im going to put an ata intercooler on my truck, now i know it can be done but its too much of a hassle to mount it where it should go in the front grille area and i defenitly think its a stupid idea to mount it where the skid plate goes, so i saw a setup in the 6.5 stickies and saw a top mount one in the engine compartment, only thing is i dont want to put a big ass hood scoop on my truck i was wondering if i could put 2 eletric fans mounted to the intercooler to blow air over it hoping it will cool the fins, what to you think guys? Crazy, Good idea? if it works and cools the air intake temp down itd be great, id get to kepp my skid plate, and keep the intercooler safe, if this wont work i guess ill go to the design where the plate goes, whats the deal with that? work good? i plan to use a snow plow in winter with my truck next year and also i do not take my truck off roading

From the picture I have in my head isnt it to tall to fit under the hood with fans attached?

well i havent measured anything yet, im just laying down a floor plan, i would 100X rather have it in the front grille, and esp that my ac lost its charged when pulled the engine out, noone ha r12 to put in and i need to convert evrything over bc the little conversion kit is junk. i could take out my condenser core, but when i want ac in the future i wont have it. i was thinking of putting a intercooler with fans to cool ot down, but i dont know if the fans will cool it down to be effective. Skid Plate Location is def a no go for me, would never put it there esp when i use a plow. best for me would to put in in grille or in engine compartment with 2 vents on hood to release hot air from hood. i saw the Top ata project on here but dont want a huge hood scoop.

I would maybe look into doing a air to water intercooler. It will take up less space and be far more effective when working on a budget.

Ya I have thought about the top mount intercooler in the past but I was thinking of a custom hood that looked like the H1 Hummers a little bit. It may be tricky to put fans on it but I have no doubt it can be done but like they say in carpentry measure twice, cut once.

I would maybe look into doing a air to water intercooler. It will take up less space and be far more effective when working on a budget.
Agreed, WTA you can place basically anywhere and you don't have to worry about where to place it so it gets airflow over it to cool the intake charge.

btw, My intercooler has been where the skid plate has been for who knows how long. Yes some of the fins are bent and stuff but it still does the job and its not all that bad.

Do it like a Subaru STI. Mount it on top of the intake, get a hood scoop and let it just flow right into the intercooler. The plumbing would be a lot easier that way than the skidplate idea anyways. I have a few intercoolers sitting around from old STI's, just waiting on some spare time so I can design something. Biggest part in my opinion is the hood scoop. Anyhoo, it works well on STI's, why not 6.5 diesel's?

for you guys who put it low, could expanded metal be used (like metal grate for catwalks) to protect it from the larger debris?

for you guys who put it low, could expanded metal be used (like metal grate for catwalks) to protect it from the larger debris?

If it's the grating I'm thinking off, it won't do much. Here's a pic of the intercooler on my car and it only gets driven maybe 200 km's a year and it's only a year old. I don't have any protection, but the car never sees gravel, just highway and dragstrip. Here's a pic:

New:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s70/rustydusty1717/aww022.jpg

After(only 250km's MAX):
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s70/rustydusty1717/error023.jpg

I can't imagine what an intercooler would like on a truck that travels on gravel! I'm thinking of trying screening of some sort to try and stop some of the gravel coming up.

Ive had my intercooler in skidplate area for 3.5 years & 65,000 miles. I live on a gravel road & it doesnt have a scratch on it. I laid mine back at about the same angle as the skidplate & left the lower airfoil on the bottom of the bumper. From the front you cant even see it. I worried about airflow in this config, but towing a 8.5 x 24 finished enclosed trailer loaded on a 90 deg f day netted a max iat of 167f. The intercooler I used you couldnt punch a hole in with a hammer. Very tough built unit. Whole deal cost about 400.00 bucks. Plow frame may cause an issue though.

Intercooler won't help much till you get it in the 14psi range or higher.

If your not running it that hard it won't help much of anything.

Any setup is going to require lots of air flowing over it to help.

Basically it's a matter of air density. The intercooler becomes useful when the boost goes up.

I agree with the statement about using an ATW intercooler. Much more compact heat exchangers, and you can mount the coolers almost anywhere. For you fellas with the 6.5 I think this is a much better option than trying to find a space for an ATA IC.