by the air into the intercooler radiator. Did you wash your car in a similar way before the problem occurred? Hms

Oct 3rd, 2010, 11:57	#3
smssms Junior Member Last Online: Mar 10th, 2011 19:11 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Salisbury	Has anybody ever tried pouring something in that will flow to the bottom and then set to block off the leaky section? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Oct 3rd, 2010, 13:45	#4
Bernard333 Premier Member Last Online: Oct 20th, 2021 11:41 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ramelton	I like the idea of these type of repairs and would not be averse to trying anything that might save me the cost of a new part so thanks for the repair tips . The standard intercooler fitted to the Euro 3 163bhp D5 is an economic compromise and not good enough to give maximum economy and power , losing more of its capacity by repairing it this way may not pay if you plan to keep the car for a long time and you enjoy using the full power available . The D5 and T5 intercoolers are exactly the same dimension ( the 2.4T intercooler also looks the same to me ) , there is no way that the one intercooler is ideal for all these engines , it suited Volvo to use the same one and I am sure its 85 % good for the three engines , in my case I potter along most of the time so this is an academic point but for anyone wanting power its a different matter .

Oct 3rd, 2010, 19:57	#6
Bernard333 Premier Member Last Online: Oct 20th, 2021 11:41 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ramelton	Clan , I have not had a close look at the 205bhp D5 engine , does the smaller intercooler used mean that the aftermarket intercooler makers will be able to add even more power than the 15bhp gain they can offer for the old 163bhp D5 ?

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