Misfires and temp lights

[John541]

Hello all,
First, thank you for all the posts, I've been able to get through a lot and save some money by reading through here.

I have a new situation though and would like to lay the whole story out to see if someone can help me focus on the right things.

We have a 2002 Turbo with the 1.8, at least that's what some prior owner painted on it. We've gone in circles with misfires, first 1, then 1 and 2, then 2,3 and 4, etc., etc. I ended up replacing all 4 coil packs and it seems to have fixed that. The CEL went off on it's own before we could go get it cleared and hasn't come back on.

Now, it is the temp light. Awhile back, we had flashing blue. I changed the coolant temp sensor and topped off the coolant with distilled water and some redline water wetter and that went away.

Now to the story, things have been pretty tough and it has been wearing down on both of us. One bad night, I was not in complete control of all faculties you might say, we had a big row and I took off in the Beetle, busting it down a couple streets and over some tracks. I then drove about 30 miles normal and all was fine. Later I busted it down another street, drove about 2 miles and shut it off for about 30 min. Then I took off again and headed out on the freeway. About 15 miles down the freeway I get several beeps and flashing red light. I stopped for maybe 10 minutes, then drove home the 20 miles and parked it. My wife drove it to work next day and for a few days after, always having the red flashing temp light and then we parked it for awhile.

I just got on today to refresh my memory on the flashing red light, checked the coolant and it was down about 2 quarts. I filled it and drove about 5 miles. The temp light did not come on this time, I had the typical blue, going away and then no red. About 4 miles in though, I got a beep and about 10 red flashes and it went off. I pulled in and checked the coolant but it is not down. The was a high sound when I pulled in and idled, like a fan or two was just busting it. I turned off and looked around. I can't see any leaks. I checked coolant hoses and they are extremely hot and I could hear the coolant just boiling or bubbling through the lines.

Also, there is no heat or ac, the blower works, but blows a constant temp, no hot, no cold.

So, Any ideas? I am hoping maybe thermostat. If it's the water pump, I fear we may have to just let it go with everything else we are losing. BTW - if it is the pump, what would be the cost and difficulty of replacing myself?

Thanks much.

[flip240]

have you changed your water pump yet? sounds like the stock plastic water pump is toast

[John541]

Thanks. We have not replaced the water pump. I am hoping it is not that. That sounds like a big pain and expense??

[Smileybug]

How many miles are on the car?

Timing belt and water pump should be done at 60k miles. The job is expensive at the dealer but enter your info in the upper right corner of your box there (in the user panel) to say where you are located. More often than not, there is a good local VW shop that will do the work well and for much cheaper than the dealer.

Also, its not cheap to do the water pump and timing belt but a busted engine or other components costs a lot more to fix!

My guess would be the water pump is toast.

[John541]

Thank you for the reply. The car has 71,288 miles. I have been afraid from all my reading here that it is probably the water pump but hoped maybe it was simpler. I do not mean to be whinning but for understanding, I am concerned about the repair cost because we are in the midst of a bankruptcy, things are real tough and if it costs too much to fix the Beetle, we should just let it go in the BK. I'd really hoped to fix it if I could without too much money because my wife really likes it. I'm not even sure we can keep the payments up if I don't find work soon and to dump a bunch more money in it now and lose it anyway would just suck. So, I'd really like to figure out if I can fix it myself and how much it would be. It sounds like it would be at least $300 if I ordered a kit from metalman (or whoever that is I've read about on here) and find the G-12 coolant. I might be able to swing that but how hard would it be for me to do it is another thing. I can get through it, I think, but don't know what to expect or what other costs I may run into trying to do it myself. Thanks for all the help.