Just as I suspected

I had a great time at the 07 shootout but my 95 kept going slower and slower at the track and I noticed boost was way down. Turns out there's a six inch or so crack in my double intercooler on the front of the bottom tank where the original weld is. This is not the first time it's cracked. The first time it cracked it was on the the top front weld and when I took it to the welder he told me there was also a small crack on the bottom so he welded them both. About two month's later my boost was way down again and sure enough, the top weld cracked again. I took it back to the welder and when I went to pick it up he said he really cleaned it up good and put a good weld on it this time and he was sure it wouldn't crack again. Well he was right so far, the top didn't crack but now the bottom's cracked AGAIN. Since the top weld seems to have held up so far I think I'll let this guy give it one more shot on the bottom weld but if either weld lets go again it's time to find another welder or another intercooler. BTW, this welder comes highly recommended. Anyone else had problems with double intercooler welds letting go?

two reasons they break...

You got to look at two things.. poor prep of the parts, & poor workmanship...
Now on the second one, there are a lot of things to look at. prep, heat,cleanning,heat used, settings and just how good this person is...All of them go together to make a good and sake weld. That crack is right in the middle of the weld. Others will tell you to look at the person as well from those pic's.
I have done a few I.C.'s and to date none of them have cracked.. now if this was a 4X4 and you were out in the woods, then I could understand the cracking, but not on a street car...Time to look for someone else in my thinking...Lets see what everyone else posts.........Rich P.S. so how you been doing?? have not seen you in a few years, I know,my not going to things doesn't help.........Rich

It's wierd that your intercooler is cracked in the middle of the weld. The weld should be the strongest part. I would have the guy fix it again, seems like something a welder would be able to see and have a better understanding of why it cracked in the middle of his weld. Make sure you don't have this interooler in a stress point where it hits against anything.

ive seen this before ive repaired a few dbl ic's its from lack of penetraition the weld is on surface he didnt vee it he welded on surface so the original crack is under it and it keeps spreading you need to grind out the crack vee it and fill it in what was done is like taping over the crack its only cosmetic

I have only made 1 dbl ic and i dont siemese them i weld a wide oval tube to connect the two ic's together .

If it was bad penetration it would split outside of the welds, not down the middle of it.

That's just the strength of the welds and seems like it needs a better filler rod.

Thats exactly what you thought it was on Sunday morning. Too bad would have like to seen you run in the 12's. If it cracks again let me know, my buddy has a shop in Toledo and he does alot of aluminum welding.

support pieces

I can't tell what the top of your ic looks like, but my double ic had a flat piece on top that was a bit too thin. It was crowning under pressure and cracked in the middle of all four sides, just like your one side. I had two pieces of angle welded across the top, no problems in two years now.

MB

Hey Jimmy,

That's Good You Found The Problem And It's Not A Major One. Maybe Its Time For A Nice Front Mount? It Would Go Good With An Ar.

Give Me A Call When You Get A Chance Or Email Me A Phone Number
And I'll Call.

Mike
781 351 9741

You got to look at two things.. poor prep of the parts, & poor workmanship... Now on the second one, there are a lot of things to look at. prep, heat,cleanning,heat used, settings and just how good this person is...All of them go together to make a good and sake weld. That crack is right in the middle of the weld. Others will tell you to look at the person as well from those pic's. I have done a few I.C.'s and to date none of them have cracked.. now if this was a 4X4 and you were out in the woods, then I could understand the cracking, but not on a street car...Time to look for someone else in my thinking...Lets see what everyone else posts.........Rich P.S. so how you been doing?? have not seen you in a few years, I know,my not going to things doesn't help.........Rich

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Rich, I had the crack rewelded by the same welder yesterday and hopefully it will not crack again. If it does..it's time to move on.
Yes it has been a few years. I believe the last time I saw you was at the Norwalk Ohio shootout. Hopefully I'll see you next year at the 08 shootout...be there dude.

It's wierd that your intercooler is cracked in the middle of the weld. The weld should be the strongest part. I would have the guy fix it again, seems like something a welder would be able to see and have a better understanding of why it cracked in the middle of his weld. Make sure you don't have this interooler in a stress point where it hits against anything.

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Chris, I had the same guy weld it up again and the weld looks much better this time. He did the same thing he did with the top weld so hopefully he's got it down now. As for stress points go, the top of my intercooler does contact the radiator when the engine torque's over on aggressive acceleration. I've moved the radiator over as far as I can and the intercooler's position is fixed so there's not much more I can do there. Might have to look into some kind of engine torque strap so the motor doesn't move so much.

ive seen this before ive repaired a few dbl ic's its from lack of penetraition the weld is on surface he didnt vee it he welded on surface so the original crack is under it and it keeps spreading you need to grind out the crack vee it and fill it in what was done is like taping over the crack its only cosmetic I have only made 1 dbl ic and i dont siemese them i weld a wide oval tube to connect the two ic's together.

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He did vee it out this time manny. Hopefully no more cracks.

If it was bad penetration it would split outside of the welds, not down the middle of it. That's just the strength of the welds and seems like it needs a better filler rod.

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Cassey, this guy has welded this thing a few times and I believe he has a better understanding of what needed to be done weld wise. Well see.

Thats exactly what you thought it was on Sunday morning. Too bad would have like to seen you run in the 12's. If it cracks again let me know, my buddy has a shop in Toledo and he does alot of aluminum welding.

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Ryan, if it hadn't been for the cracked intercooler I'm positive it would have ran in the high 12's Sunday but I'll never know now. If it cracks again I just might take you up on that.

I can't tell what the top of your ic looks like, but my double ic had a flat piece on top that was a bit too thin. It was crowning under pressure and cracked in the middle of all four sides, just like your one side. I had two pieces of angle welded across the top, no problems in two years now.

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MB, it just so happens the welder suggested welding on support pieces if it cracks again but he's pretty sure it won't. Well see.

Hey Jimmy, That's Good You Found The Problem And It's Not A Major One. Maybe Its Time For A Nice Front Mount? It Would Go Good With An Ar. Give Me A Call When You Get A Chance Or Email Me A Phone Number
And I'll Call.

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Ya Mike, could've been worse. Front mount and AR? I don't think my piggy bank can handle that right now. Maybe sometime in the future unless you want to donate some parts off of your AR'ed SC. I'll give you a call soon but what's the best time. Marry told me your always working dude.

I remember you calling that out, too. Too bad it had to happen at the shootout. I think you may have been able to get into the 12's! You were pretty darn close. Go give it hell at Milan and see if it holds up this time.

did he drill holes on the ends??

This is a way of stopping the crack from growing. You drill a small hole on both ends of the crack after you have opened it up... My guess is this was missed again. Hope it works this time, if not then we might have to talk about other ways to get past this....Rich

Here is a picture of a Dbl IC that I cut the top off of. The plate that was welded in does not have full pentration and the corners are square. When butt welding on a pressure vessel, and a IC is a pressure vessel, the corners should be round. Most cracks start in a square corner. Regardless this plate was not V ed out to get weld penetration. Just because someone can weld two pieces of metal together doesnt mean they can weld something together that will hold pressure. Fabricating a dbl IC like this doesnt allow for welding the inside for a 100% penatration weld. And most builders are grinding off the crown of the weld outside for looks weaking the weld even more. If the weld cracked in the middle than the old weld was not clean and the puddle was contaminated. With the rage of 20 and even 25% overdriven blowers and 20lbs of pressure being except as ok there will be more IC fail of that im sure of

Ken