Today has just gone from bad to worse to absolute ****ty now...

Is this in any way shape or form repairable? I would normally just get a new intercooler but it's an HKS type-R and it's not exactly cheap. All of the tubes but one in the pic are bent, one of them is punctured.

Somebody give me some good news...today is just going completely **** for me.

 

Pressure test find exact location of leaks....solder or epoxy pin hole....or take to radiator shop. GL!

 

I think you just need some bad *** epoxy and just smear the hell out of the hole. That there is nearly impossible to weld repair.
Will probably be alright, looks like a small hole.
Maybe, it can be tig repaired, but those tube cross sections are thin.

 

If it was me I would trash it. I doubt you'll get a perfect fix on that and personally I'd rather have the peace of mind knowing that I wasn't going to 'blow a weld' at any moment.

 

One of the tubes was cut in half...so a radiator shop would be able to fix this? If so, what would the end result look like?

 

It can be repaired. It can be soldered or brazed. You just need to find a shop that does high quality work and either get a good reference or ask to see a similar repair.

 

Would there be any affect on the flow characteristics other than the tubes being bent up? Looks like my day is starting to turn for the better hahaha

Thanks guys...I needed this.

 

That's an easy fix. You wouldn't braze it or solder it. It can be TIG welded. Some of the fins will burn back a little, but they aren't doing much all bent over like that. Actually, they're blocking airflow in that area. I don't see any tube that is "cut in half". I looks punctured a little, it's hard to tell from your pics.

Don't worry. It's repairable.

However, it will never look perfect again. As far as affecting performance, you'll never notice the difference. We do repairs like this all the time, mostly for oil coolers.

 

I got a friend who made a ton of brackets for me and he says it needs to be TIG welded so I guess he's spot on...

I guess punctured would be the correct term since the tube goes all the way back but there's definitely an opening on one of the tubes.

I'm not one to go insane if a part gets scratched like some of these ARC guys but as long as it functions properly, I'm 100% good with it.

Thanks a ton man.

 

It can be TIG welded, but it certainly does not have to be. Brazing is much more than strong enough, and can be done at lower temperatures than would be necessary to melt the aluminium tube structure. Most radiators are brazed, not welded, and have been manufactured that way for decades. If you have a capable TIG welder that is available to do the job, that's fine. If you have a capable shop nearby that does brazing, it will work just as well for that particular repair.