replacing top hose vr6

[akacheesy 0]

Going to attempt to replace a split top rad hose tonight, anyone got any tips or advice??

[dan 0]

Is that the hose that comes off the top of the rad. & has 2 or 3 'T' branches on it?

 

If so, all you should need is a pair of vice grips to loosen the clips & a little determination. I changed mine last year & it took me about 20mins.

[akacheesy 0]

aye, thats the one. I was gonna change the coolant too while i'm at it. Any idea how much anti freeze I should use? will 2ltrs be sufficient?

 

Thanks for your reply

 

Chris

[Henny 0]

You may also want to change the "spring" clips for jubilee clips as the spring ones can go "soggy" and allow the pipes they hold to leak... :shock: Very annoying!

[Rams 0]

akacheesy, I think you should use a 50 / 50 mix. Use a cleaner to flush through the system and do it properly.

 

8)

[akacheesy 0]

Thanks, managed to get some "free" clips from VW. Robbing b@stards!! Flushing? So how do i do that "properly"?? Do I use Rad-flush or something like that?

[dan 0]

The genuine replacement hose vost me 106 euros. If it goes again I'll be replacing it with a full 'Samco' kit costing about £130.

 

Im not sure on the coolant/ distilled water ratio although I remember reading it in my corrado handbook. As Rams said, it is very important to flush out the system when changing coolant.

[Rams 0]

You can use a series of flushing agents, once you have flushed it through with a cleaner, then flush it with water and run the temperature up on just water and then let it cool, then drain and you should have a nice clean start. Then your 50 /50 mix of G12 that you get from VW and have a nice pink coloured expansion tank.

 

Make sure the hose pipe that comes off the pump outlet is clean so the pipe stays on nicely to th eoutlet as mine leaked from there where it built up crud from the outlet pipe getting dirty and trying to prize the hose off slightly. I was wondering where the bloody leak was coming from, there was no sign of leakage anywhre and 16VG60 pointed it out and when he was doing teh head he noticed the problem. Well done that man!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You'll need 2 tubs of G12+ if doing a drain and reflush. Don't use too much coolant additive as it reduces the water's ability to absorb heat and this country will never see - 40 degrees.

 

Draining is simple - Undo expansion tank cap, detach top and bottom rad hoses, unscrew block drain plug (which is on the long plastic pipe on the block face, above and to the left of the oil filter housing) and let it all flow out! Don't get the old or new coolant on your hands, it's very unpleasant stuff.

 

Flush through with a hose for a while throught the expansion tank and then replace the drain bung and rad bottom hose.

 

Now the *IMPORTANT* bit:

 

To avoid an air lock, fill up the engine via the rad top hose, and NOT the expansion tank. Keep pouring it in (you'll hear the air escaping out of the expansion tank - a good thing) until you see fluid appear in the expansion tank.

 

Replace top hose.

 

Drive for 20 mins.

 

Top up the following morning.

 

Done.

 

Kev

[akacheesy 0]

G12? Can't I just use any kind of anti-freeze?

[Jim 2]

No - I am pretty certain that you need to use VW stuff.

 

Its not like it costs a lot anyway! :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah, use G12+.

 

No need to use flushing agents, the VR6 engine is not known for producing lots of sediment. Some agents can be harsh on seals etc.

 

Kev

[akacheesy 0]

bought some flush, decided against using it. All sorted now cheers guys