Silica bag burst.....

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Nelka

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Hi all - new member here & a problem to report with my first post.

I bought my car around 6 weeks ago from a decent local garage. Took it to a specialist today for a major service & was given an advisory that the silica bag in my coolant tank has burst. I was picking the car up near the end of the day & was in a bit of a rush but from the limited conversation I had with the guy on the desk, he reckoned that 9 out of 10 times this happens, the heater matrix needs replaced.

My heater is blowing hot air no problem so as I see it the supplying garage may be within their rights to just flush the coolant & replace the coolant tank.

Anybody have any experience of this? As the heater is still working, is matrix replacement totally necessary?

2015 car with 28k miles by the way.
 
Lots of post about it on here.
I would get the coolant properly flushed out ASAP so it doesn’t block anything like your heater matrix.
 
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audi upgrades
I would certainly get the coolant replaced ASAP, I took my bag out a while ago.
 
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MikeParkin said:
I would certainly get the coolant replaced ASAP, I took my bag out a while ago.
Click to expand...
Have there been any, or are there any known, drawbacks to removing the bag?

Sent from my HD1913 using Tapatalk
 
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Thanks for all the replies so far.

Car is going back tomorrow for a coolant flush, hopefully the matrix has escaped unscathed.
 
As an aside, some crazy differences in price from a few garages I phoned today for a flush & replacement expansion tank. Cheapest was £115, most expensive £325!
 
audi upgrades
I had a feel of my silica bag in the bottle. It looks and feels quite robust. Why do they fail and leak?
 
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Matt Titanium said:
It looks and feels quite robust.
Click to expand...
They are.

When I had that peculiar issue with the header tank and its contents (and to this day I still don't know what went wrong) I got my bag out, put it on the bench - easier if I was taller - and having examined it minutely I poked and squeezed it so hard that it made my eyes water.

It's difficult to see how it could burst accidentally, I must say, but peeps say it does.

Fortunately mine didn't.

It went in the bin anyway.

.
 
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Nelka said:
As an aside, some crazy differences in price from a few garages I phoned today for a flush & replacement expansion tank. Cheapest was £115, most expensive £325!
Click to expand...
A new tank should be no more than about thirty notes, even from a dealer.

I expect the expensive place is flushing the system with Evian. You should ask them.

.
 
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slinemfc said:
Have there been any, or are there any known, drawbacks to removing the bag?

Sent from my HD1913 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

The bag is apparently there for longevity of the coolant, otherwise just change it a bit more regularly.
 
I’ve also read that it’s to preserve the cooling components. No idea which is true, maybe both? In any case, I’m certainly going to check my bag now!
 
audi upgrades
I have a 2013 A4 and I have been plagued with coolant problems since last October. My EPC light and coolant goes on after multiple replacements and flushes. Last year they had my car from the end of October until mid December trying to flush this debris out. Two more times since then. This last time I had my car in the shop for over 4 weeks replacing and flushing the debris out and now they say it has clogged my waterpump and thermostat. Audi is the one who replaces my coolant a couple of times after their recalls. Yet I’m still dealing with this problem and paying $$$$
 
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