Hi,
I'm a very amature mechanic and the jobs I carry out are not much more than fluid/filter changes, spark plugs and the such like.
Today I tried to drain/flush/refill the coolant as when I got the car it had plain water in, no anti-freeze.
The problem I had was I couldn't release the coolant drain at the bottom of the radiator. I didn't realise it was a sort of bayonet system, I was simply trying to unscrew.
In the end I gave up and took the pipe on at the very bottom, engine side.
Trouble started when I ran the engine with the flush in the system. All went fine until the engine reached temperature and then GUSH, the coolant drained out the tap - looks like I'd loosened it trying to undo it.
Now I could see it open and how to close it I thought "jobs a good 'un", I'll close it, refill with proper coolant and that'll be it.
Sadly not, looks like I've damaged the tap at the bottom of the radiator. Fine when standing but start the engine and bring it up to temp and it starts leaking.
No I feel like a prat but more importantly I can't find the part available anywhere.
For clarity, it's the part in the first photo at the top here:
http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/207323-14mpi-changing-thermostat-and-flushing-coolant-system/
I've checked the obvious places such as Europarts, GSW and ebay. Doesn't help that I'm not 100% sure what it's called.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.