Hole in my intercooler tube

[blowinsmoke7.3]

I pulled my CAC tube off to finalize the foil delete this evening and found that my tube has a hole rubbed through it from a square nut underneath it

This will definately be fixed but my questions are..
Does it need to be fixed ASAP?
Where can i get one and how much do they run?
Is this gonna cause me to loose boost pressure?
Thanks guys

[siloped]

It will be causing you to loose boost, and that would be why it should be fixed asap. Even if its just a temp fix until you could get a new one or get that one welded. maybe a bolt and nut with loctite, or JB weld a washer over the hole. Something

[blowinsmoke7.3]

i was thinking about getting a MIG welder after it then grind it down halfway smooth?

[siloped]

If you do that you'll need to get some aluminum wire and pure argon shielding gas. But it would be more of a perminant fix. But unless you have been looking to invest in a welder, it would be cheaper to drop it off at a welding shop and have them fill it in.

[blowinsmoke7.3]

my boss has a miller mig machine but idk about aluminum wire and puer argon. it may be cheaper to just drop it off at a welding shop

[jaaron]

just make three or four wraps around it with ducktape....

[redboost10]

migging aluminum requires a spool gun, along with aluminum wire and pure argon. im assuming it was rubbed from the powersteering hose which has that square head. if so, been there done that. i just tigged the hole shut since i caught it early enough. i then took some thick rubber hose, cut it in half and zip tied it around that area of the ic tube.

one more thing, these intercooler tubes weld like they are cast but i dont think they are. anyone know? i can see machine marks from a tube bender but they sure are porous.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by jaaron

just make three or four wraps around it with ducktape....

The fix for everything, just make sure its secured tightly with duct tape lol

[smokeyd]

yup like stated above but i would suggest the hvac duct tap that shiney stuff lol

[siloped]

they arn't cast. If it seemed porouse, they might just have been dirty. The thing about aluminum, especially if your tig welding, it has to be real clean. Also there is a small amount of oxidation on aluminum that should be cleaned off with some scotch brite or clean wire brush. Spray it with brake kleen or wipe it with assitone to make sure there is not oily residue.

If you mig it, a spool gun or a push/pull set up is the best route to go. You can do it with without, but its a PITA. The wire will birdnest(get tangled) at the drive rollers and you have to keep resetting the wire. If you don't use a spool gun, the best thing to do is to keep the mig gun stretched as straight as possible.

Hope that helps