If a radiator leak is suspected, you should have the pressure test described above carried out by a workshop. With an obvious defect, you can immediately dismantle the radiator yourself and hand it in for repair. There are special workshops for the repair of radiators (industry telephone directory!), who carry out such repairs.
Tip: Our models with a thermostat and a radiator fan controlled by it reach their operating temperature extremely quickly. The coating on the grille does not provide an improvement, but rather the risk of overheating of the engine at full load on the autobahn already at temperatures near the freezing point. Radiator coating only makes sense at temperatures below -20°C, i.e. in Scandinavian countries.
Coolant drain
Let the engine cool down, otherwise there is a risk of scalding!
Open the cap of the expansion tank.
Substitute a wide bath to collect coolant.
Loosen the hose on the lower radiator hose and remove it.
If you need to drain the coolant completely, additionally disconnect the coolant hose from the front wall of the heating. The hoses are attached to the nozzles with quick-release fasteners. To release the locks, press the safety lock and pull back the safety ring on the lock.
Dismantling the radiator
Drain the coolant into a container
In vehicles with automatic transmission: unscrew the oil lines from the radiator. Be careful, oil will leak out! Close the holes.
Remove the coolant hoses on the radiator left and right.
Also remove the thin coolant hose to the expansion tank on the radiator
Disconnect the radiator fan and thermostat switch wire connectors. Disconnect the wiring harness from the air intake funnel.
Remove the grille, see body section.
Disconnect the air ducts on the left and right of the radiator and remove the servo control cooling loop from the bracket clips.
At the top of the radiator, unscrew the side fastening earrings on the front cross member.
Remove the radiator together with the fan from the lower rubber buffers and take it up from the engine compartment.
After installing the radiator, fill the cooling system Carry out a functional check.
On vehicles with automatic transmission, check the transmission oil level after assembly.
Filling new coolant into the cooling system
Because If a certain amount of coolant remains in the engine, not all of the coolant quantity indicated in the table on the previous page can be filled.
8-valve engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters: unscrew the temperature sensor on the intake manifold.
16-valve engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters: unscrew the socket head screw on the drain pipe on the thermostat housing.
For all engines: fill first with antifreeze and then with water, if possible, with a low lime content.
The level should be slightly above the mark «Cold».
If in an 8-valve engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters, coolant without bubbles emerges from the intake manifold opening, then you can screw in the temperature sensor again (10 Nm). Slide on the wire shoe.
In a 16-valve engine with a displacement of 1.6 liters, screw in a bolt with an hexagon socket, with sealant (15 Nm).
Check the coolant level and correct it.
Install and screw the cap on the expansion tank.
Warm up the engine until the thermostat opens. It is definitely open if the electric radiator fan is running while the engine is idling.
Allow the engine to cool and, if necessary, add the missing fluid.
Removing the coolant hoses
Purchase original hoses of the desired curved shape as spare parts and always new hose clamps.
Drain the coolant into a container.
Loosen the screwed hose clamps with a screwdriver, remove the hoses.
For both ears, squeeze the hose clamps with tape springs with tongs until they stop. Remove hoses.
Loosen the firmly seated ends of the hoses with a screwdriver, which is carefully inserted between the hose and the nozzle and then also carefully squeezed out.
Slide the new hoses far enough over the fittings so that they cannot slip off.
Do not overtighten the screw clamps, otherwise the threads will be stripped.
Tip: On the road, it's rare to replace a cracked coolant hose. Help here «emergency tape» Weyer from Düsseldorf, or «Hoseweld Bandage» firm Holt. Both tapes adhere quite well to cleaned and dry rubber hoses. With a large leak, it can help if the cap of the expansion tank is opened one turn so that pressure does not rise in the cooling system that the band cannot withstand. Then drive very carefully to the workshop. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge and coolant level!
Visitor comments