VW Passat 1.9TDI 130 Losing Water

[doigy]

Hi guys i am at my wits end with my Passat. It is losing water from the expansion tank but only on motorway journeys. If i drive around town it wont lose a drop but as soon as i hit motorway speeds it dumps most of the tank on my 60 mile round trip to work. The car has covered 89,000 miles and over the past 3 months i have had the Water Pump, Thermostat, Tank and cap replaced and had the system flushed. VW also carried out several tests to try to diagnose the cause but the tests have shown nothing but have certainly made a severe dent in my wallet . I have noticed a lot of people have the same issues with these cars and i am looking for any advice you guys have on curing this.

[996jimbo]

They do very commonly suffer corrosion to the radiator in the bottom corners, especially drivers side. Have a good look down there for evidence of coolant loss. Though if you've been to a VW garage one would assume they would have looked there. Still, it can't hurt just to check for yourself.

The other possibility would be a head gasket but again one would assume that the garage had tested for that?

[Corgi]

I don't want to scare you doigy but my Ibiza FR TDi 130 (ASZ engine with 88k on it) is doing exactly as the same as you describe. Specifically in my car's case when the engine's put under load i.e. driving around or above 80mph on the motorway it blows coolant out of the reservoir bottle due to high pressure. Normal day to day speeds it doesn't lose a drop.

I have had the car down my mechanics garage and following his testing it he says the head gasket has gone. My mechanic hooked up an expensive looking pressure test gauge onto my coolant reservoir bottle and put the system under pressure. Sure enough the pressure dropped in front of my eyes on the gauge - which apparently it shouldn't have done. There are no external leaking pipes or gaskets we could find.

The end result? My car's booked in to have its head gasket replaced next week with the chance, so I'm told, that the head may be cracked as well. As a minimum it'll need pressure testing/skimming etc if okay, but I may need another block or head if there is a crack. Happy days and I'm praying the head's fine

Doigy I hope your Passat isn't in the same boat as my engine and that it's something simple like a leaky pipe or something. Sorry if I am pre-empting fate with your motor. All the Best Fella.

[doigy]

Thanks for replying so quickly. If you don't mind me asking what is the ball park figure for your head gasket replacement? I fear my car may be heading the same way.

[Corgi]

My mechanic told me £450-550 but he usually underestimates

This is a breakdown as much as I can think of and from what my mechanic has said...£70 for gaskets, £70 for pressure test and head skim (I might have got that wrong, it might be £70 for pressure test AND £70 for skim). Plus the rest being labour. We didn't talk too much coz he could see I was open mouthed about the costs and I was looking particularly unhappy about things.

I'm going to get the water pump, thermostat, and timing belt changed at the same time although I'm not certain it's absolutely necessary to do so? My engine's done 88k and the cam belt etc. was previously changed at 65k...I suppose it doesn't need changing now but I'm trying to make sure everything's fine once the job's done with as minimum risk as possible till the next cam belt change at 120k. I already have oil, filter, coolant sorted out in advance.

I should add Doigy that I tried a product called 'Steel Seal' to fix the HGF problem. It didn't work for me despite following the instructions to the letter. Some people say it works for sure, but it didn't for me. It was worth the £27(on ebay but £35 in motor spares shops) to give it a go I guess. I'm not going to say it's snake oil but have a look into the product as it may well work for you and save you a packet or two. There's plenty on the net and youtube about it.

I have budgeted £600, but if there's a crack in the head or block I'm knobbled. It'll be way more expensive I would expect and may have to find another block and/or head I'm on pins with the repair and hope it'll work out okay...

All the best Doigy, let me know how you get on fella and I'll do the same for you. Cheers matey.

[phil miller]

when was the water pump replaced and did it have a metal impellor?

[Corgi]

when was the water pump replaced and did it have a metal impellor?

65K and I'm not sure about the metal impeller to be honest. The coolant seems to be circulating fine at tickover. Do you suspect my water pump's broke/dodgy?