Knackered Radiator!!

[be:real]

the larger of the two rads on my L reg s2 has been cracked for some time now and would leak occasionally, but nothing major. has got serious now. have been putting off replacing it for long enough, so really need to do it now.

any one of you knowledgable people got any tips? ive got the rad from german swedish, just a case of putting it in. looks real tight in there and real fiddley! some one has told me that i need to take the fan of first? which would give more space to unbolt the rad?

if anyone had replaced the larger rad before, some tips would be greatly appreciated! or a decent place to take it to get it done. i really dont have the spare cash to take it to audi!

cheers!

[jon_91_s2]

Hi

Full instructions of how to do it here http://www.vagparts.com/s2/rad.htm

[Greg_S]

I'd get a genuine rad rather than one from GSF since they are nissen radiators and the quality isnt great. If you dont mind paying that bit extra, the job isnt too bad either. you can have the radiator out in about 15mins. It is also worth replacing the little joining hose on the water manifold too

[Fat Audi 80]

It is not a technically difficult job, just bloody difficult due to the location of some of the fasteners. Took me about 8 hours over two days when I did mine. (I have aircon too which makes it harder).

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Good luck.

Cheers,

steve

[be:real]

cheers people!

steve, yes i have air con too so can fully appreciate the limited space. so you have actually replaced one yourself? mate...a quick list of what you took out in what order would be most appreciated. at the moment im finding it very hard to see how i can get to the bolts!

cheers!

rishi

[Mikes2]

http://www.s2-audi.co.uk/tech_articles/thermostat_replace.htm

is how I removed mine, although my car has no air con.

While the rad is out, consider replacing the thermostat and water feed hose.

[Graham]

I got mine down to out in 35 mins and back in in about 40 mins, i have changed it that often through various F++k ups, and definitely take Gregs advise, buy a genuine one it will save you so much heart ache. (I have changed mine 5 times, as the nissens one kept on cracking at the bottom mount (VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THEM, the plate which takes the weight of the whole thing is only 1MM thick Brass), and a new one i bought was cracked where they had over crimped the end tank on. And to get me away once i loaned Graham B's Spare (Tekkno ), mine has Aircon but the last few times i changed the Radiator i had it Drained for my Emmigration so i could remove both Rad and Condenser together which is Miles easier.
HTH
There is a thread somewhere detailing how i done it.
Graham

[Azman]

Just had mine done as the rad had a crack round the bottom edge. Just the little one to do now but getting that recored for £90.

Worryingly though I keep getting icicles from the bumper just below the rad????????
Water level is not going down and everything seems tight???

[Fat Audi 80]

@ Be:real,

From memory:

un plug fan and remove complete housing. The tricky bit to this was getting at all the screws.

IIRC the Aircon hangs infront of the main rad. I did NOT remove the aircon rad but did take all of the plastic covers from around the aircon rad and pipes. Undo all bracketry holding aircon rad and main rad.

The tricky bit is lifting the aircon rad free from its mountings on the main rad. Mine was stuck a bit and some very gentle persuasion will be required. Preferable after a cup of tea calm down! Eventually the aircon rad should lift about an inch and forward half an inch to clear its mountings to the main rad.

Once all the main rad mounts are undone you should then be in a position to lift it out. Again this is tricky and a tight fit but it does come out.

Forgot to mention that it is a good idea now to compare your new rad with the old one very carefully. You may need to reuse some of the original mounting hardware (captive nuts etc) and put them or swap them to the correct positions. This is where an OEM or Behr rad is most desirable....

The hard bit about refitting the new one is getting the aircon rad to "drop" onto the mountings on the main rad. Patience is required again, but it should fit.

The hardest bit then is getting all the screws back on. IIRC correctly I left one of the fan housing screws off as it was almost impossible to do.

Like I said originally, take your time and allow a good day for it and you will be okay.

Follow mikes instructions for re filling and bleeding system.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Steve