boost leak from inside the FMIC

[gofer]

Since I'm putting the car up on the dyno next week I thought it would be a good idea to tie up a few loose ends I've been putting off for awhile, one of them being a full BLT.

I did find a few minor leaks at the couplers and all it took was a reseat of the coupler on the IC pipe, there was one though that seems impossible to fix. Somehow, someway where the end tank of my front mount meets the bar and plate I can feel it pissing air. Its from INSIDE one of the row of fins though and I have no idea how I'm going to fix it. I was thinking about testing like tire shops check for a hole in a tire, dunk it in a bath tub with the end tanks capped off and see where it bubbles.

To me its seems the only fix would be to get a new FMIC but if any of you have seen this and found a fix please let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[gingerbredman00]

Could you use Some kind of plumbers tape or adhesive glue stuff to fix it?

 

[CanadianTSi]

Spray some soapy water to find the hole. If its just a small hole a dab of JB weld will seal it.

 

[gofer]

Spray some soapy water to find the hole. If its just a small hole a dab of JB weld will seal it.

Thanks for the suggestions but its physically INSIDE the intercooler behind the fins where they meet the end tank. it is just a pin hole and I wouldn't even be worried about it if I could see where in the weld it was but since my FMIC is 3.5" thick its somewhere inside. Is that even possible?!?!

 

[gingerbredman00]

Maybe you should just mail it to me and buy a new one?
But really, i'm not sure, maybe smear some liquid tape in there with a small paint brush?
Just guess and let it dry and try again.
that's the only thing I can think of, maybe someone else will have a non ghetto-rigged idea.

 

[BoostFrenzy]

You just need to find out how deep it's in there because it could just be a simple little fix if it's more to one side of the core.

If the funds are available, I'd get a new core in any case just to be sure that it never starts leaking from another place like it is now.

 

[Boosted98gsx]

Probably a brazing split. If it's inside the ambient fin part, you won't be able to fix it. Replace the core.

 

[gofer]

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments...

Andrew said word for word what the tech at HRC said about the core. The tech said if the leak is coming from inside there is almost nothing that can be done. A new HRC FMIC like this one costs $629 just for the core... No wonder why I'm the only one in the DSM world I've ever seen run one of these.

Looks like its time to go DVDT Fab or go home... I'm still going to matte black it.

 

[slowboy101]

It sounds like you might just have to buy a new one. I have a junk core that I was looking at and I was trying a few different things to see if I could find you a solution and I could'nt.

 

[gofer]

It sounds like you might just have to buy a new one. I have a junk core that I was looking at and I was trying a few different things to see if I could find you a solution and I could'nt.

Thanks again for the help. I can't believe I'm getting a boost leak from there, when I first found it I was WTF. I've never heard such a thing, I guess if its defect from the manufactorer? Who knows how long that leaks been there, I just got lucky and found it!

 

[2slow4now]

If you can locate where it is within an inch I don't see why you can't hole saw a 2" hole in the end tank and weld up the pinhole from inside (as long as its right beside the end tank) then weld a patchplate in the endtank.

 

[gofer]

If you can locate where it is within an inch I don't see why you can't hole saw a 2" hole in the end tank and weld up the pinhole from inside (as long as its right beside the end tank) then weld a patchplate in the endtank.

I agree with you on that one and if I had a shop that would be willing to do that for me for a reasonable price I would try and go that route, I never even thought of that actually.

The problem is any shop within an hour or two drive from me would give the WTF if I explained that to them. RRE is 2 hours north and would be down to do it but still give me the WTF and ask why I don't just buy a new core?

Good idea though, I just don't think this HRC core is worth the trouble.

 

[2slow4now]

You could do like they do in a radiator shop find the bad passageway and isolate it on both ends. Weld epoxy JB etc. Wonder if you could solder it??? flux it up torch and solder. Might work. Anybody try that? copper and brass can be soldered... aluminum????

I guess I'm pretty lucky I have a machine shop within a mile with an old dude running it. Tell him what you want and he does it. draw a picture, give him measurements get a 10 - 20 dollar charge when he's done.

 

[Boosted98gsx]

Looks like its time to go DVDT Fab or go home... I'm still going to matte black it.

Good choice. However, Albert only sells the cores now. No more piping (too hard to make piping for each individual setup) so you'll need to get a shop to fab up your intercooler piping for you.

However, I do have some 2.5" piping laying around that's polished that I can hook you up with if you decide to get the DVDT intercooler.

I'll PM ya.

 

[MaNGiNa24]

If you have to replace the core I'd probably recommend you stay away from the HRC kit.

Here's a back to back dyno of the HRC in comparison to our 2g short route kit. No changes made aside from the FMIC. Plus our cores don't leak from the fins

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