Afternoon all,

I took the convertible off the battery tender last week and gave it an Italian tune-up along the A47 before delivering it for its MoT. I'm happy to say it passed with no advisories (as it !Removed! should, with the amount I've spent on it 😆).

As I was hooking it back up to the battery tender, I was struck by the coolant expansion tank looking discoloured, so went on Amazon and, the next day, had a new one (by Febi Bilstein), along with a new cap, delivered, for a total of £26.93.

The switch took half an hour or so - mostly because I was determined to do the job without losing any coolant (I don't have any spare). 

It's pretty simple...

There is a single T20 self-tapper (ringed) holding it in place, once this is undone, the tank can be disengaged from the various locating tabs, the main one being by the filler cap, where it slots into a square hole. 

You then have access to the electrical connector (which alerts you if your coolant level is too low) - it's roughly where the G12 sign is, on the underside of the tank. As with all !Removed! Audi connectors, it probably worked when it was new, but 20 years have taken their toll, and it was a git to remove, but it finally came free.

So you now have the tank loose, connected to the vehicle by two hoses, the smaller diameter one on top, and the larger underneath. They were both held in place by Beelzebub's spring clips, which were fun to get off, and which I immediately ditched in favour of new jubilee clamps.

Before disconnecting the hoses, I used brake line clamps on both, to save losing any coolant, then angled the tank so that the coolant was clear of the hoses before pulling them free. I managed to place the old tank, still half full of coolant, on the floor, whilst I went about fitting the new replacement.  This took about five minutes - piece of old ease. 

I then used the old tank as a bottle, and - with my finger blocking the smaller spigot - poured the coolant into the new tank, before !Removed! on the replacement cap, and calling the job done. Not a drop spilled 😃

I took the old tank out to the bin...

Where it can be recycled into - who knows?

The only snag is...

...that washer-bottle is looking a bit crap in comparison... 🤔

Cheers,

Mike 😎

 

Well done. That engine bay looks impossibly clean. Has Mr. Sheen been assisting?

OK - your Net-nanny needs sorting out. I can't believe it censored b*l*o*o*d*y - but most ridiculous of all, it deleted s*c*r*e*w*i*n*g, when I was referring to affixing the cap... 🤦‍♂️

Edited February 17Feb 17 by gsmdo

3 minutes ago, gsmdo said:

OK - your Net-nanny needs sorting out. I can't believe it censored b*l*o*o*d*y - but most ridiculous of all, it deleted s*c*r*e*w*i*n*g, when I was referring to affixing the cap... 🤦‍♂️

Hi its done it to me a few times, most memorable was when I was trying to explain post injection on diesels for regeneration and I happened to mention R*E*T*A*R*D as in reference to the ignition, it made the whole post scrap.

Steve.

Can't the admin adjust it? 🤔

 

 

1 minute ago, gsmdo said:

Can't the admin adjust it? 🤔

 

 

Hi I don't think they can, hardly going to contravene the indecent publication act.

Steve.

Doesn’t seem so. The ‘language policing’ system is pretty crxp! 
You can enter offensive terminology in initial letter form, and it allows that! 
System package logic I guess. 

1 hour ago, gsmdo said:

Can't the admin adjust it? 

No, he only looks in once or twice per year, and I suspect that is just to see if we are still alive.