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Coolant hose chewed

jessiewonka

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Berkeley, CA
Car(s)
2016 Golf
A while back a rodent of some sort chewed through my upper coolant hose. I didn't realize this was going on until out on a drive and suddenly getting the "check coolant" warning. A local shop made the repair.

Literally the day after getting the car home, I popped the hood and found the chewing had returned! The second photo shows the superficial bite marks, and note that the liquid isn't coolant but peppermint which I tried dousing all over the hose after reading this in a few places, which obviously didn't work.

Next I tried adding this ultrasonic device under the hood which has managed to avoid any further damage.

My questions: despite the new chew marks being very minor, would it be in my best interest to just replace that coolant hose again? I'm taking a road trip in the coming months and don't want to end up stranded. And if I do replace it, since it's the upper coolant hose, can this be done without draining the coolant first? I assume just a small amount will come out, and that it's not cycling through unless the car's turned on. I would've made this fix myself the first time, but I didn't want to break anything and have little to no experience making car repairs.
 

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gdub09

Ready to race!
Location
Omaha, NE
Yes that needs to be replaced. You can just replace the line then either vacuum and fill the system or bleed it.
 

jessiewonka

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Berkeley, CA
Car(s)
2016 Golf
Yes that needs to be replaced. You can just replace the line then either vacuum and fill the system or bleed it.

So...remove coolant cap, remove and replace hose, squeeze hose or one of the other coolant hoses (?) to circulate air out, turn on car and let idle for a while, then replace coolant cap? I've never done this, and reading around provides various viewpoints.
 

gdub09

Ready to race!
Location
Omaha, NE
So...remove coolant cap, remove and replace hose, squeeze hose or one of the other coolant hoses (?) to circulate air out, turn on car and let idle for a while, then replace coolant cap? I've never done this, and reading around provides various viewpoints.
For the most part yes. No need to squeeze the piping. I'd get a coolant fill kit and air bleed it.
 
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