Hello - i had a fairly minor front end collision, and thought everything was okay until i got home and it started dumping all its coolant on my garage floor. upon closer inspection, it seems as though the transaxle cooler line (circled) was no longer sealed to the radiator, and while the line itself is still seemingly firmly connected, the nut (arrow) split and is no longer attached, allowing the threaded part of the connector that it used to thread onto to push inside the radiator a few mm (the nut itself is quite thin). i believe this unseating was caused by the battery shifting on its mount and putting pressure on the line from the rear.

what i’d like to know is, is this as simple as unseating the line and replacing that cracked nut, and if so, does anybody know where i can find the nut? or will i need to replace the radiator, as perhaps the movement of the threaded connector is indicative of something important broken within? thank you!

 

The radiator needs to be replaced.

 

thank you, i appreciate the reply.

 

Minor accident?

 

yeah, a car went off the road, kicked up a ton of slush, and spun in front of me on the highway; i started slowing when they went off, but by the time i could see again they were too close to avoid so i just focused on not locking the brakes and holding the wheel straight. no damage to anything in the hit, not even a cracked bumper, but the battery moved on its plate and clearly put pressure on the transaxle coolant line, pushing it into the radiator harder than the nut could withstand.

 

focused on not locking the brakes and holding the wheel straight
No ABS?
the battery moved on its plate and clearly put pressure on the transaxle coolant line, pushing it into the radiator harder than the nut could withstand.
Strange indeed.

 

Verify where the leak is. Cracked line?

 

yes abs, but engaging abs will always be worse than threshold braking. always. unless you’re in a modern gt3 car.

and yes i verified the leak lol

 

ABS threshold brakes faster and better and more frequently than you can and at all four wheels individually at once applying different brake pressures to avoid lockup. I'll take ABS for $800, Alex.

 

abs never threshold brakes. it locks, releases, locks, releases, rinse and repeat. it is significantly less effective at stopping than threshold braking, especially in adverse conditions.