Hi All...

So this morning as I was commuting to work, a round metal object comes out of no where and strikes the bottom lip in front of the car - just below the intercooler. Whereby it dislocated the black plastic lip from the front air dam, including the plastic grate that covers the intercooler.

Couple of questions...
1). What is the best way to snap the grate back into place without taking the front bumber apart? At this point I'm not sure if the snaps are broken - may need a new part.

2). Since the plastic grate is loose, more air appears to be hitting the intercooler because I noticed that the coolant temperature is lower (170oF vs. 221oF, with and ambient at ~65oF), but then again I wonder if the object did some other damage that is now affecting my temperature readings from the OBD2, or can cooler intercooler temps even affect the coolant temperature

Thanks in advance for any assistance...

 

I would just use a "nose picker tool", a.k.a. a bent awl to pull the grill back in. Taking the bumper off is a bit extreme. I've had my grill pushed back before and using this tool worked fine for me.

 

Sweet. Didn't think about using the bent awl Thanks.

 

the bumper only takes about 10-15minutes on and off if you know how to do it, but as far as the cooling question, getting more air to the inter cooler would NOT make your coolant temperature lower. it would make your charge air temperature lower.

since you said something about obd2 readings i think your using a scanguage, so your IA temperature would be lower if the intercooler is getting more cool air. but it doesnt explain why your car is running cooler

anyways if i was you, i would make sure there was no damage that isnt clearly visible by removing the bumper just to have a look see. the radiator and the intercooler are awfully close to that grill to not pop off the bumper and have a look.

 

That's what I thought... might have to take a look. Are there any good directions on how to take off the front bumper? Thanks

 

I used the Forge intercooler instructions to take off my front bumper and they worked nicely. Here is the link http://www.forgemotorsport.com/media/FMINTR56v2.pdf

 

The bumper does take me over an 1 hour to take off and put back on. Maybe I am slow but I have done it three times for different upgrades. The clips/plugs and hidden screws can be fun.