Intercooler upgrades for Ford Courier

[kiwiginga]

Im a bit of a rookie for when it comes to intercoolers but is it worth changing the one i've got to a bigger one?
I find my ute a wee bit sluggish going up the hills even with the pump wound 1/8th of a turn.
Are they worth getting or is it just the looks?
My ute is a 2001 Ford Courier (2.5TD)
Cheers in advance

[Crash bandicoot]

an inter cooler wont really give massive performance gains as such but will allow the engine to remain cooler under load. and any performance gain in HP maybe counter intuitive if the piping has too many bends or restrictions.

So that Said you have three choices
Conventional Front mount that will provide good space for a resonable sized cooler and plenty of surface area to cool the charge.
parts for this a ready available off the shelf. possible grab the setup from a factory intercooled model perhaps?

Top mount, air to air provides less ducting work and design of the fins allow for less heat saturation but comes with it's own set of complications such as space between the engine and bonnet, air scoop panel work etc.

probably the best idea for the courier and if funds allow is to employ a water to air intercooler where a second radiator circulates water to the cooler mounted between the turbo and the intake manifold.

[kiwiginga]

probably the best idea for the courier and if funds allow is to employ a water to air intercooler where a second radiator circulates water to the cooler mounted between the turbo and the intake manifold.

To my understanding, Subaru did have a system like that in their earlier Legacies. I wonder if i can get a second hand system like that amd jimmy it up to the courier
Cheers for the reply

[zukmeista]

What do you use it for mainly? Air to air cooler will give good performance for road use as there is plenty of airflow at road speeds, not as good offroad due to less airflow at low speed so won't get cooled as much. Water to air would be good offroad as it doesn't rely on airflow as much but they can be complicated to pipe in and set up. Given you already have a front mount air to air I'd just put a bigger one in as the factory one is quite small. Take off the front bumper and have a measure up of the space you have then surf trademe to see what you can fit in there. Also make sure it won't hang down too low so it won't get smashed up offroad.

[derk]

to keep it in context putting a bigger intercooler on wont stop your truck being sluggish going up hills, don't waste your money learn to live with it or buy a faster truck

[kiwiginga]

Ok. A ford ranger would be nice but it is a wee bit out of my price range for now . Im not going to change to a hilux because i don't think it would be much better (in my opinion anyway). But yea, i suppose I have to live with it the way it is, after all, it is a work hack to cart my dirt bike around aswell .
Cheers guys for all of your opinions , I think ill stick with my factory intercooler for now and wait till the funds show for a new Ranger.

[Crash bandicoot]

Ok. A ford ranger would be nice but it is a wee bit out of my price range for now . Im not going to change to a hilux because i don't think it would be much better (in my opinion anyway). But yea, i suppose I have to live with it the way it is, after all, it is a work hack to cart my dirt bike around aswell .
Cheers guys for all of your opinions , I think ill stick with my factory intercooler for now and wait till the funds show for a new Ranger.

you don't want a ford ranger. they are only good for bulldozing the hump off between wheel ruts. and if you crack the grill and want it replaced it'll cost an arm and a leg plus half the other leg.

hilux aren't what they used to be either. last of the live axle front would be good but the new ones have too many issues.
what about a land cruiser? there's a 95 VX on TM at the mo for 18K

[QUADRACER]

i have had two Rangers and they are great, as he stated its for more power on hills.

not one is going to take a $60,000 dollar truck off road in serious ruts.

pending on use, the ranger is a far better all round vehile than an 80 series, i think 80 series are over priced for their age.
yes Rangers, Hiluxs are a lot more, but you get what you pay for.

[BlakeNZ]

Rangers are very good on road. The overpriced land cruiser thing is based on their ability to be doing the on road/off road stuff for 25 years. Time will tell if the ranger can hold together for any length of time . I'm quite sure the current hilux(2006 onwards in fact) won't be doing the job in 20 years time, that we currently expect our 20 year old 4wds to do now.

[lax2wlg]

Its important to remember that the Ranger is an American car, and modern mass produced American cars have planned obsolescence built in to their product lifecycle. Its designed to fall apart a couple of months after the factory warranty expires, so they can then sell you the latest model.

Toyota is going this way too, one needs only to compare a latest generation Hilux with a 1985 Toyota Truck (solid axle front, fully boxed frame)... Night and day.

[QUADRACER]

The ranger is assembled in Thailand built with a Volvo engine.
The first post asked for more power, or save up for something better.

Your correct they are not that great off road but that was not asked.

Do I think they will outlast a mid 90 s hilux I don't expect so.
But again he ask how to increase his on road towing.

Stay on the subject or just don't reply.

[Crash bandicoot]

i have had two Rangers and they are great, as he stated its for more power on hills.

not one is going to take a $60,000 dollar truck off road in serious ruts.

pending on use, the ranger is a far better all round vehile than an 80 series, i think 80 series are over priced for their age.
yes Rangers, Hiluxs are a lot more, but you get what you pay for.

I'm gonna get burned for this.

yeah they do take em off road and yeah we baby sat two of them through two off road trips last year, you'd need to jack them 4 to 5 inches to get the approach and ramp over and rear over hang to a drive able standard off road...it sucks i know,(my dad brought one and was rather quite when the mistral spent most of the day towing it.) and by the end of the day we had chipped about 200 kilo's of packed mud off the chassi front and back so he could drive home.

they are for the weekend boaty/builder or horse float owner....and if it's lacking power then its probably no much good at that either.

And just to be fair the colorado has got all the same problems along with the new navara and Dmax.
you want power buy a 6 or eight cylinder you want offroad ability a LWB double cab is probably the last vehicle to pick.

[lax2wlg]

FTR, The fact that they are assembled in Thailand makes no difference whatsoever, other than the fact that Its cheaper for the manufacturer to assemble their RHD variants offshore.

Planned obsolescence is a widely recognized strategy. Chevy (Holden) are exactly the same.

[hamboy]

Hey kiwiginga, if its lacking power start with the basics.

: Ditch the EGR
: Open up the airways ( intake & exhaust )
: Check the valve clearances
: Maybe get the injectors checked?
: More boost? ( not sure whats safe with the WLT )
: Keep it above 2000 rpm these motors don't like to lug

Cheers
Dan

[bombaybasher]

I got a 1999 turdo diesel rodeo non inter cooled standard and found a really good upgrade , I used the upgrade inter cooler segedins sell for a BA XR6 turbo, really good size and fitted perfectly in the front , can't see it at all from the outside and it's pretty big, made the ute run cooler and it picked up about 2 pounds more boost under load, i do a lot of towing with my ute and it made a very noticeable difference

[kiwiginga]

Hey kiwiginga, if its lacking power start with the basics.

: Ditch the EGR
: Open up the airways ( intake & exhaust )
: Check the valve clearances
: Maybe get the injectors checked?
: More boost? ( not sure whats safe with the WLT )
: Keep it above 2000 rpm these motors don't like to lug

Cheers
Dan

Yea, im thinking up getting an exhaust upgrade from my standard 2" to 2-3/4" pipe. Iv'e heard that makes quite a difference?
I think I'll leave the boost as it is as I think I've allready got a suspected cracked head (losing coolant, lol).
Ill check the valve clearances in the next oil change.
Thanks for your help
Appreciate it

[Brownlie]

Hi, I have a 2001 courier 2.5 turbo diesel and replaced my exhaust with a 3'' system with highflo muffler from turbo back. It makes a huge difference in power/torque. I estimate approx 25% increase and I can actually overtake vehicles now. Best thing I have done to it.

Cheers

John

[KIWI_TERRANO]

so il start with first question

yes will make a difference, you seem the size of factory there shit, mate did 30% bigger intercooler and 3inch exhaust and it flys along now

i have a bigger intercooler to fit to my 08 ramger and going to do 3inch exhaust to

and last rangers we have are no where near the same as the usa ones, and there no so roader, have taken mine many of places mates wont take there surfs on 33 and luxs on 35, and im only on 32.5s

[kiwiginga]

Hi, I have a 2001 courier 2.5 turbo diesel and replaced my exhaust with a 3'' system with highflo muffler from turbo back. It makes a huge difference in power/torque. I estimate approx 25% increase and I can actually overtake vehicles now. Best thing I have done to it.

Cheers

John

Sorry to be rude but do you remember roughly how much the system costs?
Just want to get an idea on price per hp/torque figure would be
Cheers
Campbelll

[44jetboat]

Brother had a 2wd one that we did some work too. Bolted a larger intercooler up front . Just got one off trade me $150odd I think. Upped the boost to 14pound and wound up the pump. Also opened up exhaust (removed big muffler and fitted coby ) Fitted egt guage and dam it went well .

Was really easy. Just keep exhuast temp below 700 deg ( pre turbo) and should be fine.

Only thing was dam hard on clutch.

My 2c