Frozen aftercooler core

[Mike Schmidt]

I pulled off my aftercoolers and apparently the previous owner never serviced them and/or didn’t use grease per Tony’s method! So, after soaking with Kroil and gently tapping back and forth, there was still no progress. I ended up hammering the core hard with a 3lb sledge and 2′ long piece of 2×4 and it finally came out. The downside is that the tubes are mushroomed on the end from the hammering.

I know this isn’t good, but how concerned should I be? Although the core was stuck, there was no corrosion and everything else looked good. I reassembled per Tony’s method w/ lots of grease, sbmar o-rings, etc., but now I’m worried there could not be a leak due to the hammering.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ariana

Topic

[Rob Schepis]

Yes, good to see them all as there is more than one way to skin this cat… Here’s two more – both air and water

[Bob Neill]

Thanks Bob and Fireisland1, two great set ups.

[Fireisland1]

This will test the assembly, not just the core

[Bob Patterson]

This is what I done to test the core and aftercooler after assembly. I thought I had a better picture of the test of the assembled cooler but you will still get the idea. Bob

[Bob Neill]

John
Do you have pics of that setup? May be helpful to others

[john]

If I suspect leaking or any question about leaking I have a setup made out pvc that I pressure test them with. One is a plug and one is a barbed fitting with a shutoff valve. I put low pressure to the core and dunk it in a tank of water. Depending on how you run your engines small amounts of condensation is normal. Salt water is not!!

[Mike Schmidt]

Unfortunately I didn’t take pics before reinstalling everything. Would there be symptoms to look out for if it were leaking? These are Seaboard aftercoolers by the way so they have the condensation drain. Could I inspect this drain while the engines are running as this would indicate water on the air side?

[Rob Schepis]

How about some pics?
Can you rig up a psi test?

[Author]

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