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Hi their I have a 2006 R53 with 80,000 miles on it, just recently replaced the water pump gasket and after 1000 miles I notice this in my engine bay... .. not sure if this is a return heater hose or not but it's under the power steering hose and next to ECU and air box.
I thought it was a loose hose with a bad clamp so i replace the clamp, but it's still leaking.
Also, my car is making a grinding noise when I turn the steering wheel.
__________________ John D
06 MCS - Hyper Blue -
05 Jetta GLI 6-speed Turbo-Off to a new home
11 VW Sportwagen TDI
82 Porsche 911 SC Targa
73 VW Thing - gone but not forgotten:(
I'm not a big fan of those spring clamps, or one time use clamps as seen under the hood of most new cars. I would replace with conventional europr\ean screw clamps. These are the BMW stype that are a little narrower with rolled edges, and not as large and bulky as the domestic "ideal" brand. Once these are in place you can periidically snug them down. The rubber of all the hoses compresses after a couple of years leavingthe hose slightly loose. Sometimes just a turn of the srew driver can fix a slight leak.
Maybe the dealer is right...maybe the thermostat and housing is leaking...clean it up...and look around for the leak after a day or two.....the way drips get blown back, trying to identify leaks from dried drips in an photo is like a diy root canal....more luck than skill...
I wonder if your girnding noise is the antifreeze getting into the steering rack?
__________________ John D
06 MCS - Hyper Blue -
05 Jetta GLI 6-speed Turbo-Off to a new home
11 VW Sportwagen TDI
82 Porsche 911 SC Targa
73 VW Thing - gone but not forgotten:(
The old seals on the thermostats are infamous for leaking. The newer ones have a much-improved gasket. Say you went all the way in to replace just the WP gasket? At 80K mi., I'da replaced the WP, thermostat and checked the SC oil while in that far.
__________________ GP's #1314 & #1772; 2005 Chili Red/White MCS, Ltd. Slip, no S/R, Chrono, Mynes Header, MILLTEK, ALTA CAI, IC Div. & drop-links, 15% HELIX pulley, Sneed Oil Cooler & Roll Bar, HSport Springs & Rear LCA's, IE Camber Plates, SS brake lines, Schroth Pro QuickFits, JCW stress bar, Hawk DTC60 front, HP+ rear. Kosei K1 Racing 7x15 w/ 225/50x15 Toyo RA1; TSW Engine brace; RSpeed 22mm rear bar. WMW Tune; PRW Crank Pulley.
Thanks for all the suggestions...I cleaned up the area in the picture but I'm still getting a good amount of leakage. My coolant reservoir is below minimum after just two days of driving.
Now if it's the thermostat housing should the repair shop be held accountable for the repairs since they just change the thermostat and gasket recently?
They should have been taken care of the thermostat, thermostat housing, and gasketat the same time
Are you sure your coolant tank doesn't have a leak? that could be leaking down the hose making the leak appear to be somewhere else? May want to check that.
Wait a minute! In your initial post, you said they replaced the wp gasket. Now you're saying they replaced the thermostat and gasket? If so, did they use OEM MINI parts or aftermarket?
__________________ GP's #1314 & #1772; 2005 Chili Red/White MCS, Ltd. Slip, no S/R, Chrono, Mynes Header, MILLTEK, ALTA CAI, IC Div. & drop-links, 15% HELIX pulley, Sneed Oil Cooler & Roll Bar, HSport Springs & Rear LCA's, IE Camber Plates, SS brake lines, Schroth Pro QuickFits, JCW stress bar, Hawk DTC60 front, HP+ rear. Kosei K1 Racing 7x15 w/ 225/50x15 Toyo RA1; TSW Engine brace; RSpeed 22mm rear bar. WMW Tune; PRW Crank Pulley.
John D 
GP's #1314 & #1772; 2005 Chili Red/White MCS, Ltd. Slip, no S/R, Chrono, Mynes Header, MILLTEK, ALTA CAI, IC Div. & drop-links, 15% HELIX pulley, Sneed Oil Cooler & Roll Bar, HSport Springs & Rear LCA's, IE Camber Plates, SS brake lines, Schroth Pro QuickFits, JCW stress bar, Hawk DTC60 front, HP+ rear. Kosei K1 Racing 7x15 w/ 225/50x15 Toyo RA1; TSW Engine brace; RSpeed 22mm rear bar. WMW Tune; PRW Crank Pulley.
