VR6 Radiator woes, help & advice please

[daytona600 0]

Hi all

 

I need some help with this one. Trying to replace the rad on my VR6. Me & my mate had a hell of a job trying to remove the fans and rad as we could not figure out how to remove the slam panel. We eventually got them out by removing the battery but there is next to no chance of getting the new rad in this way without damage.

 

So, how to remove the slame panel? We got all the bolts out & the headlights but it looks as though there are 2 bolts each side just above the top of the bumper, under the headlights.

 

I get the feeling that we are getting this all wrong. What is the correct proceedure for removing the rad as we will end up taking most of the front end of at this rate!

 

To make matters worse the replacement has a smaller bore on the pipe that joins the bottom hose so we need to take it back.

 

The rad we got looks identical apart from this and some clips top & bottom which will make the re-fitting of the fans imposible.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I no longer have a drivable motor and knowing my mate I wont be getting it back this side of the summer. :(

[Supercharged 2]

So, how to remove the slame panel? We got all the bolts out & the headlights but it looks as though there are 2 bolts each side just above the top of the bumper, under the headlights.

 

There are I think - did you remove the bumper?

 

Did you get the rad from VW?

[daytona600 0]

Hi, I looked through some other posts and found the answer thanks. Just wish I had looked on here before even thinking about doing the work. I also was able to locate a cheaper rad (£109), in stock from just down the road thanks to this forum!

 

Now I need to find out why "my mate" had such trouble finding a rad and then telling me the cheapest he could get was £150

 

I am thinking of investing £80 on a factory manual thats on eBay. Has anyone bought one of these? Are they worth it?

 

A big book that weighs approx 2kg

[Roger Blassberg 0]

Yes the Bentley manual is worth it. If you are unsuccessful on ebay, you can get it new from Amazon for £85. Beware, though. It is only for the models that were supplied in USA. The VR6 covered is the 2.8 litre AAA-engined SLC model, left hand drive, so some subtle differences.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Supercharged 2]

I got my Bentley from amazon.ca for less than £50 posted... (not sure if they are still that cheap but worth a look...)

 

VR Rads - VW's price is £132 inc vat if you get a decent discount and it comes with the plastic elbow unlike the GSF ones (and alot better quality too!)

[aki 0]

hi im in touch with what your going through!! i changed mine last weekend what a pain in the ass! i ended up removing the inlet manifold top half and undoing the capped screw for the dipstick tube to get my shiney new rad in!

i found it easier to just put the rad in and then atteched the fan assy to it! it was i bit tight!

i also found that my bottom hose outlet off the rad was smaller than the original and also the plastic buttons the fan screws into were too small and 1 cracked i ended up drilling them bigger the rad also came with extra brackets that i ended up cutting off!(i got my rad from europarts and im getting concerned about the quality of stuff from them as ive heard a few reports from colegues and my timing chainsetc are from them oh well just have to hope my fears arnt realised eh!) but as i needed my car and wasnt prepared to risk damaging the rad trying to remove it i just used a "jubilee" hose clip instead (i know im risking the bottom hose splitting but it works at the moment!

hope this helps!

andy