m1964

Hi,
I posted this question on Q5 forum but got no replies, decided to post here.
I believe that A6 w/ 3.2L has radiator hose connections similar to my 2010 Q5, where the hose ends with plastic fittings with spring clip on each end.
The engine side on my car has been slowly dripping coolant. I was going to replace the whole hose but was unable to disconnect the radiator side, so I replaced the o-ring on the engine side hoping it would fix the leak.
However, it appears that the hose is leaking at the junction of the rubber and plastic, and not at the connection to the engine pipe.
I considered removing the factory clamp and putting an adjustable one instead but I am not sure if there is a defect in the rubber itself (like a tiny hole).
Is there a trick on removing this hose on an 11 y.o. car?
The engine side came off easily because it was disconnected about a yer ago, when the termostat and WP were changed. But the radiator side was never disconnected.
I tried heating the fitting with a hair dryer without any luck.
What else can I try?
Thanks

Sallad

Thats always the quickest and cheapest solution to step one to fixing a leaking hose. Most times that’ll fix it for a while.

The car is only 11 yrs old, I don’t think under “normal” driving conditions, the rubber hoses should be failing already.

...but the O rings... another thread lol

kelisko

The upper radiator hose is not leaking because of a bad hose clamp but because of a weak return nipple. It is only a matter of time before the nipple breaks and spills coolant everywhere. People have suggested installing a hose fitting but I doubt that would properly hold the pressure for long. Here is how I replaced my upper radiator hose a few years ago. The trick is to spray WD-40 penetrating oil, let it sit then pull.


In addition to spraying the lube oil, I discovered another trick to separate the hose more easily when replacing my front coolant pipe about a year ago. Watch this from 17:40.

m1964

Hi Sallad,
I considered changing the factory clamp to an adjustable one but I am not sure I can remove the factory clamp without damging the hose.
If there is a "good" method of removing the factory clamp I would try that first.

Kelisko, thanks a lot, I will try WD-40.
As for the nipple you mention- VW changed the design, on my Q5 there is no nipple on the hose end, now the nipple is on the radiator and the pipe is plastic, fit with spring clip ends similar to the radiator hose ones.

m1964

Got a new aftermarket hose (Dayco) from Rockauto yesterday.
Since there is not much space between the hose end and the raditor to spray the lubricant, today I removed the spring clip and sprayed wd-40 in the notches where it sits hoping that it will allow for better penetration.
After heating the connection with hair dryer, I used a long screwdriver to tap onto the hose from the front towards the back, trying to make it loose which did not work right away but, after some more heating and tapping, I finally was able to remove the hose from the radiator.

Very optimistic I connected my new Dayco aftermarket hose to the radiator, which was a tight fit, and then tried to connect it to the engine side.
Which was a no go. Regardless of how much I lubricated the inside of the hose and the engine pipe, the friggin hose just would not go down.
I measured the notches on the original hose and Dayco and found that on Dayco they were 0.1mm smaller comparing to the original hose.
So, I cut off the ring holding the rubber from the original hose, and installed a regular hose clamp.
The rubber was very lose on the plastic after I cut off the ring. I understand now why it was leaking- over time, the metal ring stretched, but so very little, allowing only very small amount of coolant to get between the rubber and plastic.
Thanks to everyone who replied to the OP.