Intercooler fin straightening

[Badandy247]

I'm going to be taking my front bumper off to install AN oil cooler lines in the next couple days and I'm wanting to straighten the (VERY bent) fins on my stock sidemounts at the same time. I've seen a lot of info about folks straightening them out with tweezers or screwdrivers, but I remember Ohnoo saying he used some sort of nylon "sticks" to straighten them out on the old site. Anyone else used this method or know where to find something that might duplicate this? In addition to being bent 20 years of road use and a on poor tape job on a bumper respray have left the fins that aren't bent quite full of bug guts, dirt and tiny rocks which I think the "stick method" and some simple green would take care of.

I've built a simple pressure tester for the smic's and am planning on testing them with the dunk tank method used at radiator shops to look for minor leaks that may not be obvious with a normal boost leak test as well, I just can't for the life of me figure out what Ohnoo was using as his "push sticks". In my mind I'm picturing nylon popsicle sticks but don't know where to look to find such a thing. Any ideas or inputs are appreciated.

[GTOJOE]

I thought about this recently and thought the easiest method might just be to somehow cut the top 2-3mm off the fins leaving them nice and straight. The hard part is finding a method to do this without damaing the rest of the core.

[Badandy247]

I may have found something to fit the bill perfectly. Cafe from vending machines here in Italy comes with miniature plastic popsicle stick like instruments to stir with. I've had two or more cups a day and never paid much attention to them before, but without my car here at work I can't test for fit until I go home. I'll post results when I get a chance to test it out.

[green-lantern]

They make combs designed for this. You just need the right spacing. We used them all the time in the Nuclear Equipment Service Center.

Something like this




or this

[Street_Chally73]

I had bought this set to do mine, but decided a pair of hobbyist flat-headed screw drivers yielded better results for my liking...It was certainly more tedious, but I liked how I was able to get them closer to the original bends than with the fin rakes.

Here's the kit:
Radiator Pliers and Fin Rake Set

[Badandy247]

They make combs designed for this. You just need the right spacing. We used them all the time in the Nuclear Equipment Service Center.

Something like this




or this

The top one looks like it might not work so well for an intercooler, but it would work wonders on a bent condenser or radiator. That second one is inspiring though, I've not seen anything quite like that before. Thanks for the ideas.

[Badandy247]

Gave the stir stick a test, no go unfortunately about 2mm to wide and maybe a bit too thick as well. I might sand it to size, but I'm not entirely convinced that I can't find something better or maybe even another size of stir stick. I venture to say that at least 60% of my fins are bent to the point that no air could flow between them, the only ones in pristine condition are in the upper corners out of the path of direct airflow.

[mb3000]

I've always used a flat head screw driver. It takes hours but it gets the job done if you take your time with it.

[j2k4]

I wonder if something like a heavy (1/4" width or so) wire-tie might be useful?

Push it through wherever you can, then walk it back-and-forth in both directions, working the fins back into shape?

[green-lantern]

The top one looks like it might not work so well for an intercooler, but it would work wonders on a bent condenser or radiator. That second one is inspiring though, I've not seen anything quite like that before. Thanks for the ideas.

They work pretty well, those are just an example though. They make all kinds and some work better than others. If you have a digital caliper you can measure the distance between the fins and get a good idea of the one you need. You are pretty much better off getting one like that instead of getting a universal one or one that has the different sizes.


I’ve had the best luck with ones like this but sometimes you just got to break out the ole screwdriver or knife and get them pointing in a decent direction to use it.