ST185 A/A intercooler to ST185RC A/W intercooler?

TheNubkins

New member
I have a few quick questions, many of which might be serious newb ones but please bare with me. I have the stock ST185 air/air intercooler and would like to do a complete PROPER swap to an ST185RC air/water intercooler setup. If it's a lot easier to just swap in certain parts I'm willing to hear that scenario as well.

1)How difficult is this to pull off?

2)Which parts from the following picture are required. If possible could you edit the picture in paint by circling all the required parts and then repost the picture? Like I said...newb questions. :D I would end up just getting them all but I'm not 100% sure they are all associated with the a/w intercooler setup.

cathhcfnoi0.jpg


3)I believe I had read something about sensors/wiring to be done/hooked up. Does my stock car have all the required plugs/ports to wire the sensor information into, and if not are these items listed on that expanded diagram?

4)Lastly will this setup work within the stock front bumper of the North American Celica AllTrac? I really would like to keep it looking stock from the exterior and do not want to switch to an RC style bumper/hood.

Any help would really be appreciated as I'd prefer this setup to a front-mount a/a for the type of driving I'll be doing, and boost I'll be running. For me it's either this setup, or the stock air/air that's currently on the car. Note: This is not the ST205 intercooler setup.

Thanks in advance for the help guys/gals,
 

gt4rcdude

New member
Minimum required:

chargecooler
chargecooler bracket
two upper hoses
two upper hard pipes
same side motor mount (has special mounting for hard pipes)
st165 inlet gasket (throttle body rubber)

also needed but doesn't have to be OEM:

pump
heat exchanger

I used a 205 heat exchanger and mounted it in front. The OEM 185 unit requires the a/c system changes. To use the 205 exchanger you'll probably need the RC bumper. To use the 185 unit you wouldn't, but you'll need the different a/c lines, receiver/drier.

The OEM pump is the best but I've seen other people use different pumps.

You will have to mount a solenoid to switch the pump on and off with the ignition.

The RC has welded nuts to mount the pump. Your car doesn't. I welded the bracket to the frame rail then inserted the pump into it.

I had to use heater hoses from the local parts store to connect the hard lines to the pump and exchanger.

It's a pain, but it's worth it. Front mount is easier.

You basically need everything in the slide, perhaps not the overflow canister.
 

underscore

Well-known member
What do you want to know? The only OEM parts you should *need* are the intercooler and the intake coupler, everything else is just a matter of how close to the OEM RC/205 setup you're trying to make it.
 

rjpan

New member
Apparently the st165 throttle body coupler isnt available anymore.. are their any other alternatives? 17861-88381
Also id like to get my kit mounted as close to factory as possible. Does anyone have pictures of how the from heat exchanger and waterpump are mounted?
 

underscore

Well-known member
There should be some floating around on here, the pump is pretty buried. A few companies make metal replacements that let you use a straight coupler to connect the IC to the TB.
 
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