In order to maximize cooling effectiveness, I am sealing up the inlet air leaks around the radiator and intercooler. The sides of the radiator are well sealed, but there is a significant gap at the top of the radiator that provides a leakage path of about 16 square inches (about 25” x 5/8”). In order to seal this, I have packed the gap with a seal fabricated from a piece of -12 firesleeve inserted into a piece of -22 firesleeve. This material consists of a silicone outer sealing layer and an inner fiberglass insulating layer.
The gap, and the seal are easily visible through the kidney grills.
Sealing the intercooler is much more involved, as there are numerous leakage paths, totaling about 90 square inches of area. High pressure air at the face of the intercooler can leak as follows:
- upward, between the bumper impact beam and the radiator support
- sideward around the radiator support
- sideward through the inlet lip profile
- under the intercooler
I addressed these leak paths with a fabricated sheet metal baffle assembly.
The top baffle follows the curved contour of the bumper support and is screwed to it.
The bottom baffle is secured to the intercooler using gear clamp elements to the mounting bolts.
The sides are riveted to the bottom baffle and screwed to the top baffle. The inlet lip seals also screw to the sides.
The inlet lip leak path may not be so apparent, but it is visible in the following image. Air can flow around the lip and then sideways out through this gap.
The lip seals install last.
The outside air temperature probe installs in a grommet in the top baffle.
Not much to see from the outside, but these details should improve cooling efficiency significantly.
