Still leaking coolant!!!

[middknight1]

SO AFTER REPLACING THE WATER PUMP AND THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING I AM STILL LEAKING COOLANT! EVEN AFTER AN HOUR AND A HALF RUN TIME WITH NO LEAKS. AFTER A 30 MIN DRIVE WITH NO LEAKS. I GET IN TODAY AND GET TO WORK BOOM LOSE ALL COOLANT DOWN THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE COMPARTMENT. here's the thing (and i know i will get some hate on this) but, when i replaced the therm housing i pinched the o-ring causing massive leaking while going down the freeway at 75 MPH. yes i finished the drive home to find her in really bad shape. i replaced the housing and the o-ring (there was considerable damage to the houseing and o-ring after being so hot). changed the oil and coolant. no water in oil just really really black. i am hoping that all i did was mess up the o-ring on the water pump so now i get to re-do all that work again. anyone else have a suggestion of what to check and where as well? heart valve no leak. no other hoses leak. just on the passenger side of the compartment

[Deserion]

Is your coolant tank cap falling apart? It was on my old 2.0L, to where I could scratch the threads off with my thumb. A replacement from an autoparts store is less than $10. Worth a try.

So it's the thermostat seal that was pinched? Is the thermostat still good? I had a case on the 2.0L where it would stick closed intermittently, and cause the car to boil over (via expansion tank).

[middknight1]

it appeared that the therm was still good. i can try to replace that as well. the one i got was a higher rating than the one that i pulled out. it does look to boil over from the expansion tank but would that boil over leave no coolant in the expansion tank? the thermostat i removed was rated at 82C the one i put back in was 87C. i know the 87C is the OEM equipment on the car. any thoughts?

[middknight1]

so after researching and going through everything that i have done to Betty, i am left with thinking i have blown a head gasket. i have not done a leak down test to confirm at this point. i am debating if i want to do the work myself or just take her to a mechanic. not that i can't do the work, just missing some tools to complete this project and i don't have the time to dedicate to this repair at the moment since she is really my only mode of transport. she is not being driven at the moment. anyone have any thoughts they would like to throw into the ring?

[cep]

You could very well need another thermostat housing. You got it hot while it was installed incorrectly and they seem to be prone to warpage.

That would be the first thing I'd try. They're cheap.

[DZLBUG]

How about the o-ring that is on the metal coolant pipe on the front of the engine? It should be somewhere under the thermostat area.

[middknight1]

yes i already replaced the thermostat housing again. i had to the previous was warped beyond use. the other o-ring on the metal pipe seems good. the problem is now boiling out of the expansion tank after a 20 minute drive. seems the cooling system is pressurizing causing the boil over. but i wont know until i either have it leak down tested by someone or do a compression test. i think the problem lies in cylinder 2. we will see first step is the testing to verify i would imagine or just tear her down and visually inspect and replace anyways since its off.

[DZLBUG]

You probably warped or cracked the head from the initial overheat.

[middknight1]

yeah thats what i am afraid of

[middknight1]

when i do get the head off, what is the best place to take it to have it tested and what not?

[2005Beetle]

When I blew a head gasket on my Ford Ranger I took the heads to a machine shop and the machinist handle it.

[middknight1]

Originally Posted by 2005Beetle

When I blew a head gasket on my Ford Ranger I took the heads to a machine shop and the machinist handle it.

did the aliens steal it while it was there?
sorry i couldn't resist!! okay serious now thanks for the info thats what i was thinking just wanted to make sure there wasn't something out there that specialized in our lil cars

[DZLBUG]

Originally Posted by middknight1

when i do get the head off, what is the best place to take it to have it tested and what not?

All you need is a good set of eyes, a good straightedge and some feeler gauges. There are specs in the Bentley manual.

You're going to need a good set of triple square bits for the head bolts, as well as the correct bolt removal pattern (Bentley). New head gasket, new head bolts among other things.

If the head needs work, send it to this guy. The quality and value of his work will far outweigh the cost and inconvenience of shipping it halfway across the country. He can also likely get you all the parts you need for reassembly for a very fair price. He primarily does TDI's, but does good work with other VW engines as well.

Frank's VW TDI's, LLC
1007 Olive St.
Lockwood, MO 65682
417-232-4634
FranksTDIs@sbcglobal.net

[middknight1]

Originally Posted by DZLBUG

All you need is a good set of eyes, a good straightedge and some feeler gauges. There are specs in the Bentley manual.

You're going to need a good set of triple square bits for the head bolts, as well as the correct bolt removal pattern (Bentley). New head gasket, new head bolts among other things.

If the head needs work, send it to this guy. The quality and value of his work will far outweigh the cost and inconvenience of shipping it halfway across the country. He can also likely get you all the parts you need for reassembly for a very fair price. He primarily does TDI's, but does good work with other VW engines as well.

Frank's VW TDI's, LLC
1007 Olive St.
Lockwood, MO 65682
417-232-4634
FranksTDIs@sbcglobal.net

being from missouri originally i know where he is!! i wil contact him when i get a chance! i knew i like you for some reason! so next to buy is good straight edge better feeler's than what i have.(they a=have been around the block too many times) and get the bentley..... not sure when i am going to tear into her. prob after the new year sometime. i might even take some pics and put on here!!!!!!

[middknight1]

update: almost have the head off started Thursday but it's been actually raining out here in San Diego so progress has been slow going but then again i am taking my time anyways. just have to unhook the exhaust manifold and take off the heart valve, then remove the head. and i did it all without removing the hood and cowl!! have a mechanic going to send the head to his machine shop for me to see if i really messed things up or not. hopefully not too bad and the head can be milled. we will see. i will keep everyone updated might even put a few pics on here too!

[wawalker]

Originally Posted by middknight1

...the head can be milled. we will see...

Actually this is not good practice for this type of head.

Here's why: the overhead cam rides directly in the head, so if you mill off some material on say the opposite corners of the aluminum head when it is not torqued down to the iron block, then retorque it down to your block with its' new flat face you have tweeked the cam bore alignment and could possibly have a locked up cam when you put it in the head, or crazy wear on the cam bearing surfaces or even break the cam because it is being forced to flex every time it rotates.

In an old VW aircooled or most V type engines you can align bore the bearing saddles and install bearings that have a larger outside diameter, unless things have changed this is not an option for your head as traditional replacement bearing shells are not used.

Those Ford Ranger heads mentioned earlier and a VW overhead cam head are entirely different animals and require a completely different approaches.

These heads must be straightened by heating the head up to a temperature where the aluminum is "in a plastic state" and can be reset to it's original shape or not as good of a solution a heavy torque plate is used to force it flat and then if it's not too badly tweeked a very very light pass is made to simply clean the mating surface. This will only work and seal very slight head tweekage--specs are in Bentley as to what is acceptable, good luck.

[middknight1]

yeah got the Bentley have the specs and everything. so basically if the head is warped then best to find a reman head or similar huh? seems like the process you mentioned above is not widely practiced by most machine shops???? not that i doubt what you are saying, nor am i trying to offend you personally, just a creature of research, but did you learn that first hand, or how did you come across that information? i mean it makes total sense about the cam and everything you said just curious is all.

[DZLBUG]

No worries if you send the head to Frank, he knows how to work them. If the head can be fixed, he can fix it. If he can't fix it, he'll let you know.

But Bill is right, you have to do these the right way. I made the mistake of going to a local import machine shop, he claims they are the best in the 5 state area. Well I call BS. 60 miles after installing the head, my camshaft snapped in two because the bearing saddles were out of alignment. They admitted fault but never made it right.

Bottom line, send it to Frank.

[middknight1]

right on well once i get it off tomorrow i will call frank on monday and get the skinny on what i need to do. thanks for the advice guys i will keep y'all posted!

[guitstik]

While you have the head off and are getting machine work done to it, you might as well have them open up the combustion chambers and install bigger valves.