In previous articles I wrote that I had issues with coolant loss in my Audi A3, I had identified that the radiator was leaking as it was damaged, and that it was on the to do list for replacement. Well, it’s been about a month now, and the coolant loss was rather severe this morning. I had to top it up and monitor each day going to work
This time the coolant was disappearing rapidly, so I just decided to replace it and get on with it on the car. It took me around 5 hours to do, but I like working slowly and methodically and I don’t have access to a vehicle lift, so have to do a lot of jacking and testing.
It probably would have been faster removing the bumper, but I couldn’t be arsed.
I’m trying out new affilliate links in this article, however all the products below can be found on my eBay Storefront page
Tools used for radiator replacement in 8PA BKD Audi A3
- T20 Torx
- T25 Torx
- T30 Torx
- Car Jack
- Axle Stands
- 10mm Spanner
- 3/8″ Ratchet
- 3/8″ Wobble Joint
- 3/8″ Extension
- Phillips Screwdriver
- Flathead Screwdriver
Consumables and items I used to replace the radiator in my Audi A3
- Radiator, I used Mahle CR 1539 001S from OpieOils
- Comma Xstream G40 Premixed Coolant (2 x 5 Litres)
- (OPTIONAL) – Bowls / rags to capture any mess
Quick guide to help with removing and replacing radiator in a Audi A3
I’ll look into adding a video on this later on, this is a quick guide to help people stuck with removing their radiator, or removing and reinstalling it in their Audi A3. I don’t have exact sizes to hand as I tend to just do it and write later. This isn’t an exact guide, just something which may help. I suspect the official method you remove the bumper (by undoing screws behind arch liners and slam panel) but I didn’ t bother. This method is the one I used for removing the radiator without removing bumper
- Jack up the car, and place on Axle stand
- Remove Torx screws securing underbody shield (T30 at rear, and I think T20 at front)
- Open bonnet of car, and remove cover
- Remove items to increase access to removing radiator
- Airbox / Filter, loosen top screws fold out way, remove the lower box held in by T30
- Front Air Guide, all parts, secured to front of the car with 2 x Torx Screws (T20 or T25)
- Lower intercooler hoses (remove completely passenger side small section) and drivers side, disconnect only
- Undo arch liner from drivers side bumper lower
- Undo 4 Torx screws (T25 I think) securing cooling fans onto car radiator (disconnect the electrical connection at base) near intercooler
- Undo 4 Tor Torx (T25 I think) securing radiator to the car bumper
- Use a screwdriver to undo radiator pipe latch and pull hose off top connector
- Repeat for lower connector near air con pipes, screwdriver helps removing. Access is easier via arch liner behind intercooler pipe
- Once all disconnected, remove old radiator. Do this slowly, helps disconnecting electrical connections near air con, and head lamps. The radiator lifts up at angle, then lower radiator hose catches so you have to force pipes slightly in different stages to remove
- Remove O-rings from radiator hoses and install new O-rings
- As a note, my car had 2 O-Rings in the lower radiator hose drivers side. Not sure if this was by design or a bodge. One of them was tapered, so I replaced the factory O-Ring with the new one from the kit, then reinstalled the tapered O-Ring in the way it came out
- Reinstall the new radiator, I found it easiest to install by tilting it forward slightly at an angle (approx 30 degrees) towards the windscreen of the car, you have to push pipes out the way slowly eventually it goes in
- Secure the radiator and cooling fans in the same procedure as removal
- Reconnect the coolant hoses, making sure they’re fully locked in and give several tugs to make sure. I left the red bungs in until I was about to connect the pipes to keep the system clean
- Replace the intercooler pipes and all components previously removed
- Lower the car, top up coolant in tank to maximum, keep header tank open then start car and top up coolant. You may be comfortable leaving engine running as you top up, I just did it in stages. Start engine, tank drains, refill. Rinse and repeat. Once the coolant looks like it’s topped up, also need to have heaters running and engine revving to fully cycle around the system. As a note I ordered two bottles as I read it takes about 8 Litres of coolant, but I only used about 4-4.5 litres of coolant for my car.
- ADMIN NOTE: The heat exchanger behind the firewall and engine is the other part I missed. Really should disconnect the pipes and drain coolant from this too before filling the system. That’s where the extra coolant is. Mine it doesn’t matter too much as I used the same coolant mixture anyway when topping it up. Just as a future note for anyone reading this post.
- Let the engine run and inspect for leaks, then take for a drive to warm up
I also wanted to make sure the fans were working so drove the car hard to get temps up on the car to make sure fans kicked in when I stopped. I’ve been monitoring the coolant, and no losses. I’ve had to do a couple of small top ups as I’ve been driving but other than that it’s fine.
How bad was my radiator damaged?
It’s pretty obvious whilst I was leaking coolant now. I still can’t work out if this happened during snow, or was from a previous owner. However the radiator on my car was bent (forwards/downwards) and also dinted. It was leaking coolant through the fins and had started to rust at the base.
New radiator was installed around 164k miles on my car, it’s also more efficient and warms up/cools down a lot quicker
