changing radiator, Audi 100 2.3
 

My rad is leaking when it gets really hot, I have found the leak, it is near the top.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21...r/radiator.jpg

I have a spare radiator, any tips for changing it??? I have done a Mk2 GOlf one before. It looks fairly simple, but how hard is it to bleed???

Which coolant should I get, G12? (pink stuff???)

Go to Halfrauds and get some Bar-leaks putty (or whatever it's called) and whack that in the hole... Strong as an ox if you follow the instructions...

Alternatively, change the rad...:ihih:

Should be a simple swap, change the bushes too, then bleed as normal. Run engine with heater on (that'll be nice, this weather!) and top up as necessary.

G12 is the stuff...:tup:

Actually I think it is G12+. I have been topping up for months, so it is probably just water in there now!

I have been driving along with the heater on full blast for the past couple of days to get the heat out of the engine so the water wasn't as hot so I could open the expansion tank lid and put some more water in.

Joy of joys!!!!!

seriously, if you know where the hole is and it can be filled with a putty, go for it, it'll see you good until you've got the time for a rad change...

the hole is where the fins are, do I just ram the putty into the fins???

like this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...Id_165691#dtab

it has pictures of taps and radiators on the packet so should be good.

I will change the coolant and flush it out though, it needs doing (which is why it could have failed in the first place, the corrosion inhibitors have gone........)

And get billy bonus points off the Mrs for not spending ages on the BLOODY CAR

I can't remember the stuff I used (without going down the garage), but I inadvertently stuffed a Stanley knife blade into a rad whilst bearing wire, it pee'd fluid even when the pump wasn't running. Whacked some similar stuff over it and packed out the fins to an area about the size of an old 50p piece...

Promised I'd change the rad as soon as possible... Car was destroyed by local youth 8 months later and over 3000 miles, without loosing a mm from the header bottle max line...

for £4.69 it has got to be worth a go. And if I tried to change the rad, guaranteed it would go wrong!!!!

Hmmmmthe pearl had a blow job yesterday due to a blockage:rock:

Just work it into the fins deep the first time, because if it sets and the leak isn't cured, you've got to pack it from the reverse side... So don't be shy of it... Better to loose a small area of fins and fix the leak than go all soft and smear a bit over the fins, and not fix the leak.

got the G12++ coolant today, £24 frigging quid for 4.5 litres from VW. I tried to go to Bath Audi, but when I got there, they had moved out of Bath.........

And I got the putty, as well as some deionised water......

Getting T4 exhaust welded tomorrow, so 100 radiator on Sunday.......

did the radiator. No better.

I drained the coolant and flushed the rad and block (AFTER I managed to get the rubber hoses off the metal bits).

I couldn't get the putty far enough into the fins, and there are 2 holes in it. Rad change this weekend then.

BUT..... Monday it ran fine, and lost water as normal (50 miles).
Tuesday morning all fine.
Tuesday afternoon on the way home the coolant light was flashing. The expansion tank was at the max line, the temp gauge was normal, as was the oil temp gauge.

I had a look this afternoon before I started it up (it flashes 5 seconds after start up, so the engine is stone cold....).

The temp sensor in the block (near the oil filler cap) has a plug under it. I hadn't tightened the hose which was just above it, so the rubber plug shroud was full of water. I tightened the jubilee clip, and slid the rubber shroud down, hopefully that is causing a short (as it is even when cold), and it will dry out.

what about using red well?

or is this similar to what Simmo suggests?

I have been advised against Rad Weld unless I am selling the car as it gums up the engine.

Simmo suggested the metal putty which is what I tried, but I couldn't push it in far enough because of the fins.

I have 1 spare rad sitting about, and 2 others on my spare cars, so I will change the rad, but save the (BLOODY EXPENSIVE!!) coolant mixture and put it back in.

I will also get new jubilee clips, as the old ones were rusty and were hard to put back on.

Cheers

Steve