[Coolant Hoses 1.6 FSI] - Stainless fittings

E

Evripidis

Member
Hi all,

This is pretty damn obvious but after having had enough of the weird bendy/finicky pipework with all the brittle plastic Y/T connectors, I replaced the whole lot with stainless Y connectors and high-quality petrocar/calorwater hose.

As you see in the picture, the trick is to replace all the hoses at such a length so that they can support their own weight along with the connectors. Did the same with the oil-cooler hoses by cutting and joining.

20200813_125238.jpg
 
Very nice have you done anything with pipe retaining fittings?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Nope, unfortunately not something I can easily source down here. I tried to keep as many of the original ones as possible on the big hoses at least. There is no contact between anything that I have replaced though.
 
Well, I've returned with another hose-monstrosity. This time it involves brass fittings and high-quality calorwater hose.

This concerns the large diameter hose from the thermostat to the heater matrix T-eeing off to the throttle body. You basically need 25mm ID and 19mm ID hose. The calorwater hose I got is impossible to bend and probably twice as thick compared to the original. The main problem is that you have a reduction in diameter into two different smaller diameters. I have only been able to source brass fittings locally but the best solution would have been to get a T connector and integrate everything into one and get rid of the plastic T altogether. Maybe even discard the steel pipes and use hose in their place.

Feast your eyes:


IMG_20210910_074755_420.jpg
 
This is it 1J0121087D. It should be easy enough to work it out using brass/stainless fittings. Very limited stock here in Cyprus so it is going to have to be done online.

Given enough time you could replace everything in the same manner. The thermal strain on the plastic is too much for this.
 
What is the source of your Y connectors?

If this works for you.... then that is good enough for me?

Been to Cyprus many times (RAF days) and know only to well how hot is gets out there.

Kind regards,
Paul
 
Hi Paul,

It was local manufacturer of high pressure hoses and they stock fittings etc. I could not find such fittings anywhere else and everytime that a hose burst I was caught in a hurry to fix it so I could not spare the time to have a look online. Being stainless they did cost me about 18 quid or so. If I could get brass then I would. You can get them at all sorts of places in the UK though, quite easily.

EDIT: I got charged 50 quid for repairing an a/c hose today. It was a clear theft as I know how much they regularly charge for hoses but this being a/c they had a go at me.

Evros
 
Hi,
Thanks Evros, most appreciated. Do not require them just now, was just future proofing. Hope things are good in Cyprus. Fabulous place.... can almost smell the orange and lemon groves from here, not forgetting the lovely mousaka.

Paul
 
Not as grand nowadays Paul. Only good if you are in retirement with a good scheme. I preferred the UK while I was over. Much more reliable in terms of career progression.
 
Evripidis said:
This is it 1J0121087D. It should be easy enough to work it out using brass/stainless fittings. Very limited stock here in Cyprus so it is going to have to be done online.

Given enough time you could replace everything in the same manner. The thermal strain on the plastic is too much for this.
Click to expand...
I see the notorious Y junction, I thought it might be, I looked into this a few months ago and sourced the very thing in stainless.

image.jpeg


Okay, Chinese but not junk, really very solid, the weight concerns me a little. Took two weeks to arrive, available here...

www.aliexpress.com

23.76￡ 5% OFF|Stainless Steel Water Pipe Fittings Steel Tees For Cooling System For Vw Transporter Bora Polo Beetle For Audi A2 A3 1j0121087d - Cables, Adapters & Sockets - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com

I will get round to writing a proper post.

Andy
 
Andy this is pretty cool!

There appear to be aluminium counterparts for other vag engines for the entire system but not for this one. I cannot find the link right now but I think it might have been from the far east as well.

Your finding is not bad at all!

If you take a look at the picture I posted above; I was thinking more about incorporating the Y junction into the brass reducing contraption I came up with. The hose (8Z0 121 052) from the thermostat comes out at about 25mm ID and results in about 9mm and 19mm. So you could have standard hoses everywhere and eliminate the curbed ones altogether.

Part number 8Z0 121 051 is on its way out and I am thinking about replacing the entire steel pipe assemblies with hoses and be done with it.
 
Hi all,

This is an update to anyone that is interested.

I got in touch with someone in the UK who can fabricate the following "Y" piece:

25 mm OD - thermostat housing side
19 mm OD - heater matrix side
9 mm OD - throttle body side

It will be aluminum or stainless and it will consolidate the bent hose coming from the thermostat and the plastic Y piece junction into one. This will facilitate the use of standard-sized hoses, potentially of better quality than the originals. The fabricated pipework will cost 45 GBP (I am not making any money on this so mods please advise). The contraption that will be replaced is the following
IMG_20210928_153354_401.jpg
 
Good Evening Evros,

Keep up the pioneering work I am sure it will not be just me who is interested.

Some points about you picture.

1. It may be just the Y-piece I have in my hand but the small pipe my Vernier makes 7.90mm OD so a nominal 8mm OD. Likewise the
the other two are nearer 20mm.
2. The two dimensions shown lying on the hoses the dimension arrow tips indicate outside hose OD but I assume you mean inside diameter.

I have been looking at the diameter reduction and concluded it is Audi daftness!!!!! The OD of the pipe coming off the thermostat housing starts at 22mm and increases to 25mm at the fitting and then the special reducing hose to go back down to the 20mm OD of the Y-piece. Why did Audi not just make it 20mm to begin with!!!!!!!!

I look forward to a picture when your bespoke fabrication arrives.

Andy
 
Last edited:
Hi Andy,

Yes I do mean ID. You are correct in that the measurements are what you say they are as I have kept the old plastic pieces and hoses for reference.

The thing is that I could only source the specific calorwater hoses above locally. The shop hasn't got anything else in stock. Maybe a well-stocked shop could have provided something closer. But; I have only been able to squeeze them in using washing-up liquid so they went on tight. You got me thinking about the 9mm hose so I'll double check with what's on the car at the moment. I have got no extra hose left in my bin. I used it all up!

The whole thing cost me pennies with @67boris lending me some Loctite pipe sealant! This new attachment will cost me 45+12 GBP in shipping plus any excise the customs office decide to add on top of it! So not cheap by any chance! Such an amount would buy me enough hose to do 10 cars! I can disclose the details of the manufacturer should anyone else wants to venture into this as well. The car has been back on the road for a couple of weeks now and it has been behaving but I might wait before making any more purchases as a head gasket might be suspect. Should the positive vibes continue I will order it up. It currently averages 48 MPG with me driving it like a wimp on b-roads.

There is daftness built in the whole cooling system for the 1.6 . I cannot fathom as to why such a reducer is meaningful in the form of a hose. I came across a brass reducer in a mazda RX8 and that made a tonne of sense in terms of coolant flow, i.e., if you removed it the car instantly over heated. But this sort of hose-magic coupled to the spider-like plastic thermostat assembly is like a ticking time-bomb!

Evros
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top