Catastrophic Coolant Hose Failure

Topsie

Member
Just had to get towed back home after we popped into Waitrose for a pink donut!!

Call comes over the tannoy for the owner of a black audi registration etc.etc, go to the desk and she tells me there was a bit of a bang and lots of steam came from my car.

Walk to the car and it's dumped all of it's coolant on the ground, tried filling it up and it came out quicker than it went in!

It's the main hose from the top of the radiator to the thermostat housing, oil cooler and expansion tank (obviously it would be the most expensive hose!!) with a new one on the way for tomorrow. Pic of the split hose below.

Nick

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Did you notice if the cooling fan continued to run after the ignition was switched off, as it should when the engine is very hot. If not, one of the coolant sensors or the fan controller may be faulty and this could have contributed to the failure.

It's a process called 'afterboil' and happens when a hot engine is shut off. All the residual heat in the block and head castings etc can cause the coolant to boil once the water circulation stops. Normally the fan controls would sense this and keep the fan running until the temperature (and pressure) is lowered. If allowed to happen over a long period, repeated 'ballooning' of the hoses can weaken them and result in failure (Still a rare occurrence though)

Just something to keep an eye on once the hose is fixed.

Cheers Spike
 
I didn't notice, but I do get a spurious temp sensor out of range code every now and again, which it would seem it related... Appreciate the advice!
 
Mine let go in the same way a few weeks ago, about half a mile from home arrived home in a cloud of steam. Replaced the part and coolant.

Then a week later the water pump gave up, I wonder if the two are linked? Worth checking your water pump as well just in case.


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She had a new water pump about 3 months ago so I hope not! I'd urge people with FSI's to check they're hoses, I'll put a side by side comparison with the new hose to see if it's obvious where the hose was swelling.
 
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