gen 1 diesel intercooler quick fix

[rrobson]

from what ive heard, the intercooler on these cars are a bit of a poor do, as i found out within a few weeks of buying my car. so instead of forking out however many £'s on a new or used one, i set about finding a way of repairing it without removing it.

on mine, i had three cracks in total. two on the top, and one on the bottom. i first saw the two on the top after i noticed oil on the drive way and quickly fixed this, but i didnt discover the one on the bottom until a few week after the top because of the poor attempt mazda did on preventing the problem using silicone.

heres what i did (on the bottom)

wheel off, wheel arch liner out and clean all the residual oil off the liner (there was a bit)

clean off all the silicone, and use light emery cloth to clean the area up. suddenly the crack becomes very obvious.



just to check, i started the car and reved the engine to build up pressure in the intercooler and force the oil out.





only a drop, but quite a lot considering it was only 10 seconds of reving.

so again, emery clothed and cleaned with de-greaser. then, i removed a little bit of the metal, to make the hole bigger so the compound im using can stick better, and so i remove as much oil as i can from the crack.



so this is what i used. its a two part metal mix, like epoxy resin but designed for metal. easy to use and apply, and reasonably cheap (unless work stocks it, then its free...) there are a few variations to this, such as belzona, but the loctite stuff is cheaper and works nearly as well.



and heres the finished result



it can be made neater once hardened, but you arent going to see it so im leaving it as it is. the top has been there for two weeks now, and not a drop has come out, so this should perform in the same way.

so all in all, a much cheaper and easier way of repairing the intercooler. id be happy to do this for any local members should they need it 

[tuckstar]

yes mate the intercoolers are shocking, there is a recall (check VOSPA website for recall info and vin numbers affected) on most models but you will be lucky if they do it, especially as my local maz dealer is now sandicliffe!!! And if they do do it, it would apear they just gunk it up with sealant!!
If any one has an oil leak under front bumper in front of nr side wheel chances are its a cracked intercooler, normally around inlet or exit port, both in my case, mazda will charge you about £400 just for the part!!! Advancedradiators.com £112 inc vat + next day delivery, or if local i got one for £108 at leicester radiators. Just thought id let people know as it was this info from the old forum which helped me sort out my oil leak.

Im no mechanic but have changed mine my self, feel free to ask questions if you need too.

[rrobson]

Yeah, 112 quid is a great price, and I may end up getting one in the near future. But this is a cheap alternative for those that don't want the hastle of removing it. I remember reading a post about welding it up, but it cost about the same as the one you found. A good idea, but difficult to do because not everyone knows an aluminium welder.

Hope i didn't sound like I was trying to shoot you down, that find or yours definitely deserves a place at the top of the list 

[tuckstar]

no worries my friend.
I did read that post on the old forum and spoke to the postie. Problem i had was that i commute every day so could not afford to have the car off the road while it was fixed and still needed to remove from the car, but is def an option.