orangefowvay
New member
Hi there!
I replaced the elbow-junction (not sure what to call it) that goes from the thermostat area to the bottom radiator hose on my A3 Jetta, as the original one was no longer up to the job. I've had what seems like a fair amount of bad luck with the replacements that are available, as the first one leaked on the thermostat end after I replaced it a few months after I put it on the car. I torqued the bolts down using my torque wrench, I made sure the surfaces were clean, etc. So I replaced that one with another elbow and the associated connector pipe that goes into the lower radiator hose. That one leaked right out of the package at the junction between the two parts. The o-ring looked fine upon disassembly, but the two parts didn't fit well together even with a new clip holding them together. So I exchanged that and still have two poorly fitting parts that literally move around as though they aren't machined well enough to ensure they don't move when seated together. I'd try to get a replacement at the junkyard but I really don't think that's going to be any better being 20+ year old plastic. I typically try to avoid Uro Parts non-branded parts, but I suspect this is one of those situations where these parts are poor copies of the original? I don't believe you can get the OEM parts at this point, either. So I was wondering if there's a different way to address this problem? Ideally, I'd like to get away from having that junction since it seems to be the weak point.
Thanks!
I replaced the elbow-junction (not sure what to call it) that goes from the thermostat area to the bottom radiator hose on my A3 Jetta, as the original one was no longer up to the job. I've had what seems like a fair amount of bad luck with the replacements that are available, as the first one leaked on the thermostat end after I replaced it a few months after I put it on the car. I torqued the bolts down using my torque wrench, I made sure the surfaces were clean, etc. So I replaced that one with another elbow and the associated connector pipe that goes into the lower radiator hose. That one leaked right out of the package at the junction between the two parts. The o-ring looked fine upon disassembly, but the two parts didn't fit well together even with a new clip holding them together. So I exchanged that and still have two poorly fitting parts that literally move around as though they aren't machined well enough to ensure they don't move when seated together. I'd try to get a replacement at the junkyard but I really don't think that's going to be any better being 20+ year old plastic. I typically try to avoid Uro Parts non-branded parts, but I suspect this is one of those situations where these parts are poor copies of the original? I don't believe you can get the OEM parts at this point, either. So I was wondering if there's a different way to address this problem? Ideally, I'd like to get away from having that junction since it seems to be the weak point.
Thanks!
(The elbow says OEM but when you click on it, it's aftermarket. I don't have anything against IDParts for this, as they don't control who makes the parts. Plus there are less of these on the road when compared to a car with the CJAA, for example.)
