kelaog

Consensus, is my intercooler pooched?

31 posts in this topic

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Took off the I/C fan to replace it this morning (was hitting limp mode inducing IAT's with a broken duct and broken fan). But while I was changing the fan I was looking for boost leaks. I've been hearing whistling ever since climbing a long hill a month ago. It would come and go but now I hear a turbo whistle pretty much every time I'm under partial boost. The squeeky noise goes away sometimes under full throttle or under low boost (low speed crusing or something). If I'm boosting and back off the throttle I start hearing the whistle/squeek. I kinda think the high IAT's killed the IC.

 

Xilb9jk.jpg

 

For inquiring minds to see how efficient that little fan is when you have a broken intake scoop 

sJOZ76G.png

This is just cresting a small hill at 120 kph and then steady speed. Boost pressure is lower than it was doing these speeds previously because IAT was 80-90C or higher without the scoop and fan working. This is just the fan. It took 5 minutes to change FYI. Really easy.

Edited by kelaog

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Hi

Looks like you have the dreaded wear through from the plastic mounting bracket.  The tell tail would be a lot of black oil drops on the back of the car.  The intercooler can be removed cleaned and repaired with JBweld as the wear points are quite obvious when it is clean and on the bench.  It is a pain to take out and put back in.  While it is removed take a few minutes to trim the plastic housing so that it clears the intercooler and all your hard work is for not.  As for the turbo squeal, I would check the hose that comes out of the top of your EGR valve (the bottom hose runs into the bottom of your intercooler).  The smaller hose that runs across the top has a tendency to where a groove in the EGR hose allowing pressurized intake air to escape.

best of luck

Alan  

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Hey Henry, thanks for your input.

 

I figured as much.. is the plastic mounting bracket visible in the picture?

 

I believe the intake hose you're talking about (top of the EGR) is visible in the picture as well. There is a groove in that hose. I did do a soap/water test and didn't see any leaking but it is hard to do at operating temperature (evaporation). I'll try again when the car is cold.

 

Sounds like I'm pulling the intercooler... Will have to wait I think.

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Actually come to think of it, that is looking at the fan-side of the intercooler. Is it the fan shroud that wore through the plates?

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Hi.\ there is a little lip that snaps around the intercooler to help hold it in and the edge of that lip is what wears through the fins.

 

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I finally found some pictures of what that damage looks like... Yikes. I think I'm going to order a new intercooler. I don't want to do all that work of getting it apart only to have it continue leaking. Safe bet to replace it and trim the plastic as you've suggested.

 

This thread was helpful,

 

Picture of the type of damage:

Intercooler1Apr2009_009.jpg

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£82.90 here for a brand new intercooler. Perhaps twice that in Canada?

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The link provided in this thread revealed some earlier posts.

 

On 4/12/2009 at 1:24 PM, MikeT said:

One thing you can to do try and minimise the leak is to maintain the oil level in the sump around 1/2 way up the dipstick - no higher - but maybe you know this already. 

 

On 4/12/2009 at 2:02 PM, kayble said:

hey mike,thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I'm aware that the oil level should be on the lower side to keep residual oil vapour loss to a minimum - learned that from this forum aaages ago!

 

Shortly after buying my used Cabriolet in 2007, I noticed oil leaking out of the air intake on the left side of the car.

 

Looking at the dipstick, the car had been overfilled and I removed about 1 liter. The problem has not recurred. My suspicion  was that parking on a sloped driveway may have been a contributing factor.

 

My initial report of my observation of oil leaking out of the air intake and lowering the amount of oil in the crankcase to mitigate the problem was met with some skepticism.

 

 

On 2/8/2017 at 1:31 PM, tolsen said:

I do not believe any of that and there is also no problem filling up to max mark.

 

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2 hours ago, tolsen said:

£82.90 here for a brand new intercooler. Perhaps twice that in Canada?

 

$345 from germanauto in toronto

 

i have no idea at dealer because i wont deal with them

 

i fixed mine temporarily a few years ago with finishing nails (to take up the gap)  and gorilla glue to seal,,,and trimmed to housing of course

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My dealer was a bit less than that, not much.

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Looks like Tolsen has a new enterprise ready to set up, buying and shipping intercoolers!......lol

 

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14 hours ago, LooseLugNuts said:

 

$345 from germanauto in toronto

 

i have no idea at dealer because i wont deal with them

 

i fixed mine temporarily a few years ago with finishing nails (to take up the gap)  and gorilla glue to seal,,,and trimmed to housing of course

Did you end up buying a new one...or is this repair still holding?

I am thinking 2 part epoxy and a thin flat strip of alluminium as a patch that runs the entire length , then trim the plastic to fit very close to the new strip and use that as a wear point IF the two ever meet again....?

 

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Tempting to try patching it as suggested above with epoxies. My luck with them has almost always ended in disappointment. Personally if I'm going to spend an afternoon doing a job I'd rather be drinking on my patio, I want to make damn sure that the problem doesn't reoccur next sunday :P. 

 

Flying tiger so far had the best price on an IC. 

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I haven't taken one out yet, life is getting in the way as summer steams on....but those tubes, how many are there? Are there many and the ones we see damaged simply the outer ones? IF so, then simply epoxying them is a perfect solution as long as the epoxy is rated to withstand high heat etc etc.....as there has to be far more in that cooler than what is really necessary for it to do it's job. So filling a few with epoxy isn't going to make any difference at all, correct?  Simply flush the rad with a rad cleaner/flush solution, then steaming hot water and finally some accetone to get the final part clean from any oily debri. Then simply scratch up the targeted area with sharp object like file or razor knife carefully to give the epoxy something to bite onto. Then do a good thin coat first off then a few heavier coats after the correct set-up time and keep going until it's sealed. Then I personally would add the added extra protection and peace of mind alluminium flat bar over the repair so as to protect the area from further damages hopefully.  imho, it's a simple repair if you take your time to do all these steps.

I'll be doing mine before it becomes a repair and not a simple preventative measure thing. 

Hope this helps someone if you're thinking of doing it.

 

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i used gorilla glue because it expands during cure...figured it would grab better than epoxy

 

seems to have worked..the fishing nail was just to take up the gap and spread the load so the glue repair would have less pressure on it 

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On 5/17/2018 at 9:23 PM, LooseLugNuts said:

i used gorilla glue because it expands during cure...figured it would grab better than epoxy

 

seems to have worked..the fishing nail was just to take up the gap and spread the load so the glue repair would have less pressure on it 

 

How long for Gorilla Glue to cure? I really have had just such poor results from Epoxy repairs that I just avoid them at all costs....

 

I was thinking that using some fiberglass cloth in addition to something like gorilla glue would probably hold extremely well. IMO, JB weld is absolute garbage simply because it is so brittle that any vibration, expansion, contraction or shear load seems to kill it instantly.  However, paired with some fibreglass cloth it would likely hold up quite well.  Flat bar or better yet, some aluminum channel would be ideal to fill in the gaps and provide some strength. 

 

Once my girlfriend moves to Medicine Hat, we'll have two cars so I can divulge into this repair and not worry about getting to work for a couple days; should it take longer than a weekend to RE/RE/RE.

 

Thanks all for the help/suggestions. 

Edited by kelaog

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a few hours

 

my drivetrain was completely out at the time of repair for other issues so i suppose mine cured for a month or more before i even started it ...but a few hours should be fine

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Hmmm.....I was thinking JB Weld also, the slow cure version that flows better and the idea of adding fibre glass cloth to it sounds interesting...Hmmm...?  I would probably go with striaght JB for the first layer then add some cloth to the second layer etc...but i will be adding the flat bar for added rub protection which will also add structural strength also.  I fixed a bike rad with it in the far north many many years ago and it held up just fine...it took 2 days to cure fully enough for me to get it operational if I remember correctly......but it did work all on it's own and that was a messy job out in the bush  at a campsite.  So in the garage in sterile conditions without antifreeze getting possibly into the mix I see no reason why it wouldn't adhere well especially with the added support of cloth and the flat bar....just thinking outloud.  IF you don't have the flat bar, a simple ruler would work also cut to the proper length you require.

 

 

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i dont recommend jb weld for anything 

 

if youre real ambitious and have tons of patience you could try and solder it with aluminum alloy rods...they sell soft rods for patching boats 

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I was also thinking two part epoxy but didn't know which would handle the heat...?   Any thoughts?

I also have those soda can welding/solder/brazing rods...never had any luck when i have tried to use them. I even watched the guy do it many many times before shelling out the coin on them....augh!

 

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Posted (edited) · Report post

Problem with two part epoxies is they are normally hard as glass which means they don't handle things like tortion or vibration very well. IMO, not a good solution for this intercooler without the addition of something like fibre reinforcement. JBWeld would be excellent in a pure tension application which in reality never happens. :P

 

I'd love to try the soldering method but FWIW, a $299 intercooler brand new solves this problem 100% :S I'll happily donate the old one to whomever wants it and wants to repair it outside the car. 

Edited by kelaog

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when my choices are $300 or a bit of glue and time...the glue and time wins every time

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I agree but if he does buy new I'd love to have his old cooler to work with.....it only works if he has somewhere to work on it as this repair will take a day I bet start to finish, but could be done in a parking spot if you worked at it steady. At worst I'd even go to a campsite and do it there, out of the way of prying eyes etc etc....take all the necessary tools and cleaners etc etc and don't forget the glue...lol. then have at it. A nice fresh air way to spend a weekend....lol.

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On ‎2018‎-‎05‎-‎25 at 11:28 AM, Willys said:

I agree but if he does buy new I'd love to have his old cooler to work with.....

 

I have some old ones on my back bench - you're welcome to them.

I haven't had good luck repairing them!!!

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