Yesterday I was changing my oil when I noticed a calcified pink blob hanging from the plastic bottom pan immediately in front of the engine. I was prepping for a 2-week road-trip in early Sept and had already voiced my concerns to the boss (wife) about POTENTIAL water pump issues. So I feared the worst. I couldn't see much except crusty barnacles clinging to a large hose. But then is occurred to me - the water pump is on the other (passenger) side of the car and all the crustaceans seemed to of formed where the hose attached to the black plastic connector pipe.
Today, I removed the bottom pan to get a better look (just a couple torx screws and 10mm nuts. After knocking off a few barnacles, I decided to get some pics:
It has been about 1 yr since my last oil change and I always do an inspection while under the car. I don't know how long this has been leaking, but there was considerable build-up. I have occasionally added coolant over the years and haven't noticed any recent change. After cleaning the hose/connector with a warm rag, I was able to see better how the hose was attached. The hose had a metal collar that was inserted into the black plastic connector tube that ran-up the front of the engine. The hose collar was held to the connector by a metal clip (as opposed to the good-old band-clamp).
I removed the clip and attempted to re-seat the hose (almost getting a face-full of coolant). Then I ran the engine to operating temp and rev'd it up many times. I didn't notice any fresh leaking so, after about 45 minutes, I shut it off and let it cool. Later I checked again and found a
very slight
amount of slippery coolant - not even a whole drop.
I was able to read the part-number off the hose (98710650131) .Looking-up that part # I also found there are replaceable o-rings. The hose itself seems fine. I am trying to decide whether to just replace the o-ring ($5), or the whole hose ($50). In either case, it is fairly easy. The real work involved will be replacing the lost coolant and bleeding the air out. If I just replace the o-ring, I might be able to clamp/plug the lines to avoid major coolant loss. Then I could just top-up the reserve (a few times) until the level stabilizes. My feeling is that with all the dozens of coolant hoses in these cars, replacing just one doesn't add much value. As I've said - this one seems fine and is still very flexible.
My vote is for replacing just the o-ring and keeping an eye on it. At least that's what I'd do. Good luck.:cheers:
Update: I replaced the o-ring on the end of the hose that inserts into the bottom of the vertical plastic connector tube on the front of the engine. That fixed my slow leak.
Once the car rear-end is raised on jack-stands and the bottom panel is removed the process is very easy - it took only a couple minutes.
place a pan under the work area (to collect lost coolant)
remove the wire clip on the plastic connector
pull the hose out of the connector
slip the old o-ring off the hose end
replace the new o-ring
re-insert hose end back into plastic connector
replace wire clip
test that the hose is held in place by the wire clip
replace lost coolant via iterative burping process
It would of been much easier if I had 3 hands. One to plug the connector end (to stop the coolant loss), and two to remove and re-install to o-ring on the hose. A lot of coolant is lost from the vertical black connector. Not much came out from the loose hose - maybe because I had the car raised high in the rear. This hose is the return side from the front radiators.
I ended-up loosing about 1/2 gallon of coolant which I captured in a pan under the work area. If I had been quicker to plug the connector tube (and had some kind of stopper (tapered plug) ready, I might of lost less than a pint.
It took a couple days to get the cooling system bled/burped. I used a process as described in the water-pump replacement threads. I just kept repeating the cycle of topping-up the coolant to MAX, running the engine for a while (with heater & fan ON full). Opening the bleeder valve to release trapped air.
Note: I tried using a vacuum bleeder tool but my tiny air compressor couldn't supply enough sustained CFM to get a good vacuum. So I resorted to the manual method.
Connector tube (#12) and spring clip (#13)
Hose (#18) and o-ring (#40) - note that the hose has o-rings on both ends but the diagram only shows the one I didn't replace.
Thanks for the update and write-up RSchwerer.
Good stuff and certainly will be helpful down the road for other members.
Eddie
Hi.
Really useful info but I just want to clarify something. I have a leak in exactly the same place as your photos show. It is only a minor leak so no build up yet but I want to fix it. Can you confirm which o-ring is required. Is it part numbered 40 on the drawing you showed (996 106 801 03. o-ring 46,7 x 3,53)
Thanks, Stuart
Well, it's been 6 yrs, and the parts diagram is a little hard to figure the same orientation as real life. I found my receipt and that is the correct part number ($5.47 in 2015).
Thanks for that. I'll order the parts tomorrow then get it done. Tried to start it today and it looks like the battery has failed too, 🙁. The car is a 2011 on its original battery so I guess it was due to fail at some point. Thanks for the help.
Hi All.
Well the new battery is fitted so that's done. I just want to thank
RSchwerer
for his advise on this problem. I would say it is definitely a job for two people. I managed to get my wife to reluctantly volunteer to assist. She was ready with a rag to plug the pipe coming down while I fitted the new o-ring. I recon I lost about a pint of coolant so great result. Much quicker and more cost effective than a total coolant drain. Thanks,
RSchwerer
.
Cheers, Stuart.
