What does the intercooler do?

[JLMedia Ltd]

Hi all,

I have an S60 D5 52 plate and I recently found out whilst having it serviced that the intercooler is burst (looks like it has had a slight front end shunt at some stage as the front bumper is loose) Guess I should have seen this when I bought it second hand but I'm not mechanically minded.
I did get the car cheap so am happy spending a few quid on it.
My question is "what does the intercooler do" and what symptoms will I see or more importantly, what effect will it have when I have it replaced.
my Local Volvo independent said I can run it for a little whilst without the intercooler but I'm a bit wary of this, after all, it is there for a reason.
I would appreciate a rough idea of price as well if anyone has experience.
I'm based in Chelmsford, Essex

Thanks

Jason

[Clan]

Originally Posted by JLMedia Ltd

my Local Volvo independent said I can run it for a little whilst without the intercooler

Thats a very good example of what i was saying yesterday in another post about independants, mr chow ...

[Clan]

When air is compressed which it is quite highly in the D5 by the turbocharger it gets hot ( over 100 C ) , as the bicycle pump experiment shows , Hot air is much less dense than cooler air so this means that it cant have so much fuel mixed with it to make the ideal fuel / air ratio . so less efficient amd less power .
The intercooler cools this hot air coming from the turbocharger ( to about 35 C ) and brings it's density down so it can be used effectively in the engine .

bypassing the intercooler could damage the engine and cause it to shut down into limp home mode due to abnormal readings from the sensors .

[JLMedia Ltd]

Originally Posted by Clan

When air is compressed which it is quite highly in the D5 by the turbocharger it gets hot ( over 100 C ) , as the bicycle pump experiment shows , Hot air is much less dense than cooler air so this means that it cant have so much fuel mixed with it to make the ideal fuel / air ratio . so less efficient amd less power .
The intercooler cools this hot air coming from the turbocharger ( to about 35 C ) and brings it's density down so it can be used effectively in the engine .

bypassing the intercooler could damage the engine and cause it to shut down into limp home mode due to abnormal readings from the sensors .

Yes that makes sense.
I knew it was there for a reason, I don't drive the car hard but I will get this sorted as it needs doing of course.
Does anyone have a rough idea as to what I might expect to pay for this.

Thanks for your input Clan.

[Clan]

you are welcome :
Cost about £200 for an intercooler and 2 to 3 hours labour .. when you have it replaced look forward to no black smoke and full power restored ..

[JLMedia Ltd]

Originally Posted by Clan

you are welcome :
Cost about £200 for an intercooler and 2 to 3 hours labour .. when you have it replaced look forward to no black smoke and full power restored ..

Excellent, I'm not suffering from black smoke at all and it feels pretty powerful anyway so it'll be interesting to see how powerful it is when it's done.

Cheers

[chow]

Originally Posted by Clan

Thats a very good example of what i was saying yesterday in another post about independants, mr chow ...

oh right , so only a volvo mainstealer would know that air gets hotter the more its compressed, i think i learnt that in one my first physics lessons when i was about ten years old

[Clan]

no no , The independent telling a volvo owner "to run around without the intercooler "

[chow]

Originally Posted by Clan

no no , The independent telling a volvo owner "to run around without the intercooler "

as ive said before the standards generally in the trade are dire and im not surprised by that sort of comment, however my advice was find a good volvo indy and you wont go far wrong, as imo they have a excellent knowledge base of older volvos which tbh the stealers are not interested in and their labour rates are normally a lot less than main stealers outrageous charges

[Clan]

I'd agree with that , these days you have to know all aspects of how a car works before you can repair it but very few mechanics seem to have a thorough knowledge on how a car works . Many dont know how to adjust valve clearances or much about carburettors . hence all the rattly fiestas around in dire need of valve clearance adjustment .
The trouble arises when someone with a volvo newer than about 2000 for example turns up at an independent with his drivers door module clicking ,who can't really turn him away in these economic conditions ...

I looked over a 1999 olive green V70 R today the special one with AWD , twin exhausts , vented rear discs and 265 bhp, it left the dealer chain at 40000 miles , its done 110000 miles now and been serviced in the service book by a local "specialist" , it was hanging and bodged needed over £1500 of work , had budget tyres and swimming with non genuine parts , the fluids filthy the alloys were all scuffed and black with non volvo brake dust, it was really sad to see this car in such a state . Obviously bought by someone who could just afford to buy it and wanted to enjoy driving and owning it but couldn't afford to run it .. It's gone too far for him to retrieve now so i guess he will just run it into the ground ....