Dave_D
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Location
- Gaithersburg, MD, USA
- TDI
- 2015 Passat Titanium Beige six speed manual & Jetta, 1999.5, Tornado Red
I have a leaking heater core and am told it is a long and tedious job to replace it, as the entire dash area must be removed to replace it. This leads me to wonder if there are any acceptable alternatives to heater core replacement.
I know there are sealants of various kinds available, but I would not want to use one throughout the coolant system as it might also cause problems in the smaller passages in the engine or in the radiator. Would it be possible to isolate the heater core, by disconnecting and clamping/plugging the hoses to the core, and then circulating heated coolant/sealant through the core with a coolant heater until the leaks are sealed?
Of course I have no idea how long this would take and I would certainly need to flush/replace the coolant/sealant prior to reconnecting the core and then bleeding any air that managed to get into the system during the disconnect/reconnect process. Has anyone attempted anything like this? Does it seem worth trying? Any particular recommendations for sealants that would be compatible with our G12 coolant?
PS: I just did a google search and it appears that someone else has already patented this!
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5020577/description.html
Dave
I know there are sealants of various kinds available, but I would not want to use one throughout the coolant system as it might also cause problems in the smaller passages in the engine or in the radiator. Would it be possible to isolate the heater core, by disconnecting and clamping/plugging the hoses to the core, and then circulating heated coolant/sealant through the core with a coolant heater until the leaks are sealed?
Of course I have no idea how long this would take and I would certainly need to flush/replace the coolant/sealant prior to reconnecting the core and then bleeding any air that managed to get into the system during the disconnect/reconnect process. Has anyone attempted anything like this? Does it seem worth trying? Any particular recommendations for sealants that would be compatible with our G12 coolant?
PS: I just did a google search and it appears that someone else has already patented this!
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5020577/description.html
Dave
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