MkIV Jetta radiator core damage

[nedb]

I recently found myself in a bad situation. I just bought a 2003 Jetta GLS, and it turns out the radiator core support has been damaged by something (parking curb, road debris, a squirrel, I don't know). This has caused stress fractures in the radiator after driving in the hot hot heat with the A/C blasting.

The first symptom was that the engine temperature gauged dropped to the left, showing that the car was cold when, in fact, I had been driving for at least 45 minutes. I turned the A/C down, and behold, the gauge shows my car is running at normal temp.

When I get home and turn the car off, after about 15 minutes I notice a 1/2 cup or so of anti-freeze on the driveway.

So, I take the car to a friend with a lift, and the drivers side core support is damaged.

The car runs fine, but I have loosened the radiator fluid cap to prevent pressure from building and destroying the radiator.

My question is this: Can I replace just the radiator and remove the damaged plastic, or is this just going to land me another leaky radiator.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[nedb]

Upadte: identified the culprit core support damage. It seems to be a single platic ring that holds a high pressure hose in place. So, it seems I've answered my own question, I will need a new core support.

Why did VW make these out of plastic? So when you hit a squirrel it costs $1000 in just labor?

-New question, are there replacement core supports available made of material more durable than plastic? I don't want this to happen again.