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Colant disapearing?


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On my Golf GT TDi 115 I have a problem where the coolant will just randomly disapear and the engine temp will go shooting up. If you release the bottle cap very slighty to release the pressure the coolant comes rushing back up into the bottle. Just wondered has anybody had this problem and if so what was solution?

Cheers all

Gareth

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When its cold it sits right inbetween the min-max lines, yeah ive checked it on a level surface. Is it worth getting a pressure test done do you think? I cant see it being a leak as it doesnt seem to actually get any lower, just temporarily disappears

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Could be a big air bubble/leak somewhere - in the rad? When the thermostat opens, the coolant rushes in!

When was the cambelt changed? Is it due soon? If so, might be worth changing the Thermostat and the water pump.

What you could try is to run the engine to hot, and keep releasing the cap until ALL the air has escaped and the level has returned to normal. Tighten the top, try it again after 2 mins or so, so ALL the air has escaped. Once left to cool, check the level and top up as necessary - using the G12 coolant of course.

Goes without saying to be careful of the hot fluid!

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Typically my cambelt was changed 3 weeks ago! When I've been releasing the pressure before I've only been doing it once and the level returns to normal so ill try doing it a few times as you suggested.

Cheers for the advice guys

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  • 4 months later...

My problems have got much worse!! :ffs:

I had my thermostat replaced and this seemed to solve the problem for around 2 months. But after driving for around 4 hours straight my temperature shot up to 130, all of the STOP lights came on etc. The coolant in the expansion tank was way over the max line, and when I slightly unscrewed the cap (to release the pressure) the coolant bubbled over. If I'm very gentle with the car this doesnt seem to happen, but as soon as I accelerate slightly harder (max 3000rpm) the temperature shoots up. This also only seems to happen at speeds of 50+.

I have also noticed even after short journeys that you can hear the pressure seeping out of the expansion tank cap (although I'm assuming this is supposed to happen to release the pressure?) When I take the cap off though and run the engine there are no air bubbles, so I'm assuming this reduces the chances of the problem being the head gasket?

Anybody any ideas on why the coolant system seems to be over pressurising?

Thanks for any help

Edited by gareth3
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No, unfortunately for me the problem started around 2 weeks after I had my cambelt changed, typical hey!!

That is going to be my next move, the cap just doesnt seem tight enough when it is fully screwed in, needs very little effort to unscrew. I'll get hold of a cap asap and let you know how I get on,

Thanks for the advice mate

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Just a quick update, I have changed the expansion tank cap, noticable difference in the effort needed to tighten/loosen it, and there's also no sounds of air leaking after journeys now.

Havent had it ona long enough journey to say if its solved the problem or not but when I do I'll report on here.

Cheers for the help guys, much appreciated

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  • 3 weeks later...

So it turns out I was slightly optimistic.

Did a long journey (about 300 miles!) and the car runs fine. When going up long hills however, the temp goes flying up, and back down again when you're back on either flat or downhill road. This only happens when you go up the hill with no momentum, from a roundabout for example, where you are starting from a low speed and accelerating up the hill (so basically the engine is under higher load) I'm no longer loosing coolant though, just overheating. The radiator has been flushed within the last month and doesnt seem to have any blockages of any sort.

Completely at my wits end with this problem now!!

Edited by gareth3
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