pin hole leaks on coolers: repairble?

[Dion_180sx]

just wondering if a cooler has a few pinhole leaks and one or 2 holes that are about 2mm wide... would it be repairable/patchable... weldable or some sort of metal epoxy?

danny

[Dion_180sx]

iv run some water through it and it leaks slowly and the 2mm hole runs water!

[Guest RedLineGTR]

Sorry to hikjack your thread...but wondering..if i poor water throught the intercooler if thier are any leaks will it show or does it have to be under some kind of pressure to show the leaks?? And where could i get my intercooler pressure tested or leak tested. Cheers

[Sydneykid]

Hi Dion_180sx, aluminium is tig weldable, but it will require someone with thin wall experience. We have had success using aircraft welders, look your local one up in the phone book.

[Jay95R33]

Redline - best way to look for leaks is to pressurise the intercooler with air and dunk it in a bath tub.

That way you'll see where the bubbles are coming from.

I found this link pretty good, and gives you an idea on how to do it;

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html

I had two leaks in my cooler when I got it. One of them was able to be TIG'd up, the other was in a really bad spot so they used some sort of glue on it. They said that the glue they used is the stuff they used on A/C cores, and can take massive pressures...

Not sure it they were crapping me, but it's held up for about 12 months now with no problems.

J

J

[Dion_180sx]

do you know what that glue stuff was called?

and whos the best to repair them?

[Jay95R33]

Dion,

Nope sorry, no idea what it's called.

I got mine fixed at NatRad (radiator and A/C repairer).

J

[Sydneykid]

Hi Dion_180sx, we use Devcon, aluminium composite epoxy. You can buy it from your local aircraft suppliers.

[MattyB]

coventry's also sell Devcon. we use it to repair the intercoolers on trucks while we wait for a new one to arrive. also we use this on fuel tanks on the trucks and it seems to work fine. considering the roads they travel on (all ruff dirt) its pretty good shit.

[Dion_180sx]

cool ill try find devcon... do i just putty it over he holes??? let her dry?

thnaks guys for the replys much appreciated!!

[Dion_180sx]

what devcon product was it?? theres hundreds of em?

metalmend? 5 min epoxy? or a aluminum epoxy?

http://www.devcon.com/products.cfm found some stuff here, can anyone make out the best stuff for alloy, pressurised epoxy filler?

[Sydneykid]

Hi Dion, this is the stuff we use on aeroplanes, you get it from the the industry suppliers, not cheap but good.

Magic Bond™ Epoxy Stick Epoxy putty that seals leaks and repairs gouges in steel, aluminum, wood, fiberglass, concrete, and ceramics

On cars we use , Selleys Knead It, you can get it from Repco, Bunnings, Auto One, Blackwoods etc. Much cheaper and just as good.

Hope that helps