DIY Radiator Replacement

[golf2]

I have a leaking radiator on my 1.6 tdi which is like to replace myself.

 

Does anyone know of any manuals or information about doing this job? I've tried searching but not found anything.

 

Thanks!

[silverden]

Have a look here. There's a couple of other vids on Youtube also. 

 

[golf2]

Thanks very much. I'd missed that one!

 

[GreenMachine1.6]

There have been some posts recently about refilling the cooling system on a 1.6. Might be worth a read as it seems there is a special procedure required when refilling the cooling system. 

[Cactusjack]

https://procarmanuals.com/pdf-online-skoda-octavia-iii-2013-octavia-iii-2014-1-6-66-77-81-2-0-105-110-135-kw-tdi-cr/ page 185 onwards.

[golf2]

57 minutes ago, Cactusjack said:

https://procarmanuals.com/pdf-online-skoda-octavia-iii-2013-octavia-iii-2014-1-6-66-77-81-2-0-105-110-135-kw-tdi-cr/ page 185 onwards.

 

That is incredibly useful, thank you so much!

[ApertureS]

The tdi engines need the vent procedure run after doing the coolant drain/refill.

 

This is due to the fact there are lots of water pumps and they won’t all be active all the time so the system will have air locks.

 

yes it’s a pain in the ass but it’s the correct way to do it to avoid any issues

[golf2]

2 hours ago, ApertureS said:

The tdi engines need the vent procedure run after doing the coolant drain/refill.

 

This is due to the fact there are lots of water pumps and they won’t all be active all the time so the system will have air locks.

 

yes it’s a pain in the ass but it’s the correct way to do it to avoid any issues

Thanks for letting me know, is this something I can do in VCDS?

 

I've made a start on replacing the radiator today, it's a pain in the backside. Having to remove the bumper to access the mounts that hold the radiator assembly. It got dark so will continue tomorrow!

 

Thanks for all the help.

[classic]

Can you melt the plastic tabs off the old one like the guy in the video ? He took the front off and still couldn’t release them so melted them off and realised he could have just done that in the first place.

[golf2]

36 minutes ago, classic said:

Can you melt the plastic tabs off the old one like the guy in the video ? He took the front off and still couldn’t release them so melted them off and realised he could have just done that in the first place.

Unfortunately not, the 1.6 tdi is completely different to that TSI in the video.

[J.R.]

49 minutes ago, classic said:

Can you melt the plastic tabs off the old one like the guy in the video ? He took the front off and still couldn’t release them so melted them off and realised he could have just done that in the first place.

 

He conveniently avoided explaining how he was going to fit the new radiator with the bumper still in place, maybe he was going to cut the tangs off of that as well and leave it flapping around.

 

If I have missed something please explain.

[classic]

Presumably they can be pushed in to whatever slot they fit into when installing. I don’t think he conveniently avoided anything, I doubt there’s any great point in him creating a conspiracy theory on the fitment of octavia tsi radiators, where people cut off tangs only to find they still can’t fit their new radiator. He’s just done a quick video to help others avoid removing the whole front unnecessarily. It is probably obvious if you were actually doing the job.

It looked to me that the new rad would fit into its location at the bottom with top of the rad angled back towards the engine and then the top pushed forward to locate the tangs into wherever they go.

I took it that the whole front had to come off to access the “tangs” to properly release them and the dude making the video realised that, as he was renewing the radiator, he could just cut them off. If you were actually dismantling it for some reason and not scrapping the radiator you would have to do it properly.

Edited 17 January by classic

[golf2]

The radiator in the video is different to mine. Mine doesn't have tangs, it has big rubber bushings in plastic holders which can only be removed by squeezing together the clips from behind the front bumper. It's a completely different design. Mine is a 1.6 TDI and the one in the video is a TSI engine with a different radiator setup.

[classic]

Hi Golf2, I understand yours is different. I was just answering JR about the video.

Hopefully you can get yours done ok and the rest of the job isn’t too much more of a pain.

[golf2]

All done, thank god. The worst part was removing the torx screws (2 per side) which attach the front wing to the bumper. There's very limited space. The rest of the job was relatively straightforward. I clamped off the radiator hoses so didn't lose much coolant at all.

 

The old radiator was in a pretty bad state. Leaking from the bottom edges due to corrosion. 

[silverden]

Good work 👍