Hi, I have a 96 Golf 1.8 GL that we bought 5 months ago. Everything has been going ok until recently when the radiator started leaking (dripping and steaming). I've managed to slow things down a little by using some of that stuff that I know you're not supposed to use ( stop leak stuff). It seems the bottom of the radiator has corroded and some of the cooling fins are 'soft' to touch. - exposure to salt etc - the rest of the radiator looks good. I got a shock at the quote of replacement with a genuine radiator (=A3120) and labour (=A3200) at the vw dealers near by in london. I also tried a local garage who quoted =A3160 for the labour. They said that with these Golfs you need to remove the front grill etc to replace the radiator which takes extra time.
Has anyone had experience with replacing radiators on 96 Golfs? Is it hard to do for someone (me) who can manage to change the oil and oil filter?
Appreciate any help or guidance.
Cheers Brad