DIY: Test/Fix intercooler leaks w/bumper removal procedure

[Audi-RS6]

Hello everyone,

per someones request...

Goal of this DIY is to finally fix boost leak issue without buying new intercoolers,
i also thought that I'm fast until I met m5 on my way home...

I would recommend to read comments to the pictures, to save you from troubles (sorry for my english
just in case)...

lets start... ramp







I was able to turn wheels while on the ramp, its to gain access to the side bolts that hold the
bumper





... you dont have to remove completely plastic cover, just bent it to gain access









here are those bolt, there are three of them





...you better use this combination of tools



driver side









remove fog grill



one bolt on each side holds main bumper support











stop! unclipp the sides (next picture)











remove lower plastic cover screws...







now push the bumper and try to locate connectors for flog light and horn, unclipp em











driver side has a wate hose (I lost my clip last time, so I used ziptie)















remove everything thats attached to intercooler, if your car was never taken apart, you should have
some plastic covers behind each intercooler, remove them too (i dont have them)









lower hose





three screws hold the headlights...



















lower plastic bolt holds radiator hose







i managed to remove radiator with a flat screw driver, aluminum bents really well, so make sure
you dont punch a hole in it









stop! I forgot to remove lower side bolt for intercooler



now it should move







my test equipment (3" plumbing cap, 3" plumbing test cap, OEM air compressor, water)

IMPORTANT!!! with this test equipment u cannnot go higher than 1bar, or it will shoot the
yellow cap



leak, even after I fixed it 2 weeks ago...





driver headlight



magnetic tool











unplug all connectors to eliminate troubles





move all hoses and wires somewhere inside to have room for intercooler





lol again forgot to remove side lower bolt...





leak...



my first mistake!!! i tried to fix it fast and used minute epoxy (DONT DO IT)





leak agian after hour of wait



now i used JB welder, prepared the surface this time and waiting 12 hours for cure







to be continued...

[Erik]

Wohoo...great DIY post. Thanks for your time.

[DHall1]

now we are talking!!

the next ca driving event and the beer round is on me. I think the julian run will be good for me.

Nice job

[SteveKen]

Great work. I'm hoping that you still have the bumper off and can get me some measurements on the bumper shocks as shown below.

See my post for reference: http://www.rs6.com/forum/showthread....144#post164144

[ben916]

You are BRAVE!!!

Excellent work and write up!!!

[Ruergard]

Great work!

This will probably be very useable for a lot of people. Excellent work!

Looking forward to the next part.

[Benman]

Fantastic detail, excellent post.

Ben

[SAF]

Thanks for taking the time to document this process!!

[snoopra]

Dude, you are the DIY procedure KING! (gave me the final confidence I NEEDED)

[Audi-RS6]

thank you all!

here are the results...

Did leak test again... new holes came up in 4 places, somewhere inside between the rails, solution:
- punch a hole through, remove as much as possible close to the main bracket
- SAND PAPER the area and wipe with some brake cleaner
- COVER completely with CLEAR TAPE one side of the hole (so you see JB WELD fills the hole)
- TAPE AROUND from another side (so you don't mess with neighbor rails)
- take JB weld and push it inside until it completely fills the gap

NOTE: if you need to wipe smth out or your JB WELD dont flow, take T-SHIRT, spray some brake cleaner on it and use it (it wont stick this way; very helpful)

- YOU'll NOTICE THAT WELD IS FLOATING, SO MAKE SURE YOU FILL ALL HOLES ONCE UNDER SAME ANGLE





waiting until tommorow ...

[HeadShot]

Excellent job and pics mate, VERY helpful - keep them coming and thanks for all the hard work. Is there a replacement intercooler to consider??? Like the sport tec stuff although the price is way to high!!

[Audi-RS6]

Thanks!

Both intercoolers were fixed.
Tested under 1bar = 14psi

RECOMMENDATION:
Use JB WELD for "holes through" only, it doesnt hold well when thin layer.

but found Permatex 4min Epoxy Multi-Metal much better for sides, small holes, thin layers and overall patch.

[Audi-RS6]

I don't think bigger intercooler does better job. Audi already calculated it size to the turbo flow, bigger intercooler will make more lag to create needed pressure, which stays the same anyway...

Excellent job and pics mate, VERY helpful - keep them coming and thanks for all the hard work. Is there a replacement intercooler to consider??? Like the sport tec stuff although the price is way to high!!

[DHall1]

I would be interested in the long term fix with JBWeld.

I think a better fix may have been to have the seam welded.

The bumping and vibrations that the ICs get may dislodge the patch. If you think about it....JBWeld is not designed to be a pressure sealant. Pressure is working from behind and will eventually work around the backside of the repair.

[Audi-RS6]

completely agree, besides that I found JBWeld not strong enough when thin layer

So I would recommend 4min Multi-Metal Epoxy - VERY STRONG stuff!

I would be interested in the long term fix with JBWeld.

I think a better fix may have been to have the seam welded.

The bumping and vibrations that the ICs get may dislodge the patch. If you think about it....JBWeld is not designed to be a pressure sealant. Pressure is working from behind and will eventually work around the backside of the repair.

[terrytcl]

great write up!

just wonder... since our intercoolers are of such bad quality... and there are so many fmic kits out there for the s4 and a6 2.7s... why not go with a fmic kit?

the intercooler should fit, but the plumbing will have to change...

steve, is this what you are planning?

i'd like to go with an fmic... i have so much junk built up on my smics and would have to take them out entirely to just clean them... add on top of that the chance of a leak!??!?

it'll be so much easier to go with an fmic..

[DHall1]

Yeeks,

We have been down the fmic pros and cons several times.

We have an excellent design and flow of air across the front of our cars. IMHO the fimic just screws up that flow.

For what ever the reason, these stock ICs seem to be giving up after 6yrs on cars with some mileage. For me, its a non issue as my Fidelity plan goes to 2014. Audi can put on 6 sets of ICs for all I care. (I dont think its that bad) But, even if you have to pay for 1 set....it should last you another 6 years given the mileage rate stays the same.

great write up!

just wonder... since our intercoolers are of such bad quality... and there are so many fmic kits out there for the s4 and a6 2.7s... why not go with a fmic kit?

the intercooler should fit, but the plumbing will have to change...

steve, is this what you are planning?

i'd like to go with an fmic... i have so much junk built up on my smics and would have to take them out entirely to just clean them... add on top of that the chance of a leak!??!?

it'll be so much easier to go with an fmic..

[terrytcl]

judging by the work necessary to remove these as well as the poor quality of the intercoolers...

it just seems like a no brainer to go with the fmic route...

just the downtime and the tearing apart of front end to get to the smics is not worth it to me...

i'd like to see what steve is planning with his swap.