Coolant expansion tank connector

[Kneale Brownson]

Nipple usually has plastic reinforced with that bit of metal pipe you see.  Rest of the nipple probably will break off, so I'd be looking for another tank.  As an interim "fix", I'd reinstall the hose as far as possible without much force and "clamp" it with a zip tie.

Alan Page <alan at flaminglogos.com> wrote:  Hello all,

I've had a slow coolant leak for a couple of months on my '94 S4, and 
after a long, hot drive I found the problem: The hose going to the top 
of the coolant expansion tank was leaking steam, and if I moved it 
back and forth I could get more or less leakage. I thought that the 
hose clamp was just loose, but I couldn't tighten it because it's one 
of the crimped ones.

When I took off the clamp and the hose, there was a bunch of grit 
(broken plastic) in the hose and the end of the nipple is missing on 
the tank. See a photo of it here:

http://www.flaminglogos.com/_share/expansion_tank01.jpg

Is the nipple supposed to have a thicker bit at the end to form a 
tight seal when clamped? Is there any way to get a good seal with a 
connector that looks like this, or should I just get a new expansion 
tank?