Coolant leak, must be thermostat housing?

[free_guac]

Hi folks, my car is at close to 60K and the coolant is leaking bad. Is it 100% a thermostat housing issue? How can I identify it?

I had a replacement like 20K miles before for free at the dealership when they were working on something else.

Thanks!

 

[ajvorse]

Water pump failure is pretty common on these cars. If you’re at 60k that’s most likely what it is.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Look for staining on the thermostat housing. But the thermostat housing is almost always a slow leak so if yours is leaking bad it sounds like the leak is elsewhere.

 

[odessa.filez]

I have a.slow leak in my radiator, visible below the airbox. I lose just enough to trigger the light every 5k miles or so.

Inspect has much as you can.

 

[OLD MEN RULE]

Why can't VW make a water pump and thermostat housings that don't take a dump?

 

[odessa.filez]

I'm sure they do. If even say,.10% took a dump before 100k, VWs would be banned from cities due to creating major traffic backups at rush hour.

When I owned a BMW 3, people on forums claimed things like 'they all fail before a 100k' and forum people would proactively replace out of fear. At 165k trade in, mine was fine. Most were.

Squeaky wheels on forums..Echo chambers.

 

[mhouck]

Water pump failure is pretty common on these cars. If you’re at 60k that’s most likely what it is.

Can confirm, just replaced my water pump at 105k.

 

[Donkalashnikov]

my gti is leaking coolant as well white smoke came out the hood when i turned it off dont really know whats going on

 

[Donkalashnikov]

my gti is leaking coolant as well white smoke came out the hood when i turned it off dont really know whats going on

 

[vu.]

Definitely the water pump/thermostat housing.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Definitely the water pump/thermostat housing.

Can't say for sure. All most always the thermostat housing leak will be a very slow leak and will be discovered by staining on the thermostat housing. How fast is this leaking?

@Donkalashnikov have a mechanic check this out.

 

[Donkalashnikov]

Can't say for sure. All most always the thermostat housing leak will be a very slow leak and will be discovered by staining on the thermostat housing. How fast is this leaking?

@Donkalashnikov have a mechanic check this out.

I did take it to a mechanic but they dont like messing with vw told me to go to the dealership lol but its leaking close to the turbo i think

 

[jimlloyd40]

I did take it to a mechanic but they dont like messing with vw told me to go to the dealership lol but its leaking close to the turbo i think

Check the coolant fitting going into the turbo. That would be a bigger leak than the thermostat housing and would leak longer after shutdown.

 

[Donkalashnikov]

Can't say for sure. All most always the thermostat housing leak will be a very slow leak and will be discovered by staining on the thermostat housing. How fast is this leaking?

@Donkalashnikov have a mechanic check this out.

I did take it to a mechanic but they dont like messing with vw told me to go to the dealership lol but its leaking close to the turbo i think

Check the coolant fitting going into the turbo. That would be a bigger leak than the thermostat housing and would leak longer after shutdown.

 

[Jose_Gti]

I did take it to a mechanic but they dont like messing with vw told me to go to the dealership lol but its leaking close to the turbo i think

That seems wet to me.