The plastics they use (mine was made by Behr) don’t age well under pressure and temperature (doh, guys it is radiator…)and fail at around 50-60k on most BMWs as far as I know. They weaken and then any little stress will cause them to go - especially around the inlets and outlets because engine tugs on them when you rev.
Well mine had 86k on it so I guess this is just one less thing to have to worry about over the life of the car. It was interesting to note that my radiator was rubber mounted. Is this normal or a bit of VW over-engineering?
Put everything back together last night… And those quick disconnects that are meant to make service easy and resulted in a broken radiator are continuing to cause problems. Maybe after I replace the 32 x 4 mm o-rings in them they’ll seal again. And to think that if VW had just clamped a rubber hose onto a barb on the radiator this whole mess would have been avoided. But noooo, everything has to be engineered to within an inch of failure. Brilliant German engineers my ass. :smash2: My left nut has come up with better designs than them. :rolljerk::rant::wtf::hang:
LOL “german engineering in the house”
that does blow… I never could figure out the way they do some of the things they do. My buddies old Golf for instance was a PITA to get at the light bulbs to replace them. easy way to do it was to remove the battery (I believe)… or you could just jam your arm down there and hope for the best lol
Hahaha and just to make things that much more fun I’ve called Hank, a handful of other parts stores, 2 VW DEALERSHIPS, Apple Rubber Products, and Sealing Devices, and there is not a 32mm x 4mm o-ring in Buffalo.
Time to order a bagful of o-rings from McMaster Carr…
:tup: :tup: I <3 mcmaster… they make my job easier 
Woot! I found o-rings at the Honduh dealership. My car will either be running tonight or at the bottom of the river…
OT: I too have honda parts on my Mitsubishi… maybe that’s why it runs more now…
I wonder if the Accord V6 would fit in my Jetta…
Replaced the o-rings, no leaks. Buttoned it all back up last night. Jump started it this morning and drove to work. Got halfway there and the car died on Colvin. Called AAA (a must for the true VW enthusiast) and got towed back to my house. Ran to Advanced, tested the old battery at not charging beyond 34 CCA. New battery, drove to work just fine.
It’s alive!
New Alternator - $280 shipped
New Radiator - $150
New O-rings for retarded couplers - $5
Gallon of G12 VW Coolant - $20
New Battery - $75
Understanding why VW has the reputation it does - Priceless, er, $530.