Hi all,
I've got a 2000 model with the aluminum intercooler. I was cleaning the engine compartment the other day and made my way around to the grime that was built up on the cool side of the intercooler outlet. After pressure washing the buildup off the aluminum, I noticed a lot of hairline fractures in the outlet connection. (The only way I could see them was the traces of grime that had worked its way into all the tiny cracks) Has anyone else ever run into this problem, and if so how big of a problem is it? The cracks appear to be no more than 1 to 2 inches long, are jagged like cracked glass and start where the round outlet is formed into the side of the intercooler on the cool side. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

I had a similar problem (maybe the same problem) on mine. I noticed that there was a large build up of oil/dirt on the front of the intercooler and the radiator. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the intercooler under warranty. if you have less than 100K miles, they'll replace it. Make sure they clean the radiator though, they didn't clean mine until I complained and took it back.

The air intake picks up oil from the breather just before the turbo, and under pressure, the oil comes out through any small leaks in the intercooler.

Where are the cracks? The leak in mine was near the bottom of the intercooler on the passenger side.

 

On the passenger side right on top of the aluminum outlet before it connects to the rubber hose. It's got 50k on it right now. The oil/dirt buildup was mainly on the aluminum outlet before is goes into the rubber hose connection but none was on the intercooler itself. It sounds like it might be the same condition. Thanks for the input.