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Shoulda hada Modine!
Well, I had the pleasure of replacing the radiator in the '88 5kCSTQW
last night for the second time in the past couple of years. I learned
a good lesson that I wanted to post to the list so that others don't
make the same mistake I did.
DON'T BUY A CHEAP, MADE IN SINGAPORE REPLACEMENT RADIATOR!
I didn't want to buy OEM because I prefer having a radiator with metal
tanks. I hear that it is possible now to repair the plastic/aluminum
ones, but I've seen how brittle that plastic gets over the years ...
The original rad went out over the weekend and I rushed around to get
a replacement. I ended up with the replacement radiator mentioned
above, with a label that had a brand name something like "CSI." The
coolant level warning light came on last week, so I figured I had a
leaking hose or heater core. I was surprised to see that the rad was
leaking. It looks like several tubes are leaking in it. I have used
Modines in the past in other Audis and have had good luck, so I made
a point to get another. It turns out that I could have gotten an OEM
for a little cheaper (@Carlsen), but I still prefer the metal tank/
brass tube configuration.
Last night when I pulled out the old rad I noticed that even though it
still had some coolant in it, the Modine was considerably heavier.
The good thing about having the rad fail was that it finally gave me
a chance to install that rebuilt radiator cooling fan motor I've had
sitting on the shelf for so long ...
Steve Buchholz
s_buchho@kla.com
San Jose, CA (USA)