Left Stranded Broken Intercooler

[B6 Turbo]

So last night my B6 1.8t decided to blow up the stock intercooler.. I know everyone says to change it because it sucks but I didn’t know that it sucks by falling apart. Unfortunately I was at work (25 miles) away from home and had to get towed all the way back. Now $400 later I am faced with either repairing the intercooler or buying a used one. I’m definitely not buying a new one or a front mount yet... The intercooler split at the bottom end tanks, and created a huge boost/vacuum leak. I was able to put the end tank back on and bend those metal tabs back over it and put silicone to help it seal again. What are your guys opinions on this? And is it often that they break like that? I’m only stage 1 and a test pipe.


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[ShogunR32]

I have a complete oem intercooler kit if you need it. Let me know

[egovreau]

The B7 intercooler setup will fit with some modifications. And there are two of them.

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[itsmatt33]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...t-lots-of-mods!

here is a good FMIC for under 400

[texasboy21]

Ill sell you my stock core for $10 + shipping. Message me if you are interested.

[old guy]

Just an FYI. A blown intercooler doesn't have to leave you stranded. Just unplug the MAF sensor and the car will be driveable.

[refueler]

I had the charge pipe from the turbo to the FMIC blow off due to my in attention to detail. The car was numb but I was still able to drive it home.

[B6 Turbo]

Thanks guy for the offers about the oem intercooler, I will let you guys know once I get to test the repair on my oem one. However is that true? The car will be driveable with the MAF just unplugged? I know it won’t be optimum but enough to get me home?


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[gmudan]

Thanks guy for the offers about the oem intercooler, I will let you guys know once I get to test the repair on my oem one. However is that true? The car will be driveable with the MAF just unplugged? I know it won’t be optimum but enough to get me home?


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Yea should be fine. Won’t boost and you will get engine light (obviously). Just limp it home.

[B6 Turbo]

Yea should be fine. Won’t boost and you will get engine light (obviously). Just limp it home.

Wow, that would have saved me so much money. Well now I shouldn’t be afraid to drive the car.. as long as I can make it home...


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[DPDISXR4Ti]

The intercooler split at the bottom end tanks, and created a huge boost/vacuum leak. I was able to put the end tank back on and bend those metal tabs back over it and put silicone to help it seal again.

Did the end-tank crack, or did it separate from the core by opening up the retainer tabs? Either way, it's unlikely that your repair will hold up long-term. I would try to find a replacement IC that doesn't use plastic end-tanks. I wonder if anyone has ever tried using an early Saab 900 IC. They are small, all-AL cores with welded tanks. I use one on my XR4Ti.

[B6 Turbo]

Did the end-tank crack, or did it separate from the core by opening up the retainer tabs? Either way, it's unlikely that your repair will hold up long-term. I would try to find a replacement IC that doesn't use plastic end-tanks. I wonder if anyone has ever tried using an early Saab 900 IC. They are small, all-AL cores with welded tanks. I use one on my XR4Ti.

No the tank didn’t crack it separated from the core because the retainer tabs opened up... I don’t know what would cause it, I’m thinking engine mounts could be the problem? I was looking into a replacement with a better design than the oem one. Because that is just ridiculous to have a plastic end tank lol. I was looking into finding a way to mount my dads old stock DSM side mount since they are welded and a tad bit bigger. But for now I’m trying to finish out the week with going to work and school. Then the weekend comes that’s when I’ll mess with things


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[DPDISXR4Ti]

I'm also not a fan of plastic end-tanks, whether it be for radiators or intercoolers. They can and do fail in a couple different ways that AL units don't. How much boost pressure are you making?

[Redd]

MAF's are consumable parts. In the long term they can be expected to fail and need cleaning or replacement, so in my limited understanding, all car makers originally had the good sense to program their ECU's to go into "limp home mode" when the MAF fails. Although, on any car with a high pressure electric fuel pump, an MAF failure MAY also also cause the ECU to shut off the fuel pump when the ignition is in the "run" mode, since there may be no airflow (and no MAF signal) because there's been a wreck and you wouldn't want fuel pumping into the engine bay. You'd have to ask Audi which convolutions they've chosen for your car, to be sure.

I don't know your intercooler but over the years, I've found that if something just "blew apart" it can almost always be repaired. First, you would need to thoroughly remove all traces of silicone, that stuff needs to be scraped, dremel'd, solvent cleaned to make sure it is all gone. It isn't strong in the long term. Then with clean surfaces on both sides, try using JB Weld or a similar premium epoxy product (not one of the quick-set products, not a bargain brand) and reinstall the cap. That's going to be stronger than the original factory "tabs". let it set and cure fully before you put any pressure on it.

And consider the end caps may have blown off because the internal pressure was too high. Any mods or sensor failures that could be causing that?

As they say in NASCAR, if you didn't break nothing, you ain't racing.

[B6 Turbo]

Haha I repaired the oem intercooler, I cleaned it and used silicone to help it seal while bending the tabs back and possibly a little tighter... the only thing new I added to the car was a test pipe, I was previously running the eurodyne stage 1 tune, so I assume around 16-17 pounds of boost not anything crazy.... I would have to unplug the MAF sometime to test it, I don’t believe my fuel pump shuts off, because I am able to start it up again and kind of keep the engine going by just revving it a little.


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[g huns]

I'm also not a fan of plastic end-tanks, whether it be for radiators or intercoolers.

I'm a huge fan of them. Of course I build the molds that make them. So there's that.

And the last radiator I had fail was an all metal one on a 1991 Suburban.

[B6 Turbo]

I'm a huge fan of them. Of course I build the molds that make them. So there's that.

And the last radiator I had fail was an all metal one on a 1991 Suburban.

Fortunately the last radiator to break on my family was my gramps old 91 Camry which was plastic. Ever since then we haven’t had any problems with radiators... well actually if you count the times where my dad and I were doing maintenance on our cars and just happened to crack the radiators from being so brittle then we have had a a few of those


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[EuroDriver03]

If you pay for shipping I'll send you my stock intercooler, I just want it out of my garage.

[AudiSport12]

Just replace, don't repair. Your 'fix' just going to 'un-fix' again.

[B6 Turbo]

Just replace, don't repair. Your 'fix' just going to 'un-fix' again.

Yeah I kind of was thinking it would unfix it self again, that’s why I haven’t really hit boost ever since I “fixed” only when going up hills to get to work/school. However I will test it after work today and see how well it holds the boost


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[AudiSport12]

Take one of these guys up on the free or $10 one. If you had a B5 I have 2 laying around I'd give away lol

[cole_sanders13]

I have one for sale if you need one


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[Redd]

"Just replace, don't repair. Your 'fix' just going to 'un-fix' again. "
That's just plain cruel, or poorly informed.

When Rolls Royce was one of those new-fangled motor cars, you couldn't buy one unless you also agreed to hire a chauffeur AND have them trained by Rolls Royce in the proper care of your vehicle. And one of the routine chores for the chauffeur was to take apart the engine and rebuild the MAIN BEARINGS. Not to buy new ones, but to hammer the old ones back into proper condition, the same way that they were made at the factory.

A proper "repair" can literally mean building something, as good or better than the original maker did. In the case of commodity goods which are "built to a price" as almost all mass-made cars are, that means you can ALWAYS build something as good or better than the factory did. (Now, if you had a McLaren, I'd say it probably was not built to a price, but was built ignoring the price.)

End caps are usually staked on or tabbed on because it is 'good enough' to outlast the original owner (3-4 years) and it is a cheap reliable manufacturing method. If the factory were to epoxy or glue the end caps on, someone would have to set them aside and take up space while they were curing. If they were soldered or welded on, that would take time and money. Wham, bam, squeeze 'em down and fold the tabs over? That's great economy, but nothing that can't be done better by other means.

There are always shortcuts taken in commodity goods.

The way that folks today trash things without even trying to fix them, is incredible. In the mid-70's, when Kuwait and Dubai and Saudi Arabia were hauling in money hand over fist on petroleum prices, they used to buy luxury cars, and literally abandon them in the desert if they broke down. Why call a mechanic when you can just order a clean new one?

Amazing.

But the OP has his options.

[Redd]

B6-
I'm remembering a friend's Fox wagon that was the first Audi I met, some years ago. In that case the car died because of a bad alternator. And we found out the car couldn't limp home (just one more mile!) on the battery alone, because those clever Audi engineers used the alternator's tachometer output to determine how fast the fuel pump should be running. So, no alternator? No fuel!
I suspect Audi is still doing something like that (or more likely today, using the ECU signals) rather than a primitive MAF-signal for fuel cut off.

So many ways to skin a cat, none of which make the cat happy.(G)

[AudiSport12]

I appreciate your enthusiasm but we're not in the early 1900's. And we're talking about 'cheap' OEM intercoolers that most people discard. Why would you advise against replacing with another OEM that is not busted?

[Charles.waite]

Also, a cheap ebay intercooler isn't that pricey and is definitely better. Or upgrading to a modified b7 setup is still better and OEM+-ish.

I see no issue with a quick fix if funds are tight. As you now know, unplugging the MAF lets you limp the car home so its really not the end of the world if it unfixes itself. Just be aware when you do that, the intake is essentially bypassing the air filter so if you're driving it in a dusty or sandy environment you can do some real damage to the engine internals. But otherwise you really don't have a ton to worry about.

[Redd]

Consider: If the OEM design already failed once, is replacing it going to provide a better part?
Maybe, if it was simply a bad part. Or, it will simply fail again if the design was inadequate.

Bending over plastic tabs is cheap fast assembly and it may be good enough for mass-market goods, where those values count. Soldering metal ends caps on, or welding metal end caps on, would increase cost tremendously, so that ain't gonna happen. And the factory won't glue the end caps on, because glue is expensive, and glue that sets up quickly (so you don't have to store inventory while it is curing) costs more money.

But, for the individual owner, a tube of epoxy (regrettably the silicone contaminates the surfaces and needs to be cleaned) and putting it aside overnight to cure is just a $5 expense. Cheaper than the sales tax or shipping on a new part. And, once the end cap is properly attached, it will have zero chance of failing the way the original one did.

So replacing the OEM part which is of questionable durability, is an unreliable solution, unless the end cap is better attached.

Now, if you wanted to go aftermarket and install a totally better intercooler...then by all means, don't fix it, replace it with something better. The pros and cons of messing around with aftermarket turbo parts for any car being a whole other barrel of monkeys. (Sometimes, the OEM systems are designed by competent engineers and snuck into production before the forensic accountants can start cheaping out the designs.)

And Charles has a point: as with all parts on an engine, if you make a whole, plug it. If you remove a MAF, tape over the hole, if that's upstream of the air filter.

And if silicone is the usual acid-curing type, avoid using it around metal components at all. If it smells like vinegar, it can emit enough acid to attack some metal parts and sensors.

[JoshDub]

That's four years worth of AAA