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Being doing a bit of work on the old jalopy recently - Viper ECU/TCU remap, physical SAI delete, new brake fluid, oil change etc. and wanted to check the intercoolers. Did the pressure test in a bath of water and it was like a jacuzzi!
Tried the JB Weld method of repair but to no avail, just resulted in a slightly less ferocious jacuzzi when re-tested.
Anyhoo, after a bit of deliberation i decided to go down the route of replacement cores and use the OEM end tanks.
I went with Pro Alloy as i liked the cut of their jib and the cores turned up today
I got them slightly wider than standard while i was at it and i am hoping to get them welded into the end tanks tomorrow and fitted in the next few days.
Should be an end to the infernal intercooler problem for a lot less than a new set of OEM's
Will post up a few more pics as the job progresses but here's a couple to start off with:-

Interesting!

Let us know how you get on. I wonder if its worth adding a few some extra support bars to stop them cracking, but they are not load bearing so might not be worth bothering.

What pressure did you test them at as I have a spare set I need to refurbish and fit myself.
Additionally, how much bigger will the new cores be and will they still fit ok ?
Are you fitting new wagner pipes?

I tested them at 20psi.
Standard cores are 250x205x63mm, i have gone 250x230x63mm and using standard pipework.
I should be getting them back on Tuesday so will post up some more pics then.

Subscribed! Looking forward to seeing how they turn out

Thank you for the info....will help when I get my set done

If I may ask - how much were the cores? And how much or who will weld them for you?

Matt,
Cores were £340.00 plus VAT for the pair.
I have a mate whose day job is alloy welding so he is doing it for me on a wee barter we have going.
I will ask him how much it would cost and let you know.
Pro Alloy may well do the whole job but i didn't ask them as my mate offered.

Is it too much just to weld the originals back together (rather than JB weld) or would they need to be chemically cleaned to get the impurities out of the welds?

The intercoolers don't ever seem to actually have damaged fins/tubes as they are far back in the duct to never get hit by stones etc..

Thank you - I'm just being nosey - I have a pair of wagners ready to fit. But I thought the end castings on the OEM ones was fine - it was just the way they'd assembled the core into them that looks flawed so am interested on the refurb cost. (FWIW, If anyone wants to recore, once the wagners are in my OEM ones will be available)

Frustratedracer wrote:Matt,
Cores were £340.00 plus VAT for the pair.
I have a mate whose day job is alloy welding so he is doing it for me on a wee barter we have going.
I will ask him how much it would cost and let you know.
Pro Alloy may well do the whole job but i didn't ask them as my mate offered.

Update..... intercoolers back this afternoon and really pleased with them. Test fitted the n/s one this evening as i knew this would be the tight one as there is some wiring running down the outside of the chassis leg that i had to move slightly to gain clearance due to the extra width. Took the wiring out of its plastic clip and cable tied it through an existing hole at the bottom of the leg which is also slightly further back and everything hunky doray. Need to drill the flanges that my guy welded on and put the spire clips on to hold the shrouds and then everything should be good to go
Will keep you posted on progress but will probably be the weekend before i get time to finish.
Bloody iphone photos are either upside down or at 90 degrees - anyhoo you get the jist.

Okay Dokay, new intercoolers fitted today and back up and running.
Everything went together just fine and dandy so really quite chuffed that i don't have to worry about leaky 'coolers no more Didn't get a chance to give it any welly on the way home due to traffic and horrendous rain up here, but all seems good.
I will probably do a scan in the next few days and log the boost readings to make sure everything is OK.
My mate reckoned £70.00 - £80.00 would cover the cost of the welding so total is in the region of £480 - £500.00 including VAT for the pair.
Hope this wee project helps anyone looking for a solution or an alternative to Wagners.

I too wanted wagners but found these instead for £600 http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 04&alt=web

Funnily enough the dimensions of these intercoolers is actually slightly bigger than the wagners and they're only £600 so much cheaper than wagners but slightly nore expensive than the above refurb. Of course adding the silicon hoses on top adds another £170.

The size of the cores are 260x230x105mm.

I've got them fitted to my rs6, it produces quite a lot of turbo noise in combination with my decat. Not sure if it's actually producing more turbo noise because of the intercoolers or whether its purely the decat because i done them both at the same time.