Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 19 to 33 of 33

Thread: Intercooler refurbishment and replacement pictures

  1. #19
    Registered User V8weight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    St. Paul, MN
    Posts
    2,249
    Great work skyegtb. For reference, this is exactly how I repaired my bank 2 intercooler about 1.5 years ago and it's been holding strong ever since. If/when my bank 1 starts to leak, I'll repair it in the same manner. Hell, if I bought new intercoolers, I'd probably JB Weld them right from the start.
    Pat - Eisenmann race exhaust, Catless downpipes, KW V3's, H-Sport sways, 034 Control arms, Apikol diff mount, Sterns motor mounts, Forge dv's, Stainless brake lines, Venair hoses, Sportec vent mod, Euro tails, Viper Tuned ecu/tcu, DPE S20's 19x9.5, 275/30/19's

  2. #20
    Registered User 4everRS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    MN
    Posts
    2,405
    Now that we're keeping score, when I was at Pat's a month ago, I inspected mine very closely and they looked pretty good. I say pretty good because I got down and looked very close with a flashlight and saw that I had a miniscule amount of oil residue on the DRIVERS side. It was very little. Not a hint of residue on the passenger side.

    I can't help but wonder if a good radiator repair shop could do the trick. If mine get bad, I think I will try that and let everyone know what happens. (hopefully it never does)
    Quote Originally Posted by skribe View Post
    Nicely played. Beautiful car, thanks for sharing.

    For those who like to refurb aluminum parts... aluminized silver paint (can be purchased cheap at your local hardware store.) I just brush it on and it seems to completely bond with aluminum parts, right over the top of oxidization -- it's very thin and evens itself out. it's lasted through three winters on a set of brake calipers with no sign of wear.

    While I'm not an engineer, I would think its metal content would be a bonus for not lowering the thermal efficiency of an intercooler.
    Avus Silver RS6 - Viper Stage 2 ECU/TCU - Water/Meth Injection - Frozen Rotors - Hbars - clear corners - Hella smoked tails - gutted precats

  3. #21
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Quote Originally Posted by LIRS6 View Post
    Great write-up/pics - FedEx has a new OEM pass side IC in truck for me. Ref your comment that it is a very simple job, can you guide me as to what tools are required? I don't have a shop - just a toolbox! Will buy what is needed. Thanks
    My suggestion for tools would be to get yourself a set of metric 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" sockets / ratchets. Sizes 4mm to 19mm (try to get all sizes), also an allen socket set from 4mm up to 17mm, and a torx (star) socket set from T10 to T55. Get various lengths of extension bars for the same and this should be a good start. A metric spanner (wrench) set from 4mm to 19mm is also very useful, even better a ratchet spanner set. No 'special' or unusual tools are required to do this job and obviously not all the sizes of tools mentiond above are required, but this is just my suggestion of what you would want in your toolbox as a basic start. Since working on my Audi in 2 years the only special tool I have purchased so far was a 900mm long M12 splined 1/2" drive socket to remove the inner driveshaft bolts from the gearbox!! Hope this helps.

  4. #22
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Quote Originally Posted by V8weight View Post
    Hell, if I bought new intercoolers, I'd probably JB Weld them right from the start.
    For definite. In fact one of the 'used' coolers I fitted appeared to be almost new, but with the issues many people have had with brand new ones failing a few days after fitting I do not think I would take the risk of fitting one without the JB Weld patch up!

  5. #23
    Registered User LIRS6's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Long Island, NY
    Posts
    640
    Quote Originally Posted by skyegtb View Post
    My suggestion for tools would be to get yourself a set of metric 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" sockets / ratchets. Sizes 4mm to 19mm (try to get all sizes), also an allen socket set from 4mm up to 17mm, and a torx (star) socket set from T10 to T55. Get various lengths of extension bars for the same and this should be a good start. A metric spanner (wrench) set from 4mm to 19mm is also very useful, even better a ratchet spanner set. No 'special' or unusual tools are required to do this job and obviously not all the sizes of tools mentiond above are required, but this is just my suggestion of what you would want in your toolbox as a basic start. Since working on my Audi in 2 years the only special tool I have purchased so far was a 900mm long M12 splined 1/2" drive socket to remove the inner driveshaft bolts from the gearbox!! Hope this helps.
    Thanks vm. I have most of the above, will fill in with the balance. Cheers
    GBNF: Mugello, silver, carbon, RNS-E, H&R coilovers, Hotchkiss
    '14 GL550
    '79 911SC Targa

  6. #24
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Thought I would post an update here. 15 months since doing this repair I removed and checked the intercoolers again, and did another pressure test. Firstly there was no oil staining on the outside of the coolers and secondly pressure held at 30 psi for 20 minutes with no drop. Seems like JB Weld is definitely the stuff to use here.

  7. #25
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    163
    Great writeup! You only JB'd the area where the blue us but you go across the whole 'channel' ?
    -Greg
    2003 RS6

  8. #26
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Quote Originally Posted by ThrillHouse View Post
    Great writeup! You only JB'd the area where the blue us but you go across the whole 'channel' ?
    The blue pen mark showed me where the leaks were so I paid special attention when JB'ing those areas however I treated the entire channel in the same fashion as both ends. Most important is the beding up of the fins to allow the JB to spread across the whole end of the cooler from one side to the other.

  9. #27
    Registered User Aronis's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Binghamton Area, NY
    Posts
    3,739
    I plan on the JBL trick, but I'm going to be adventurous and just reach in and place the JB weld without pulling the car apart! Worth a try. I found the leak by applying silacone caulking ( I knew it would only work briefly ) and my leak 'noise' was gone for three hard pulls! I have not had time to work on the car. I am in the middle of a huge back yard DIY project (pulling in an in ground pool, water is going in as I typeLOL).

    Mike

  10. #28
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Well, good luck with that, but in my opinion I think it is unlikely it will work. Cleanliness and de-greasing is everything in this job, also, the leaks are just as likely to be at the top of the cooler as at the bottom. JB Weld does not work upside down! My advice would be to pull the coolers and do it properly when you get more time!

  11. #29
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    NY
    Posts
    141
    Skyegtb: great job on repairing the intercoolers. I plan to do the same. It looks like you have a fixed caliper in the rear. Which one is that? Movit?

  12. #30
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    Yep, I have Movit all round, the rear is a 4 piston and there is also a separate handbrake caliper. There are some pics in a previous post I made here:
    http://www.rs6.com/showthread.php/19...-disc-skimming

  13. #31
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA area
    Posts
    1,263
    Very nice to hear that JB Weld is still holding the pressure.

    Can you recommend a cleaning and de-greasing procedure for the IC's prior to JB Weld?
    2012 Q7 TDI S-Line - 2010 GTI - 2007 A3 3.2 S-Line - 2003 RS6
    2001 Honda S2000 - 1977 Honda CBR 750-F2 - 1965 GMC 1500 WideSide

  14. #32
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    89
    After removal from the car I used a paintbrush to liberally apply a solvent based de-greasing liquid and left them to sit for a while. I then blasted them with my pressure washer to clear all the dead insects and oil from between the fins. I was worried my pressure washer may bend the fins so tested a small area first with no issues, but I know some domestic pressure washers are considerably more powerful than other, so be careful here! Anyway, after they dried I applied another product, an acid based aluminium cleaner, again I used a paintbrush and again after about 30 minutes I pressure washed the coolers again. I used the same products to clean the inside of the coolers as well and lots of water to flush them through. Basically that's it. After they were 100% dry (you need to shake the water out of the fins quite vigerously) you can apply the JB Weld.
    The bending of the fins as I described above is best done after the cleaning has been done.
    Hope this helps!

  15. #33
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Posts
    90
    Just came across this post. I did the epoxy fix on a pair. Static test was fine. But after a few weeks in the car, leaking again. Assume cause: aluminum has very high thermal expansion coefficient (much larger than epoxy). Heating up (growing) and cooling down (shrinking) likely has caused the expoxy to come off again, crack or separate from the alu.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •