DAMAGED FMIC - How bad is this????

[rs73]

Guys,

After a long wait the FMIC is here. It's been sitting in Customs for a week without any notice and I think it has copped damaged when they unpack and repacking the box..... Basically the front side is ok but the back side is smashed in some areas :flamed: even the bar in some areas were bent as well not very happy about it.....

I have attached pics and can you tell me if this will affect performance and can this be repairable? I tried straightening out the fins using screwdrivers but seems to have make matters worst.... PArticularly the one near the bottom seems to have been smashed, have a look at that bent bottom frame.... see the circled red areas for damage.....

Any idea how to fix this...? I wouldnt' mind to have this done professionally if I have to...

[R31Nismoid]

take it back to customs and get em to pay for it if they have damaged it

[rs73]

And how am I suppose to prove it to those pr1cks? Dust it for finger prints?

They will dodge it no matter what..... I hate it when this things happens.....

You pay duty, you pay GST, and the part got damaged somewhere in the

process and no one will assume responsibility of it.

I tried to do some more work straigthening the fins, the only left one is the

smashed section at the bottom... guess it will have no airflow there and get clogged with dust....

I'll just put it on as farken bloody condition it is.... CBFB anymore, just eating

meself heart out trying to take it to them I'm gonna sleep now to cool it off,

broke meself paying those taxes too.

[OREX]

that is truly unacceptable! i suppose you can't prove it was in perfect condition coz i can't see customs paying for it. best way to tell if it's truly f'd is to cover the pipe on one end tank and pour water down the other end, filling the cooler with water. if any water leaks out then you have a crack which may be repairable from radiator specialists (yellow pages). otherwise you're stuck with a busted up intercooler. good luck with that, you have my sympathy. nice cooler too

[rs73]

Will it rust if I pour water in it, cos I think i'll still need to wait for it to dry afterwards, right?

I believe they're aluminium so it shouldn't rust?

I tried to look at each bar and seems there is no crack. Only some outer damage to one of the bars which gets pushed in a bit but didn't see any cracks, and the bottom frame is the worst. the rest are just bent fins, straightened most of it but still looks sh1t from the rear, which I won't see anyway once on the car... seem to me the material is very soft, like you can almost bend them with your hand. ARC should have made it more sturdy...

[Roy]

That wont hurt performance, but thats not the point, it was bought new and sustained damage whilst in their custody...surely there is an avenue of recourse....

[Jay95R33]

That last picture is pretty bad. It would take a fair impact to cause that damage !..

As Roy said, it won't effect performance as the air is pushed through the tubes, and the fins are there to disapate the heat from the tubes, but it's still not good that it was damaged

If the tubes are damaged I'd get the cooler presure tested before putting it on the car, that will show up any leaks etc... But by the looks of it, it was just the fins.

J

[rs73]

Yeah the tubes looks ok, just bent on the side but no cracks... not very happy as it's not perfect anymore on day 1 I got it....

By the way from the picture this is tube & fin construction, not bar & plate, right?

Maybe a bar and plate FMIC is much stronger. I'll flow test it before i put it on so finger cross no other damage beside just the fins..... wish me luck.

[Jay95R33]

From those pics it looks like a tube and fin cooler.

[omp]

If you are in QLD, I know ARE repair intercoolers.....

[[ant]]

hm thats pretty bad. has been dropped quite badly to do that. doesnt look like any major damage though id say itll be fine. you just will lose some flow obviously through those flattened areas my last cooler got similar thing but 1/2 the size on the bottom from a mate of mine dropping it while helping me mount it! didnt do any harm really.

just disheartening when you get a new part that looks 2nd hand though should at least ring and complain or something but dunno what good it will do

[NIZR34GTT]

Contact the company you purchased it off.They might hva insurance to cover loss and damage in transit most do.

There is no harm in doing this who knows they may replace it under insurance.And it is a good PR thing for the company to do this.

[rs73]

Thank's for the input guys. Nengun also told me that I can claim insurance if I want to, so I'll have to go to the post office and sort it out. Good service by Nengun I just wondering if the replacement will be taxed another duty and GST when it comes through the custom again. I really don't want the replacement to be sitting in the customs for another week and get damaged again.

[boj01]

tough luck........ i can imagine how angry it would make you feel

[INASNT]

Thats ***ed up rianto.!!

Wasent it wrapped in bubble wrap etc to pretect this sort of shit happening?

At the end of the day after gst, import tax and the damage did you end up saving money buying from jap rather than a local product??

[Trust33]

Send it back.Fark i wouldnt put up with it where do they suppose those clean non scratched dents came from not from your car from their dodgy shipping!!!!!

[Jay95R33]

RS73 - pretty sure that warrenty returns and gifts are GST and import duty exempt.

Best double check though.

J

[rs73]

INASNT, when they charge the duty, they opened the package then putting it back in. They must have dis-arranged the otherwise perfect padding inside the package....

I guess this really is a very bad luck for me this time

Tried straightening most of the fins at the back this morning with a cooler head (the front side is literally unaffected) and after 2 hours... the final result is as pictured...

I know probably have to claim insurance and get the whole package replaced, but considering:

a. Another 3-4 weeks wait

b. Another gamble with item being inspected and possibly damaged again by the

same custom

c. Although replacement will not have to pay another duty as it will be marked

properly as "replacement of damage unit", GST ($20-25) may still be applicable

for the shipping cost.

d. The only blocked airflow is at the bottom (see pic) where I can't save the fins

because they have been crumpled solid, the rest I can't see on the car, and

although looks un neat, air will still flow... None of the tubes were crushed

only dented at the side on 1 or 2. This means air inside tube will still flow.

e. Aust Post terms & condition said I have to show the damage product and

the packaging to prove it has been sent with sufficient protection. I have

tear and threw the packaging and the garbage truck took it away today.

I'll ponder about it today and tomorrow, if I decided to take the hassle of

a,b, and c above, I'll claim on Monday (but I've thrown away the packaging and

beside the huge box won't fit in my car anyway).

Otherwise I'll just get on with my life with d and just put it on at an expected 95-99% condition.

[Sydneykid]

Hi RS73, from what I can see it will make absolutely no difference to the performance of the intercooler. The lower fin row does basically nothing, it is mostly there as a spacer to the lower separation rail.

Pressure test is easy, tape up one outlet really well. Put the vacuum cleaner on blow (instead of suck) and connect it to the other oulet, tape it up well to seal it as good as you can, doesn't have to be perfect. Then stick the intercooler in the bath tub with enough water to cover it, you don't cover the outlet with the vacuum cleaner tub it it. Turn the vacuum cleaner on and look for bubbles around the damage.

If you want to tidy it up out for asthetics, the first job is to straighten the lower separation rail then straighten up the fins. I use a thick piece of wire and poke it between the fins then pull the rail straight, bit by bit, take your time. When the rail is roughly straight then it is time to straighten the fins. I use a fine pick and a pair of tweezers, its a slow and easy job. When the fins are OK I sometimes have to go back and straighten the rail some more.

Don't rush and take your time, I do it lots, race and rally cars get their intercoolers hit by stuff all the time. Repairing them is compulsory, as it would send you broke replacing them every time they had a bit of superficial damage.

Hope that helps

[rs73]

Thnk's Sydneykid... very helpful...

Pressure test is easy, tape up one outlet really well.  Put the vacuum cleaner on blow (instead of suck) and connect it to the other oulet, tape it up well to seal it as good as you can, doesn't have to be perfect.  

Will try to do the pressure test, what I can see under daylight (hard to see last night with a hot temper ) seems the tubes are all ok.

If you want to tidy it up out for asthetics, the first job is to straighten the lower separation rail then straighten up the fins.

good tips, but since it's at the back where no one will see it anyway, i will give it a pass and this is very low priority....

Hope that helps

VERY thanks...