Radiator fubar

[Mike Arman <armanmik@n-jcenter.com>]

From: CLDEPE@frmail.frco.com
Subject: Radiator fubar

List:

(snip)

I guess I was leaning on the upper radiator hose fitting at the radiator end, 


(snip)

Yup, sure enough, inside the hose was what was formerly a part of the
radiator.  The nipple had broken off about 3/4" from the plane of the radiator.

(snip)

1) what the heck is the radiator made of?  Plastic, paper, corn starch????

Possibly paper mache'


2) where can I find a replacement for said radiator?  I think that a metal one
would be nicer, but $$$$.

Source of metal radiators was discussed on list - price of about $150-175
comes to mind. Local parts yard offers 5K radiators at about $50 - Daytona
Beach - add shipping, and warranty problems if you're far away - try to find
locally. Understand Audi realizes there's a problem with these, and there is
rumored to be a "repair kit" for exactly this problem, and the repair kit is
rumored to not be worth a damn.

I broke mine exactly the same way you broke yours - by leaning over the
engine. Fortunately, I had a damaged radiator with a good plastic end cap -
carefully pried back all tabs, rescued rubber gasket, cleaned everything,
re-assembled radiator (used permatex gasket goo on mating surfaces), crossed
fingers, sonofagun! It works and holds pressure! (So far - one month) 

I did this mostly to simply see if I could do it - I'm still thinking about
the $50 junkyard radiator if this one starts to leak. If I try to bend the
tabs a second time, they'll start to break off, and there's no fix for that.

Poor design - built to be thrown away, not fixed. (Should be built not to
break in the first place, but that's another issue.)

Best Regards,

Mike Arman