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had an accident, replaced intercooler with aftermarket.



3 weeks afterward hose blows off intercooler, two weeks afterward the bottom blows off the intercooler the plastic part that the hose connects to.



what',s up with that?

Replacement part quality is greatly suspect in this case. A good quality substitute part NONVolkswagen supplied, should fit exactly like the original and anytime they don',t a red flag should have gone up in your mind.



That isn't to say that aftermarket parts are all bad, they aren',t and in many cases the OEM original equipment maker makes parts for the aftermarket that are exactly the same in fit and function, but sell for less money. I have seen a big number of brake parts that are obiviously from a VW maker they have to grind off the VW name or emblem to sell the part in the aftermarket that have sold for up to 75 less than dealership list.



But anytime you have a part that doesn',t have the right side or something that doesn',t fit right on to the part, you shouldn',t install that part on the car. Hopefully, you may be able to get your money back on this item and buy one from a VW dealership. Be cautious, some VW dealerships are recognized to sell parts from a nonVW source. Look at the box or markings on the part: you may want to nearly generally see either the Volkswagen name stamped, printed, or cast into the part with the VW engineering/regular part number on it. If you don',t see that with a vendors name or design symbol, then its most probably a nonVW supplied part. Be cautious, there are lots of "knock off" imported parts that appear like OEM parts, but aren',t.



My advice is to generally purchase a quality branded part or a OEM part from the dealership. Names like: Bendix, TRW, FAG, Raybestos, NAPA, Nipon Denso, etc. are quality manufacturers of parts that are of a recognized quality standard. Safety things should be particularly bought this way, brake pads, master cylinder, power brake booster etc. If its priced too cheap compared to other like parts, avoid it, particularly if its a brand you never heard of.



Well, I hope this helps, a car nut.

I beleive the stock TDI intercooler is made from bakelite, a plastic like material but much stronger. Sounds like the aftermaket cooler can be substandard in quality. I',d attempt to get a refund and if they say your car car is overboosting, install a increase gauge cool to have anyway to prove that it's boosting usually.

"the hoses barely fit and had to be forced on."

There',s your problem. you may want to bought either OEM or better. The intercooler is an important part of the engine. You most likely got a cheap intercooler that came with cheap hoses and clamps. They make it appear like original on function, but as you may be able to see, they aren',t built like original.

I could purchase an OEM intercooler with some good hoses and clamps. Are you running real high boost? Something else may have been damaged in the accident too. Good luck either way.

My experience with aftermarket parts. They aren't the same measurements exactly, so I'm thinking where the hose attaches to ..that end is "smaller in diameter than the hose so the hose clamp can not squeeze the hose on tightly enough.

Heck, I got aftermarket hubcaps for my beetle. Had to cut up a pop can so that I may make four shims to increase the size of the rim to hold the hubcap..standard bug rims. the hubcaps didn't snap on they were that much bigger. It was that or glue the hubcaps on.

I replaced one on a VW LT van using a factory part without any problems. The hoses have to be tight but not strangely it sounds as although you may not have the correct one supplied, the unit should be under warranty for twelve months, ask for a substitute. But get the right one .