[zhills]

I have read through most of the VW MK5 DIY pages! And find them very interesting. But have not seen anything relating to intercooler cleaning? did I miss it? or is it somewhere else? I have read about it on Fred's, but I find the DIY's on myturbodiesel.com easier to understand.

 

[chittychittybangbang]

The intercooler is a front mount between the Radiator and AC condenser. On earlier cars it was a sidemount where you just removed a grille and could clean the exterior. On the newer cars you don't have direct access to it. Of course, it's still a good idea to remove the leaves and dead bugs from the AC condenser so that it's clean.

There's no reason to clean the interior and you don't want cleaner pooling in the intercooler where it could be sucked into the engine.

 

[McJamma]

Maybe you could use some radiator cleaner to really get in there. But unless you live somewhere dusty or drove through a mud puddle I don't think it would be very effective because it would get dirty again. The oil film in the intake would make any interior cleaning short lived too.