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Charge Air Coolers - Coolant Leak?

1303 Views 2 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  Legocar
I have a very slow coolant leak that seems to be coming from the underside of my driver's side Charge Air Cooler (the big cast alu things bolted between the Supercharger and the Intake manifold / ports)

Has anyone ever experienced this or know what I might be able to do about it? I've searched the interweb briefly and can't see replacements for sale anywhere but I don't really want to pay stealer prices. Does anyone know how they are constructed and if it would be possible to get one repaired (brazing for instance)?
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I find it hard to believe such a solid chunk of metal would be leaking, there is pipework in the area that I would have thought much more likely, coolant has a nasty habit of creeping along components disguising the true source of the leak, to try identify the leak more easily I'd take the car for a fast run then stop and get straight under the bonnet leaving the engine running, you'll have the maximum pressure in the system to show up the leak. I'd also advise that if you get a low coolant warning while driving STOP IMMEDIATELY! If not sooner, these aluminium engines do not tolerate overheating and you could land yourself a huge repair bill if it does.

If it does turn out to be the charge cooler I'd just try to find one from a breaker.
Thanks djdex, apologies for the delayed response.... my notifications are set correctly but seem to be a bit "sporadic" since the forum was updated :confused:

I'm inclined to agree that what looks like a leak from the cooler is probably just running there from the pipework behind but I thought I'd ask if anyone had experienced anything similar.

I'm about to replace my Supercharger and it would be the perfect opportunity to swap out the cooler.....

Oh and another question that someone out there can potentially answer......

How "cool" should I expect the coolers to be?

Given what they are there for, I was expecting them to remain relatively cold in use but mine are red hot after a 10 or 20 minute run. They use coolant from the main circuit but it runs through a separate rad (intercooler) so I assumed this would keep the coolant colder.

The supercharger I am fitting has the smaller pulley fitted and this will generate more heat, so I want to be sure my coolers are working properly before I proceed.
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