To update further, there is an aftermarket manifold in development which should be available in December, which will retail at the £495 mark,  however the manufacturer is apparently know for making sub standard radiators, no name given however by Darkside. 

Thanks for that. Can’t be much worse. Would have expected it to last more than 120k miles. 
 

a motor factors I contacted did say they could see the Valeo version on their system but that they couldn’t order it as they were all allocated to dealers. It was around £300+ vat on their system 

I'm watching several in Europe at the minute for the AB part number, received an offer for £443+ £11 post from Lithuania, not 100% sure I need it as it seems to have stopped leaking presently and haven't had to top up since Saturday, so either it was the egr cooler leaking of the K-seal the tech put in has done its job. 

17 hours ago, Phil2013 said:

I'm watching several in Europe at the minute for the AB part number, received an offer for £443+ £11 post from Lithuania, not 100% sure I need it as it seems to have stopped leaking presently and haven't had to top up since Saturday, so either it was the egr cooler leaking of the K-seal the tech put in has done its job. 

 

Did the tech put the K seal directly in the charge cooler loop?

 

Although the charge cooler loop is connected to the main cooling system, there is no circulation between the two for obvious reasons. So if the K seal has worked, the liklihood is that it wasn't the charge cooler leaking.

4 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

Did the tech put the K seal directly in the charge cooler loop?

 

Although the charge cooler loop is connected to the main cooling system, there is no circulation between the two for obvious reasons. So if the K seal has worked, the likelihood is that it wasn't the charge cooler leaking.

No in the main system, I want to get an endoscope to look though the IAT sensor hole to double check before I pull the trigger on a new one.

1 hour ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

Did the tech put the K seal directly in the charge cooler loop?

 

Although the charge cooler loop is connected to the main cooling system, there is no circulation between the two for obvious reasons. So if the K seal has worked, the liklihood is that it wasn't the charge cooler leaking.

Are you sure of that? how does it cool the air charge if coolant does not circulate?

8 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Are you sure of that? how does it cool the air charge if coolant does not circulate?

 

the coolant circulates as a sub circuit using the electric water pump and a seperate radiator.

 

Somehow i don't think pumping 90C water round a charge cooler would do much for intake temps.

 

You will get natural migration of water over time through the connection to the header tank but there is no flow as such in relation to the main cooling system as the system is designed to operate at much lower temperatures than the main cooling system

Edited 27 October, 20223 yr by SuperbTWM

Suppose it depends how much the charge cooler is leaking? I’m getting through about a litre or so of coolant every 1000-1500miles. So if there was k seal in the mix then a fair bit would make it to the charge cooler

Yea thats a very good point, that quite a bit of coolant to be losing, its no wonder you saw noticeable wetness inside

 

 

Just hoping the new charge cooler solves it or I’ll be resorting to bunging some k seal in there 

If you are 100% sure on your diagnosis it should.

 

Worst case scenario is you have a good spare to sell on

Mine was loosing max to min in the bottle around the 600 mile mark which allows seemed to coincide with the DPF regen.  

Are you getting much steam out the back? Worth a look at this if not

 

https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.php?threads/coolant-blown-out-from-expansion-bottle.483783/

Well that was a pig. Lots to disconnect. The service manual is useful but was easier just to start stripping things that were in the way in the end. Lots of gunk in the charge cooler. Wonder are these not getting much fresh coolant flowing through them as they are on a separate loop so corroding sooner? Might also be the case that when coolants being flushed they aren’t flushing this circuit? Here’s hoping I get a few more miles out of this one! 
 

 

I assume that gunk is just emulsified oil from the turbo and CCV mixed with the coolant on its way out of wherever its leaking. Would be interested to see where it has failed

 

Do you have access to a bandsaw, would be cool to see a cross section also, that would tell you if there is any corrosion, more likely maybe is failure due to vibration, a failed weld??

Ye it’s just a mix of oil and water. There’s a tiny bit of oil misting in the throttle body. 
 

No bandsaw I’m afraid. It was leaking from numerous spots when pressurised under water. Who knows how far into the cooler they were coming from.  Wasn’t just the one point there were bubbles coming from. 

Any tips on changing it?

I have one on order from partan.eu (04L 129 766 S) for €78 including shipping. This is the same part number as the one currently installed in my 2015 Octavia - The main dealer wanted €1076 for a new one (BA model). I have ordered the gasket from them though (04l129717D) My Octavia with 138k miles is currently losing coolant,the bottle seems to be getting pressurised - if I open the cap the coolant jumps back up after I drive - at the weekend I bypassed the coolant pipes on the intake manifold to test and the pressurising stopped so fairly sure the intake manifold is causing my problem

I’d try and get the official triple spline tool that’s ball ended for the manifold bolts. Lots of funny angles so it was difficult for some. Would also recommend a good mix of extension bars for your socket set. 
 

I found the workshop manual not very logical and jumps about the steps a bit, so ended up just disconnecting pipes that I knew would have to come out of the way. Make sure you have a means of priming the fuel system as there’s a fuel line disconnected. 
 

lots of rags too for disconnecting hoses and a set of hose clamp pliers is definitely needed. 
 

Finally, it will come out with a bit of wiggling, was much easier putting the new one in!

I have a slow coolant leak, confirmed to be inside the charge air cooler using a borescope.

 

I'm wary about using K-seal and clogging up my heater matrix etc, but seeing that the CAC circuit is mostly separate, I wondered if using a smaller quantity of it directly into that circuit is a potential plan?

 

I'm planning to keep the car for some time yet, so not after a quick bodge that'll cause more bother down the line.

 

Can anyone suggest how best to get some K-Seal into the CAC circuit and/or if this is a daft idea?

IMO it’s a daft idea, the charge cooler has to be pretty efficient as it has to handle some very high temperatures coming from the turbo and I feel putting that stuff  around that system isn’t going to be good. 
 

it could potentially block the cooling rad and effect the electric pump also
 

If you are keeping the car just fix it right. 

3 minutes ago, Jono said:

K-seal

No... just no.

 

Dont go anywhere near a car with that stuff.

Whether you put it in a localised area, it flows through the complete coolant system at one point or another.

 

Replace the charge cooler is the only option.

Thought that might be the case.

 

Thanks for the sage advice.

 

Slightly Necro-ing this thread, and happy to start a new one if deemed necessary...

 

Dealers tell me for my Euro 6  Scout 184 I want a 04L129711AC  charge air cooler part.

 

From them, it's a grand - so it goes without saying I want to explore other options!

 

There's none with that exact code on fleabay, so I wondered if anyone had suggestions or knowledge that might help?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

 

This should give you a list of compatible part numbers https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/04l129711ac-intake-manifold-skoda-32179.html