Broke Upper Radiator Elbow.. advice?

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

so today i broke the upper radiator elbow. The small plastic part that inserts into the rubber hose snapped inside and coolant started leaking everywhere inside the engine bay on the passenger side. I managed to get the small plastic part out that was stuck inside the rubber hose and ziptied the hose onto the elbow. (just for today). I left my car at the shop and ordered a NEW one at JHM for overnight delivery.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/carrion84/makethumbCAXNNFJB.jpg

going to replace this tommorrow but my real worry is all of the coolant that sprayed/leaked inside my engine bay. After I ziptied the hose onto the elbow, I started the car just to make sure everything was okay but im wondering if all of the coolant that leaked inside is a problem… I managed to wipe off most of it that I can reach but is this going to affect anything in the future?

thanks AR for reading, looking forward to reading your advice!

#2

Just spray down everything and you’ll be fine. After you get it swapped out, you’ll see the old coolant burn off from where it spilled on the exhaust manifold etc, but nothing to worry about. It’ll just steam and smell a little bit for 15 min or so then it’ll be gone.

Also, make sure you’re cautious about filling the coolant system back up and burping it of any air bubbles. It’ll keep taking coolant for a little while as it burps out any air pockets. And if an air pocket does get stuck, you’ll know it by whatever hose blows next lol.

I gotta ask though, after you knew the elbow was shot, why’d you bother starting the car back up until after the new part was in. All that is going to do is spew more coolant out . . .

#3

I broke that little line off on my b6 theyre very fragile especially with some age. what I did was drill it out and used a piece of brake line to replace the tube and then used epoxy to seal it. turned out strong as hell I actually hit it really hard when trying to remove the alternator and thought for sure it was broken again but it was fine. since then ive done this on 2 friends cars, quick little fix that works well if u ever brake it again.

#4

i made sure i sealed it first before I started the car just to back it up out of the garage into a parking spot lol. and also can you explain what do you mean about being cautious about filling the coolant? how can I prevent it from an air pocket getting stuck?

thanks =)

sounds pretty simple. definitly going to look into this! thank you

#5

when u fill it keep the car running while u fill the rad itll keep taking coolant is what he means. the air bubbles may “burp” coolant out and make a bit of a mess but its not to worry, coolant cant really hurt anything.

if u decide to go with the fix i mentioned use the epoxy that comes in a stick kind of like clay, that’s the good shit it dries as hard as metal.

#6

ah i understand now. alright tthanks. was just worried that the coolant was going to affect something electrical lol.

and yea eproxy is the shit. glue trucks together with that

#7

Yea mine broke once as well. Local dealership was gonna take longer to get it than JHM did and they’re on the other side of the country from me. JHM keeps in stock at all times cause it’s such a brittle part.

I’m shocked you were able to epoxy the small port off the elbow back on and have it hold and keep it not getting clogged up. Props to ya, but that’d be a pretty last ditch effort to try considering you can usually get the part pretty quick.

Also, spot on about the burping. Not complicated at all, just wanted to make sure you don’t add coolant and put the cap on and drive off. Just leave the top off and fill it as it’ll take it. Then if you can let it cool back down and try once more just to be cautious (this is only if you feel you lost a lost a lot coolant. If only a little bit don’t sweat it).

#8

i actually just broke the vacuum nipple on the bottom of the oil separator when i removed my intake and did the exact same thing, im a pro lol.

#9

And don’t forget to mix 50:50?

#10

Just replaced it and good as new. :slight_smile: thanks everyone

#11

to add to this thread, whats everyone using for coolant and why? when I was in school we did a comparison of a bunch of different coolants and at the time the general conclusion was the prestone was the best. it could mix with and was compatible with any colour coolant, even dex cool. its also a 5 year coolant.

#12

I personally use prestone for the same reasons, plus it is readily available pretty much everywhere. Never had an issue with it in cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, etc…

#13

When I did my coolant flush last winter, I just used G13. I have an Audi dealer close by and I can order it through work

#14

i been using pentofrost sf g12 on my s4 b7

#15

im gonna go ahead and refill my car with prestone. can anyone give me any reason why I shouldn’t? I know every car has there own shit for the cooling system so im just wondering if theres anything I don’t know about our system. does it have any special requirements?

#16

This put me off using anything other than g12. … gelling is the main issue

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/volkswagen-passat-b5-discussion/198632-where-buy-g12-coolant.html

#17

hmmm I wonder what they mean buy gelling. like at cold temps its becoming viscous? I know the dex cool has a ton of organic shit in it and even on its own it can coat the inside of your bottle and components and become gel like. it also becomes corrosive when overly exposed to oxygen. remember all the gms that had holes eaten through the plastic intakes where the coolant passages made 90 degree turns?

#18

There is no audi confirmed coolants aside from the authentic g12. When you look at the chemical breakdown lots of coolants say they are good but none of them with certify that they are actually audi compliant.