I went and done it, installed a 1996 intercooler in my 92 pickup. I will even attempt to attach pictures of the high points of the process. The instructions and pictures are from an intercooled truck- some of the cutting and grinding may be avoidable in a nonIC truck- is has just been too long since I had my 91 apart to remember.
List of supplies and tools (that I can remember):
1) 4- 3/8x1-1/2"+ bolts, with nuts and lockwashers.
2) 2- intake gaskets (the almost square ones, not the long one that goes under the entire plate).
3) 2- rubber insulators/ grommets for intercooler side brackets. Mopar P-N 52027827
4) flat steel stock of some sort or another to make the upper mounting brackets. (I used 12ga steel, about 1-1/2" wide, by 2ft long and cut to length as needed)
5) Hammer and anvil, truck flatbed, torch, or some other means of bending the steel for brackets.
6) Means of cutting OEM bracket for intercooler (I used a grinder with a cut off wheel).
7) ~3-4ft of 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 angle iron to make new support bracket for new intercooler
8) 2- 7/16" x 2 to 2-1/2" bolts, with nuts and washers.
9) Wrenches, ratchet, sockets, Vice Grips, etc.
10) intercooler, piping, hoses, clamps, elbow from turbo, and intake horn from 94-02 engine. (many have replaced their stock horn with something from Banks, et al, so these can be had cheap).
11) I'd recommend gloves, face shield, and long sleeves if you plan to grind at all. ALso, some cardboard to deflect sparks is a good idea.
12) Sharpie marker or the like.
13) Short pieces of 1/4 ro 3/8 ID steel pipe.
Here is the good part:
1. Remove bumper, parking light lenses, grille, lower fascia, hood safety latch, coolant overflow jug, battery and battery tray.
2a. Discharge AC system and remove condensor. I know, this is a PITA, but I needed to have it done anyway, so it was no big deal for me.
2b. Leave AC system alone, and move condensor out of the way for now. I suspended mine with baling twine from the hood.
3. Remove hump hoses and clamps from OEM intercooler. Remove the other pipes, tubes, turbo outlet elbow, and intake horn.
4. Cut the support brackets for the OEM intercooler back to the main part of the core support.
5. Measure the width between the lower mounting brackets from the 2nd Gen intercooler. Compare to OEM intercooler. Measure out 1/2 the difference from each OEM mount and make a mark.
6. Cut 2 pieces of anlge iron about 2" long. Clamp in a vice, and drill a hole dead center (or close to there) big enough for the rubber mounting bushings to fit into easily (mine were about 7/8". Weld these up on the lower front of the core support as shown in picture 1, centering the center of the hole with the mark made in Step5. (See photo #1)
7. Measure the width of the new intercooler and add 3/8 to 1/2inch. Center this width on the front of the core support, and mark it vertically about 7" up from bottom. Measure over about the width of the IC inlet/ outlet, and add 1/2". This is your second vertical line. Join the two vertical lines at the 6.5 to 7" mark and cut out the square. (See Photo#2).
8. Cut about 1" off the lower part of the hood release assembly bracket. (The part angling under the "shelf" that the release is on. Sorry, dont have a pic of that one).
9. Test fit the intercooler into the mounting holes and make sure it is going to fit well. (I reused my OEM lower rubber stops/ bushings on the new IC) Measure to see that IC is vertical in relation to the core support. Leave a 1" gap between the core support and the intercooler. Measure from the installed grommets to the core support. This will be the height of your brackets.
10. Make your brackets. I bent mine 2" from the end to a sharp-ish 90deg bend, measured out the distance needed (It was about 2-3/4" , but this proved to be too short- 3-1/2" is close, but measure- your results may vary), and bend it back so it is parallel to the first 2". Go down about 2" bend back to reverse the first half of it. You should end up with a squared "U" with a couple wings coming out the end of it. Drill a 3/8 hole in each "wing" of the bracket, and a 7/16 hole in the "bottom" of the "U".
11. Mount your newly made brackets to the intercooler, and move the whole thing against the core support. Mark your holes and drill them out. Install 3/8" bolts to hold the bracket. Remove brackets and intercooler.
12. Hang your AC condensor against the core support. I took some more of the same 12ga steel I used for the brackets and made some brackets for the condensor. Cut a 4" section, double it back almost on itself at the 3" mark, leaving enough room for the thickness of the core support (Just a hair thicker than the 12ga). Slip the bracket in the bottom of the hole for the AC condensor, with the longer side hanging to the front. Place your condensor where you want it, and mark the holes from the condensor bracket on the new bracket. Drill holes in the mark. Rivet the bracket in place and install bolts in the condensor bracket to the newly made bracket. (Picture is worth a thousand words, I know). You may have to use a spacer of some sort. I used a but ~1/2" ID. Repeat on driver's side. I figure with the intercooler holding the condensor in place, lower mouting brackets are unnecessary.
13. Mount the intercooler back in place.
14. I had to do some trimming on the inner corner of my inner fender for the piping to clear to the intercooler. This may (or may not) be fixed by moving your lower brackets up about 3/4 to 1". The rubber shielding slips under the lower boots and pipes, and offers some protection from the road.
15. Install intake horn (94-98 12V horns will need the last 2" of the "leg" trimmed to clear injector lines) and piping. The IC outlet pipe should be trimmed about 2-1/2" to fit properly. I just have mine jammed in there for now, with the hoses going too far down the pipe. Passenger pipe needs about 2" trimmed from the long side. INstall clamps, hoses, pipes, and intake horn.
16. Install battery tray and battery, coolant overlfow jug, grille, fascia, bumper, etc.
17. Double check everything and test for leaks. Enjoy markedly lower EGT. I dropped 300deg across the board, but I also had a badly leaking stock intercooler. Your results may vary, esp if your stocker was in good shape. bgilbet, you need to do this to your nonIC'd truck, and compare notes.
Daniel
Linear Mode
