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Subaru intercoolers what are they made of
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:52 pm
by fester2au
Hey guys I've previously read the Subaru water to air topics but at present I'm wondering what these units are made of. I've been thinkig of using one for a while but would like to alter the shape to better suit my needs so was wondering what they are made of. The pics lead me to believe they are metal of some sort as opposed to aluminium is that correct. Just want to get a better handle on how hard they would be to get apart and rebuild.
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:16 am
by Shark
Just had a look at mine and the top is polished so i would assume its alloy..
Marc
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:30 pm
by MICK77
IIRC the main body is steel.
Cheers,
Micko
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:27 pm
by awill4x4
The shell (lower part) is definitely Aluminium, I'm not sure about the lid as I never payed it any attention when I was changing the inlet/outlet orientation on the ones I've worked on.
Regards Andrew.
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 7:56 pm
by fester2au
awill4x4 wrote:The shell (lower part) is definitely Aluminium, I'm not sure about the lid as I never payed it any attention when I was changing the inlet/outlet orientation on the ones I've worked on.
Regards Andrew.
So when you changed the inlet outlet orientation Andrew I take it you played around with the piping which is in the lowe half and therefore aluminium??? Just by the pics the flange on the lid and the spot weld marks on the brackets give me the impression they are steel or copper/brass etc like radiators.
I am hoping more so the main construction is aluminium and that at least the core and internals are aluminium surrounded by maybe a pressed steel water jacket or something. I am possibly tossing up stripping one completely and just using the core. This carries on from my idea of making a water to air from scratch. I was still tossing up converting an air to air core but know a dedicated water core to be more effective. The size and shape of the Subaru item still doesn't suit my size requirements but for the cost if I can gut it easily and remake then it would be a good proposition but not not if it requires soldering or brazing.
Gavin
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:53 pm
by awill4x4
Gavin, a simple test is to just hit the lid with a file and you'll see if it's steel, alloy or brass. In fact, just get a fridge magnet to try the lid and that will tell you if it's steel.
I'm pretty sure though that it would most likely be Aluminium.
Regards Andrew.
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:53 pm
by coxy321
I just had a look at my one (Liberty RS) and it is all alloy. Air inlet/outlet, water inlet/outlets, radiator cap socket - all alloy.
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:42 pm
by fester2au
Good just what I wanted to hear. Thanks too Andrew but I don't actually have one yet, just wondering if it's worth chasing one up but if they are ally then should be able to be modded easy enough to suit my needs.
Thanks guys. Now all I have to do is keep my eyes out for a complete kit. Noyt many floating around at present it seems, not that I'm in any hurry.
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:52 pm
by Shark
You dont need a whole kit really, the heat exchanger is nothing special and you can buy water pumps cheap enough... I picked up a subaru intercooler from trade me in NZ and it cost me 49 posted to my door... I won it for 6 but the rest was postage..
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:15 am
by lay80n
http://www.rslibertyclub.org/forums
Usually a few WAIC's for sale here.
Layto....
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:10 am
by coxy321
Layto has it. Keep your eyes on the Scoobydoo forums.
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:05 pm
by fester2au
Layto do you have to register to see classifieds. There is northing to show in the for sale section. Does that mean they only show up if you are registered.
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:56 am
by lay80n
fester2au wrote:
Layto do you have to register to see classifieds. There is northing to show in the for sale section. Does that mean they only show up if you are registered.
Yes, you have to register to view them. Forgot that
Also Ebay and some of the other subaru forums are worth a look. I have been looking at going FMIC on my lib in a few months so i may have a set up early next year
Layto....