How do I get a big pool of garbage out of my intercooler?

[autoteleology]

I've been having numerous issues with my 2010 MKS as of late (very long dramatic story) but with the help of a mechanic buddy I've been able to get them buttoned down, except for one. The weather here has been unreasonably hot, humid and rainy through this past July and my car has been out of order for a few weeks during the repair process, and while it sat, it seems that the gas tank and the intercooler have collected a substantial amount of water.

The gas tank is simple, of course, add some Iso-HEET and Bob's yer uncle as long as you can eventually burn off the contaminated gas in the engine, but the intercooler issue has been a bit of a head scratcher. I've seen how the people in the F-150 EcoBoost forums handle it, just drill a 1/16th inch hole in the bottom of the driver's side of the intercooler and let the boost sort it out, but my MKS doesn't have a visibly exposed intercooler because some sort of plastic frame is in the way, so I can't really tell exactly where I'm drilling, how deep I should be trying to drill, or if anything is coming out of the weep hole to know if I've done the job right.

In the meantime, my car feels like it's gargling bricks every time I get within -2PSI of boost, shaking and shooting misty clouds of smoke out of the tailpipe. It's pretty much undriveable. Anyone have any advice (especially pictures or video) on how to clear this nasty sludge out before my engine block turns into a paperweight from a random slug of backwash?

 

[SHOdded]

you can suction out the collected garbage from the passenger side of the intercooler. just need a wet/dry vac, a collection bottle with inlet/outlet tubes, and an adapter for the vac nozzle to the bottle. the hose from the bottle to the intercooler should be long enough to reach the bottom of the intercooler.

drilling is not a preferred option though there are many advocates on f150 sites lol.

you can reach out to gearhead and see what they think. i believe their ic has a drain option.

 

[Ta2dResqr]

GH has a drain. Unfortunately, it is on the passenger side and is covered by a plastic frame. I cut an access hole in my plastic frame to get to it without removing the intercooler.

 

[kenneth mccoy]

How often does it need to checked/drained?

 

[SM105K]

GH has a drain. Unfortunately, it is on the passenger side and is covered by a plastic frame. I cut an access hole in my plastic frame to get to it without removing the intercooler.

Thank is exactly what it. Hole saw and viola!

 

[kryptto]

Yet another reason I bought an endoscope - inspect the valves and look down into the black lagoon of the IC

 

[Ta2dResqr]

How often does it need to checked/drained?

Since I put the hole in the plastic, I just drain mine every oil change. I don't usually get much out. I jack the driver's side up a little bit higher, pull the plug, change my oil, put the plug back, and then drop the car down.

 

[kenneth mccoy]

Since I put the hole in the plastic, I just drain mine every oil change. I don't usually get much out. I jack the driver's side up a little bit higher, pull the plug, change my oil, put the plug back, and then drop the car down.

I definitely need to do that, I think I've had that GH intercooler on for 2yrs now.

 

[autoteleology]

Hi, just wanted to update you on the results of this. So, I ended up figuring out, with the help of a mechanic friend, where to drill the weep hole, which I did, and quite a lot of gross black tar came out over the following day. Unsurprising, but while it helped, it did not fully fix my issues.

 

[kryptto]

Some type of turbo failure my guess based on what you found and your smoke and boost issues. Shame you aren't looking at Error codes. Right now for me would just be guessing, clogged turbo oil inlet filter maybe. How frequent were oil changes, how many miles? Are u the first owner, some details about any major work performed?

If your oil doesn't change much the oil supply can clog the supply line, that is one uneducated guess. The intercooler having black oil, is post turbo and not a good sign of turbo health.

 

[autoteleology]

Some type of turbo failure my guess based on what you found and your smoke and boost issues. Shame you aren't looking at Error codes. Right now for me would just be guessing, clogged turbo oil inlet filter maybe. How frequent were oil changes, how many miles? Are u the first owner, some details about any major work performed?

If your oil doesn't change much the oil supply can clog the supply line, that is one uneducated guess. The intercooler having black oil, is post turbo and not a good sign of turbo health.

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I'm currently writing a big post about this so that I can more clearly communicate what might be wrong with the car, with repair documents, scan tool codes, and data log images. I really appreciate the help.