1.8t rear coolant flange problem

[Colinpriley]

So I have a 98 b5 a4 aeb engine. The problem is the top bolt of the rear coolant flange was lost and i was going to get a new bolt to put in but kept forgetting. So it only leaked a very small bit, Yesterday i noticed a huge coolant spill under my car i looked at the flange and the bottom bolt had broken and was only held on by a thread. Only about half of a thread is left sticking out of the head. So I fucked up, the car is now undrivable because it can not hold coolant. So the question is what to do now? the clutch needs replaced and i think the bottom bolt could be tapped from the bottom if the tranny was out? The other harder solution in pull the head off and get it tapped which seem like a lot of work. Any other ideas or input of which to do would be great.

Thanks

[Seerlah]

You can get to it with the tranny out from the bottom/back.

[walky_talky20]

You can actually drill and tap the holes with the head and tranny in place. It's been done.

If some of the bolt is still sticking out, there are other ways of extraction. Like welding a nut on the end, or an easy-out.

[AudiB5owner]

Please pardon if this doesn't help your problem. I was trying to remove pcv hard pipe going down parallel to the engine block. Turned out I unscrewed a bolt holding on the coolant flange when coolant began pouring out. I was able to access these bolts by slipping my arm in the space near the brake booster. You will need to find a position that you could light the area and also see. I was able to thread in the bolt with my fingers and had enough space to use crescent wrenches and ratchet sockets. Perhaps you could use a self tapping screw the same size as the original, but this also may be a horrible recommendation lol. You may be able to squeeze tap and die tools if you can find a way to get your hands where the screw is.

[RENOxDECEPTION]

You can actually drill and tap the holes with the head and tranny in place. It's been done.

If some of the bolt is still sticking out, there are other ways of extraction. Like welding a nut on the end, or an easy-out.

I would disconnect the tranny mounts and jack up the transmission a little bit to give you some more working room at the expense of 20 minutes more work.

Or do what seerlah said and do it while you're doing your clutch, You'll have a ton of room then.