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Coolant Leak

nelson_alexander

New member
Location
Suffolk
Car(s)
Golf GTD
My Golf GTD MK7 coolant level keeps dropping especially when the car is being used. Its been looked at and no visible leaks were seen, it has been pressure tested and all came back fine.
I've been keeping a close eye on it over the past couple of months and have found that when the car has not been used for a couple of days, the coolant level doesn't seem to drop and there are no signs of leaks underneath the car.
Its only when I check the coolant in the morning after I have driven the car to work (80 mile round trip) that I can see the level has dropped. Usually after 400 miles a week of driving I will have to top up the coolant from the MIN mark back to the MAX mark.
Anyone have any ideas as to what may be causing this?

Thanks
 

ScozR

Ready to race!
Location
BC, Canada
Based solely on anecdotal evidence from these forums, my first instinct would be the water pump/thermostat housing as the most common point of coolant system failure on MK7s. I believe I have read others’ pressure tests passing but the problem was still the coolant pump housing. Check the front side of the oil pan from the underside for whitish residue.
 

maxwell183

New member
Location
Barnsley
Car(s)
GTD
Hey i seem to be having a similar issue, i did have a little oil leak during lockdown but oil level didn't drop.
When i came home from work one day i noticed a trail of liquid up the street and found a big pool of coolant on the drive. Theres no pattern to it leaking, its been into two different garages who could not find any leaks. I've just changed the exspansion tank and the car was fine for two days but now the coolant is below min level and theres coolant on the outside of the bottle :-/
 

nelson_alexander

New member
Location
Suffolk
Car(s)
Golf GTD
Hey i seem to be having a similar issue, i did have a little oil leak during lockdown but oil level didn't drop.
When i came home from work one day i noticed a trail of liquid up the street and found a big pool of coolant on the drive. Theres no pattern to it leaking, its been into two different garages who could not find any leaks. I've just changed the exspansion tank and the car was fine for two days but now the coolant is below min level and theres coolant on the outside of the bottle :-/

Hi, I've still not got to the bottom of mine. I ended up taking mine to VW main dealers as a last resort to find the problem as other indy garages that I first took it to could not find any leaks. After extensive tests and investigation, VW found the cylinder head to be warped causing coolant to be burned through the exhaust. 2 weeks after the repair at an extortionate cost I am back to square one!
Taking mine back to VW on Wednesday as its ridiculous for these faults to be happening on such a new car, especially when I maintain mine very well.
Im at a complete loose end as to what the issue may be. As there seems to be no trace of leaks around waterpump/thermostat housing, and under tray is bone dry...
 

JDRU

New member
Location
Nottingham
Car(s)
Mk7 GTD Estate
Hi,

I was going to say water pump, check to see if the tell tale hole is showing signs of a leaking gasket?
Have you checked your oil for the colour? Head gasket? Sounds internal in the engine if there are no visible leaks and a pressure test hasn't found anything.
 

Mk7gtd01

New member
Location
Ireland
Car(s)
Mk7 GTD
Hi, did you ever get this sorted? Having the same issue except my car is also difficult to start after a long drive. Mechanic said it’s coolant leaking into the cylinder under pressure once I stop the engine and not letting the piston move, causing issues. Want to double check before I get anything fixed
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Hi, did you ever get this sorted? Having the same issue except my car is also difficult to start after a long drive. Mechanic said it’s coolant leaking into the cylinder under pressure once I stop the engine and not letting the piston move, causing issues. Want to double check before I get anything fixed
I would get a second opinion.
 
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