My car dumped anit-freeze yesterday after overheating while taking to shop to see why the gauge suddenly stopped working and the red was flashing even when cold.

Shop took a cursory look and said it looks like one of the fittings at the bottom of the oil cooler was/is leaking. And he said the motor will likely have to come out as the oil cooler is on top of the engine under the intake.

While this is not the final prognosis I wanted to get all of your feedback. Does that sound like an engine-out repair and if so what sort of effort/$ does that sound like?

 

I did that replacement exactly! Hose from the heat exchanger(front one) to a plastic elbow which tee's to the right turbo. No engine drop at all. Had to the following in this order.
1a. drain oil, coolant.
1. remove tail lights.
2. remove rear bumper.
3. remove the air filter box.
4. remove Y pipe.
5. remove intake plenum.
6. relocate A/C.
7. remove front heat exchanger.
8. replace plastic elbow ($24) pain in the ***
9. replace 8" hose ($23) easy
Saved about $2k took two days.

 

Hmm, thanks! Was that fitment at the bottom of the oil cooler?

 

There are three of them. The one on the right is the one I replaced. They lower the engine about 60mm and do the others. Some dealers remove the engine.

 

Hi Al, I'm not sure if I have the same fitting that's affected. I too left a trail of coolant on the freeway. Anyway I tried your steps up to #4 and was wondering if you could tell me if we have the same problem. I've attached a pic with notes (i can't get my phone closer to take a picture). I'd like to know before following the next steps if I'm on the right track or is this something I can't do myself and just send to the shop?

Thanks in advance.

 

Is that to the left of intake plenum? I quite can't figure the orientation?

 

Hope these pics help. I've put a yellow box to show the area.

 

Yep, familiar with that area. The big hose has an "O"ring as a seal. You are going to have to drain some coolant out. If you do not it will spill out and drip out to the floor. It seems that you have a very common leak associated with either the right elbow that feeds the heat exchanger or the pipe fitting that is associated with it. I will post a pic that will clear most of it. Let me explain, the plastic elbow has a tee. That tee feeds a small rubber hose that attaches to one of the coolant return hardline to the right turbo. That leaks at that compression fitting. But the case usually is the elbow cracks at the junction to the heat exchanger attachment. That was my case. I would check the "O" ring to that big hose. I see evidence on the components to the back side of that hose with coolant spray. It manifests itself and makes its presence by leaving white residue all over. What is important is the 50/50 mix of coolant. if you keep adding distilled water, it will reduce the effectiveness of the coolant. The coolant has more water therefore the pressure will increase and you will smell coolant. Now for the bad news, if the hardline is bad, you will have to lower the engine about 4 to 5 inches. To replace that hardline. Its item #3.

 

This one takes a while to get. A couple of ramps will do it. I have a two post lift so it was easy but not needed. Again check that BIG hose first. You must of dumped coolant. This model type car with the heat exchangers and the plastic elbows is a weak point. Next two probably will break on me and I will just drop the whole engine. I have an ongoing high RPM start from cold that also everyone has been reporting. That one is a pulse sender off the flywheel. The transmission has to come down for that. Since that has to happen, I will be putting in a new clutch and replacing all of the coolant hoses. I am at 54K miles now and don't need a clutch.

 

Al, thank you so much for the detailed writeup. I'm just about ready to dive in, i'm going to dealer to pick up parts (elbow, hose, and some oil change parts). I do have another question, the part of relocating the A/C and removing the front heat exchanger, I'm not sure where to start with relocating the A/C, is it just unhinging the brackets that hold the A/C lines or is it more involved than that?

 

Before you do anything , get yourself a little round mechanics mirror. It's a telescoping type from snap on. Take the mirror and look around before you start anything more than what you have done. That saved my life. I could see everything. I saw the elbow with the clamp. The A/C is moved out of the way and placed atop something to protect the paint finish. Buy a serpentine belt also. That gave me the hardest time believe it or not. Take pictures of the orientation of the belt. You drain the oil and coolant first. If you don't, when you remove the heat exchanger it will spill oil and coolant. Be careful with the heat exchanger bolts. Use something sticky to grasp the bolts using the socket with an extension. If you drop those, ya in big trouble!!!!

 

Yup I got a telescoping mirror (it's a POS not a snap on). The parts won't be in until monday but I can definitely start working on removing parts. The serpentine belt is a great idea! Mine isn't in a bad shape but could be replaced as well. Can you tell me from your diagram where are the heat exchanger bolts? The one thing I'm not really sure is which bolts of the heat exchanger are. Again, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge in this repair and helping me out BIGTIME.

 

There are four of them. The back ones are difficult but with the 1/4 drive extension you can do it. I hope its the same problem I had. The other elbows will not be easy for you to remove. That requires lowering the engine to be able to get the intake runners off. Do a search on here for the Sharkwerks aluminum elbows.

 

Here is a picture that shows the Belt orientation for you. I made it with Photoshop when I changed mine. Should help you get the new one back on too...

This is for a 997.1 TT...I cannot tell what you have, but looks like it?

Good luck!

DC

 

Yup I have a 997.1 TT, thanks DC!