a6wrenchin

Has anybody had the issue of breaking off their radiator flange and it being absolutely stuck in the connecting hose/connector? I'm in that situation and would love not buying a new hose. The radiator has been replaced, but the flange seems forever jammed in the connecting hose. Any advise on how to remove without damaging the hose? dremel coming out tomorrow if not. lots of prying and wd-40 already, and yes, the clip is off. thanks in advance

georgeb944

Try some heat on the hose end. Expanding it might free up the piece inside. I would use a heat gun, not a propane torch.

N_Jay

I would dremel the inside till it is thin enough to crack.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Should probably consider replacing ALL the hoses.

a6wrenchin

Going to try the heat gun idea this morn (Hawaii time). If no luck will have to try to gently cut it out.

I'd love to replace all the hoses and some of them definitely need it, but after cam seals/valve gaskets/timing belt/radiator... I need to get back to driving for work. I think I'm going to have some phase 2 repairs when my wallet allows, hoses included.

Car is a 2001 2.8 a6

N_Jay

The radiator piece is a hard plastic, but so is the hose end.
I would not try to "cut" it out as much as thin the inside it you can crack it without putting much stress on eth hose end.

When they have been together for a while it takes a good bit of force to get them to start pulling apart, and they don't slide out easy even after it starts moving.
The keyway prevents it from being rotated as you would to normally free up a tight o-ring joint.

a6wrenchin

All the tabs had broken off, so there wasn't anything to grab on to. I wound up using a drill to get in there better than a dremel. small bit first, working up to a bit close to the thickness of the flange. it then popped apart with a small screwdriver. I did nick the hose end and the o-ring a bit. I filled in the nicks with jb-weld, and am off to grab a new o-ring. I'll post again if it blows out. Thank you for all the suggestions. Hope this helps someone else in the same predicament.

a6wrenchin

This may work to drive you to a store, but I wound up with a slow leak. lesson learned... Buy a new upper hose, kids. Lower hose is leaking also. I'm assuming once you pull these off, you need to change either the o-ring or the complete hose if it's older. I'm hoping my transmission cooler lines hold their own after this radiator change. Can't wait for the moment that this car isn't bleeding.

One somewhat of a success story here for information sakes... when I changed all of my components over to my new radiator, I guess the plastic plug broke. I had everything cleaned up, bumper back on and ready to go, put coolant in and it leaked all over. There is a plastic allen head plug in the radiator of non-turbo a6's where a sensor would be (part # 8D0-121-100 for those looking). Anyway, just wanted people to know that if you don't have access purchase to this plug, you can possibly find a 22mm plug that fits the hole at napa. (part#7041048). I put some plumbers paste and an o-ring on it for good measure and tightened it with needle nose vise-grips. Time will tell

Redd

"Car is a 2001 "
Every rubber parts maker (hoses & belts) such as Goodyear, Firestone, Gates, all the unquestioned top brand names, recommend replacing all rubber parts including the hoses, belts, and engine mounts (!) every five years. No, most of us don't do that, but their point is that routine heat, oxygen exposure, chemical exposure, and vibration all make these parts age and at five years, reliability starts to suffer.
In addition, if you put a heat gun on that hose it may very simply weaken & thin the hose wall where the part is jammed against it.

If I had to "get home" in that situation, I'd implode the stuck part. Use a tinsnips to chew it up, use a diagonal cutter, slip in a keyhole saw with a fine blade and cut it in two, but don't put any extra strain (including heat) on the hose.

And as long as the cooling system is open and you're going to need some fluid anyway...this is a logical time for new hoses and a system flush and fill. At ten years, those hoses really *are* very likely ready for a change.

a6wrenchin

Thought I'd chime in again because things have changed. Day 1 of driving around and it seems as though everything has sealed up. Had a couple of oil drips and coolant leakage this morning, but after driving around for a bit everything seems to have sealed up. No leakage! Party time (for now anyway). Yes, I need to replace some more hoses, but that has to be phase 2 due to financial reasons also I need the car to work. I also put some standard plumbing silicone grease on the coolant o-rings for good measure. Transmission coolant lines seem to be holding without new o-rings. Just wanted to get the info out there in case someone doesn't have a source for parts like me living in this ugly place called maui. Thanks again for the help and let's hope this sucker stays sealed up for a while. Cheers, -J