acarney

So I'm doing my timing belt/head gasket job and I kinda want to remove the whole front end so I have more room then the four to dive inches with it in the service position. Can anyone let me know what the circled hose is? Can it be safely removed and reattached without any special tools? Is it removed at the light blue arrow (how?) or by removing the bolt (dark green arrow). (By the way, this is on the passenger side front of the car, you can see the coolant temp sensor disconnected below and the lower radiator hose removed already as well...


(By the way, the damn top radiator hose took like 25 minutes to remove because I couldn't get a good hold of it and was worried of breaking something with the force it took! So ya, I kinda want more room when actually doing the water pump, tbelt, etc. lol)

Edit: Forgot to upload pic, fixed, lol

acarney

Also, that blue sensor, I didn't think to get a new part for it, should I replace it? I have no idea when it was last done and would hate for it to fail soon after I got the car put back together and new coolant in it... would my local stealership have it in stock most likely? Are then hugely overpriced there? Anyone know the part number for it? Or should I just leave it be and not worry?

4Driver4

Transmission cooler. If you remove it, replace the o-ring and be sure to recheck the ATF level when you finish. Maybe even service the trans if it is due.

Personally, I think this level of disassembly creates more issues than it solves. I will wait for your "no AC" post in the spring.

georgeb944

Remove the bolt with the green arrow. Use a heat gun (not a torch) to expand the fitting on the radiator to assist in removing (and replacing) the two hoses. Replace the O-rings, and check the ATF fluid (using the VAGCOM method) when you're done. Be gentle with the hoses when in the service position and you should not have any problem with the AC. Make sure you don't let any sharp objects hit the fins of the radiator or AC condensor; they are somewhat fragile and expensive to replace. Protect them with cardboard or moving blankets.

acarney

Yep. That kinda sounds like a lot of potential trouble. Thank you for the detailed break down... I figure I'll try to complete the job while in service position since I didn't order a replacement O ring for that connector and don't wanna mess with the ATF. Just would have felt more comfortable being able to be at eye level to locate everything but not everything can be perfect...