Radiator Coolant Vent Line

[Ben]

Hi all, I discovered a coolant leak coming from the O/S front wheel arch recently, instantly thought it must be one of the infamous coolant hoses finally giving up the ghost (I've replaced one on the N/S previously, but not all of them yet) but on closer inspection it turns out to be leaking at a connection of what I believe to be the radiator coolant vent line.  Not sure why its suddenly started to leak but seems to be very loose fitting on the metal pipe it joins to - feels like a seal / O ring has given up the ghost maybe.

So I've got a new vent line from my local OPC (at a not too bad cost of £26 delivered inc PCGB discount) but wondered if anyone had ever had to replace this before and / or had any tips before I get stuck into it this weekend.

Cheers

Ben

[Ben]

Just to close this one off - in the end I had to replace both the vent line as above, and the adjoining pipe which runs horizontally across the front of the car behind the bumper to the opposite wheel arch, making the connection to the other radiator.  This was due to the plastic connector having snapped off the horizontal pipe and now being stuck in the end of the vent line (this was the cause of the leak).

Parts were pretty cheap - about £50 delivered for both from my local OPC with PCGB discount.

Its just a case of carefully unclipping and removing the horizontal pipe through the wheel arch and feeding the new one back through -  top tip from my mechanic, attach a piece of long cable or wire to the end of the old pipe as you are removing it, which you can then use as a breadcrumb trail to feed the new one through behind the bumper, as it is very cramped in there with all the other coolant pipes and so on.

Fitting the other vent line is a simple swap, only requires the lower front portion of the wheel arch trim to be removed to access the connection to the radiator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by Ben

[duncan]

Said in the spirit of glasnost.

Looking at the connector to the top hose, it’s a bit crusty. I’d suggest a ‘programmed’ replacement, perhaps sooner rather than later. Check your coolant level regularly and once you have to top up regularly- act. 

 

[Ben]

Yes you are right, I should probably be a bit more proactive on that one  

 

Although since that photo was taken I've cleaned up the connection, and put some rust protection on it, but at some point it will need to be replaced.

 

Interestingly, the identical connector on the pipe on the opposite (passenger) side started leaking not long after I bought the car, about 3 years ago, so I got it replaced but didn't have time to do the rest, so thought I'd wait till the others started causing a problem and get them all done at the same time.  None have leaked so far, not sure if that's just luck or if the passenger side hose has more of a tendency to fail.