[Vwdiesel] radiator flushing.

[dieseltdi at verizon.net]

Shalyn, Did you kick a cow in a previous life?  Your Karma is in a  
really bad place man......  ;^)   I feel for you.  Just keep telling  
yourself how healthy you are riding that bike!   Hayden
On Jan 11, 2009, at 9:32 PM, Shalyn Shourds wrote:

> I think I posted a while back how over Thanksgiving, the road ran out
> from under me and cracked the radiator.  I don't know what it is with
> people leaving fence posts in fields.
>
> This weekend, I finally got around to replacing the radiator.  Turns  
> out
> it's no fun on A4s.  You have to disassemble the whole front bumper
> assembly and the whole works (rad, condenser, headlights, frame)  
> slides
> out a few inches and you're supposed to pull the radiator out the
> bottom.  I finally got it all out and back in.  BTW, those screws are
> all Torx30, not that I had one.  At this point, as penance for having
> put a can of "Bars Leak" in it--it was the middle of the night in the
> middle of nowhere, OK?--I filled it with water and a can of Lubromoly
> brand radiator flush.  I think next time I feel like doing penance,  
> I'll
> say some Our Fathers, Hail Marys, a couple of Rosaries, do the  
> stations
> of the cross, and maybe crucify myself on a pilgrimage to the Holy
> Land.  The flush is a can of surfactant (soap) and it took two hours  
> of
> flushing to get the suds out.  It was like my car was possessed by the
> vengeful spirit of Lawrence Welk.  I finally pulled the thermostat to
> make it circulate faster.  I changed the oil real quick, re-installed
> the thermostat, filled it with coolant mix, and fired it up.  Good  
> news,
> no oil leaks.  Bad news, the thermostat gasket couldn't take being
> re-installed.  So, now, it's 21:20 and I'm going to be riding my bike
> across town to the all-night Autozone to get a gasket.  I'll probably
> have to buy the whole thermostat to get it and throw away the off- 
> brand
> thermostat.  Speaking of, isn't there supposed to be a hole in the
> thermostat plate?  My genuine German one doesn't have one.
>
> It'll be midnight before I finish this and I'm sure my neighbors love
> the sound of a wrench dropped in the darkness.
>
> I thought I'd vent that.  I have received a lot of good advice and
> wisdom from the list over the years.  I don't have much of that to
> contribute back so I figure I'll give what I can and let everyone know
> what not to do :(    The only positive so far for me is that my legs  
> are
> getting huge.
>
>
> -Shalyn
>
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" Those who are willing to sacrifice Liberty for Security, deserve  
neither Liberty nor Security."  Ben Franklin


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