hey all, long story short i am doing a tb job and at first i was thinking about disconnecting the two metal tubes which go passanger side of the radiator, one on top and one on the bottom. after removing the bolts they were so hard to pull out of the radiator so i decided to leave it and just work around it. after i tried to re-tighten the bottom bolt so it pushes the tube back in i might have over tightened it and the bolt broke leaving half of it inside. the tube is nice and tight inside the radiator tho.

what do i do about this situation, do i need a new radiator and replace my old one or you think i should be fine leaving it the way it is since the tube is sitting tight inside?


here is a pic of it if it help (http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B5_A4-...diator/ES1690/)

please help me out
2001 audi a4 1.8t fwd
Thanks

 

Sure it's the radiator and not the AC condenser you're talking about? Or do you have a tip car with an integrated transmission cooler?

 

i have a tip car,
i didnt disconnect the concenser one because i have that which is in shape of c==== pulled to the bottom driver side

these two seem to come from driver side back of the engine and they come all the way across to the passanger side of the radiator and basically push in and bolt on to the side of the radiator

the top one is fine, the bottom one is the one that the bolt broke but the hose (which are metal) that goes inside the radiator is tightly in, cuz even when i tried to take that out using a screw driver it was difficult to get it even a few mm

 

That hard looped line from the driver side is a power steering cooler - all A4s have it, but only the automatic cars have transmission coolers. Trace that broken line back and I bet it goes to the tranny. In that case you can't just leave it - it has to be replaced.

 

hey i appreciate your help a lot, here is a pic of what i am looking at maybe this will be better. (5a0dd.jpg at Free Image Hosting)

this picture is basically of the radiator from the turbo side of the radiator's bottom


the line itself is fine, only thing i did was loosen and tighten that bolt which holds it in. when you say replaced, do i get a whole new radiator and replace the whole thing? since the screw is stuck inside or can i just tightly secure this thing with a clamp or soemthing, the line itself is inside and its snug fit it was even hard to pull it out.

thanks a lot, let me know what you think

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure those are tranny cooler lines. If you can secure and seal it, then go for it. If not, you might be able to repair it somehow (JB Weld on the fitting?). If not, the whole radiator would need replacement. Honestly that's what I'd do, just replace it. You should be able to find one from a parts car in the classifieds - just make sure it's from a tip car of the same year as yours.

 

thanks man, i was looking at the radiators they are not that expensive actually like 124$ or something like that. i will first try to clamp it tight and use a sealer on the outside if necessary but its not really out of the radiator so there is not much to seal i am more concern about securing it tight.

can i ask you a few more q's sorry man this is my first time doing a tb job and i am just trying to get things right as much as i can.

the a/c compressor belt (smallest belt)- i put it on and tentioned it tight , the original belt was really tight on, how do i assure to give the correct tention on this line? i dont want to have it too tight or too loose and it difficult to tell since its done manually

when i put tention on the timing belt using the tentioner,afterwards i also used a hex to tighten it very slightly more about 2 mm is that ok or i should have let the tentioner do how much it needed to be? the belt is not too tight when you push down on it