German cars have a certain reputation in the auto repair world. For sure, they're well-engineered, and they'll run just this side of forever if you take care of them. But they're well-engineered because Germans love special tools. Tools that do one thing, and one thing only. So the cars themselves are typically masterpieces of design, but seething nightmares to maintain if you don't have every special tool designed for them. Amazingly, though, the job on the four-cylinder engine didn't require a single one.
The radiator drain petcock -- a small, finned piece on the driver-side rear of the radiator -- turned without requiring a degree in automotive engineering. I followed the lower radiator hose to the thermostat housing on the water pump, on the bottom of the engine, next to the oil pan.
VW held it to the water pump with a pair of vertical bolts that were readily accessible from under the car. After unbolting and pulling the housing downward and off the engine, the O-ring and thermostat popped out without a fight.
I cleaned off the thermostat housing and engine mating surface with a clean rag, and installed the thermostat and O-ring in the same orientation as the ones I pulled out. The thermostat housing plugged into place like a puzzle piece, and I snugged the bolts to 7 foot-pounds.
After adding a 50/50 mix of distilled water and regular, green antifreeze -- not G11 blue or G12 pink -- through the radiator cap, I topped up the coolant expansion tank to the "hot" fill line. No bleed valves, no filling through the radiator hose or flipping the car over and pressurizing the exhaust pipe with liquid nitrogen.
Wonders never cease.
