Oil filter housing coolant hose (Mickey mouse) replacement question

[yokomo963]

Hey everyone,

Getting ready to tackle the valve cover gaskets and OFHG on my N54, 6MT car. While I was in there, I was thinking about replacing the “Micky mouse” fitting with an aluminum one (reinz or Vargas) to take care of a known failure point. Car only has 72k miles on it. Is it worth doing the fitting?

Also, to replace this fitting, do I need to drain the coolant completely or can I just clamp the coolant hose and replace the fitting and top off the coolant after?

I just refreshed the rest of the whole cooling system, would prefer not to have to remove the IC again and drain the system.

Thanks,
Eric

[spidertri]

I did an aluminum fitting shortly after I bought my 128, when it had 87k on it. I clamped the hose and topped off after, some coolant comes out from the upper rad hose but not too much. The plastic fitting was very brittle and broke as I was removing it.

[yokomo963]

Originally Posted by spidertri

I did an aluminum fitting shortly after I bought my 128, when it had 87k on it. I clamped the hose and topped off after, some coolant comes out from the upper rad hose but not too much. The plastic fitting was very brittle and broke as I was removing it.

Cool, thanks! Ordering all the parts from FCP this morning.