Coolant Leak?

[aloha_from_bradley]

That’s crazy. That coolant is clearly disappearing somewhere.

Yeah, I said the same thing. Some cars just drink coolant, some of it evaporates, though usually very small amounts. But to smell it the way that I do, I suspect it seeping out like some others have mentioned here. Just at a very slow rate and it likely evaporating when hitting hot parts of the engine. This is why there are no visible signs of a leak but can easily be smelled.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I had the car back to the dealership today. We got it up in the air, took the belly pan off, and looked around really well for a leak.

Both my service advisor (retired BMW tech) and the VW technician both didn't think there was a leak. We can smell coolant, I'm loosing some out of the reservoir, but we can't visibly see anything. There is a dried up white substance on the bottom of the belly pan in the creases that looks like coolant to me. The tech didn't seem to think so.

What did the tech think the dried up substance was? Had to come from somewhere.

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

What did the tech think the dried up substance was? Had to come from somewhere.

Said it looked like calcium buildup. Possibly from washing the car / hard water. It would have to be the hardest water I've ever seen.

I had a similar issue around the time I bought the car. The coolant reservoir leaked slightly and some drops of coolant hit the top of the engine cover. I can tell you for a fact that the pink coolant dries to a white crystalized substance. Same stuff I see on the underbelly tray.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I don't know how water from washing your car would leave calcium deposits where you're seeing it. Plus even if it's water from a car wash it seems like it would dry very quickly on a warmer up engine and wouldn't leave calcium deposits. Did they even look at the area around the thermostat housing?

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

I don't know how water from washing your car would leave calcium deposits where you're seeing it. Plus even if it's water from a car wash it seems like it would dry very quickly on a warmer up engine and wouldn't leave calcium deposits. Did they even look at the area around the thermostat housing?

It's not hard water. They are full of shit. Just wanted to get me out of there.

We took a good look around. Couldn't make a discernible confirmation of where the leak is coming from. Like I said, it's probably just sleeping out of the housing and evaporating.

Guess it's going to take some kind of major event to get them to be more serious about fixing it. Coolant all over my garage floor or an overheating incident. Whichever comes first.

 

[jimlloyd40]

It's not hard water. They are full of shit. Just wanted to get me out of there.

We took a good look around. Couldn't make a discernible confirmation of where the leak is coming from. Like I said, it's probably just sleeping out of the housing and evaporating.

Guess it's going to take some kind of major event to get them to be more serious about fixing it. Coolant all over my garage floor or an overheating incident. Whichever comes first.

Crappy dealer.

 

[The Fed]

Crappy dealer.

I probably have a leak since I lose coolant from the bottle regularly. I used to smell it a lot but rarely notice it anymore. I know my dealer will replace it, and I know the tech, but it's not bad enough for me to be concerned about. I had a leak where the coolant hose went to the afterrun pump on my MK4, but it crusted up and stopped leaking. I never noticed it since I never looked for it. The dealer's foreman pointed it out to me. When he told me it would cost $200 (back in the mod-2000's) because it was hard to reach told him it wasn't bothering me. Besides that, it's not that hard to get to.

 

[jimlloyd40]

I probably have a leak since I lose coolant from the bottle regularly. I used to smell it a lot but rarely notice it anymore. I know my dealer will replace it, and I know the tech, but it's not bad enough for me to be concerned about. I had a leak where the coolant hose went to the afterrun pump on my MK4, but it crusted up and stopped leaking. I never noticed it since I never looked for it. The dealer's foreman pointed it out to me. When he told me it would cost $200 (back in the mod-2000's) because it was hard to reach told him it wasn't bothering me. Besides that, it's not that hard to get to.

What does that have to do with his crappy dealer?

 

[aloha_from_bradley]

What does that have to do with his crappy dealer?

He stated that he knew his local dealer / tech and they would have replaced the part for him. Not exactly sure what this means, though. Techs are required to meet certain criteria in order to warranty parts. They don't just go replacing things because they think it's a problem. I've learned this the hard way.

The techs / service advisors get paid by actually replacing / fixing things that are legitimately broken. They have to send the parts back to VW once something is deemed replaced under warranty. A Dealership wouldn't just replace something because you think there is something wrong. It could leave them liable if there was nothing wrong with the part. Never seen this happen regardless of how well you knew the tech. This is why dealerships are so strict about warranty work. It's gotta match up.

Bottom line is the part has to meet the criteria of which VW has established to be deemed replaceable under warranty. You may know there is a problem, but unless it's in line with what VW seems to believe is "warrantable," then the dealership probably won't be replacing the part. Now, if the car is slinging coolant everywhere and there is an obvious failure, they will take care of it. It's essentially the manufacturers way of saying "no car is perfect and some of them will leak a little bit... we aren't fixing those. We are only fixing the ones that are really bad." Shitty, I know. But it's the truth.

 

[The Fed]

He stated that he knew his local dealer / tech and they would have replaced the part for him. Not exactly sure what this means, though. Techs are required to meet certain criteria in order to warranty parts. They don't just go replacing things because they think it's a problem. I've learned this the hard way.

The techs / service advisors get paid by actually replacing / fixing things that are legitimately broken. They have to send the parts back to VW once something is deemed replaced under warranty. A Dealership wouldn't just replace something because you think there is something wrong. It could leave them liable if there was nothing wrong with the part. Never seen this happen regardless of how well you knew the tech. This is why dealerships are so strict about warranty work. It's gotta match up.

Bottom line is the part has to meet the criteria of which VW has established to be deemed replaceable under warranty. You may know there is a problem, but unless it's in line with what VW seems to believe is "warrantable," then the dealership probably won't be replacing the part. Now, if the car is slinging coolant everywhere and there is an obvious failure, they will take care of it. It's essentially the manufacturers way of saying "no car is perfect and some of them will leak a little bit... we aren't fixing those. We are only fixing the ones that are really bad." Shitty, I know. But it's the truth.

I forgot to mention the foreman at the dealer when I had the MK4 was an ahole and I didn't know the tech at the time. Now I know both. I had the tech remove the lower cover years ago and look for leaks but there were none, so it could be somewhere else. So many places on our cars where a tiny leak would vaporize.

 

[Petethegrk]

Yes it's coolant it leaks when it hot .

I had the car back to the dealership today. We got it up in the air, took the belly pan off, and looked around really well for a leak.

Both my service advisor (retired BMW tech) and the VW technician both didn't think there was a leak. We can smell coolant, I'm loosing some out of the reservoir, but we can't visibly see anything. There is a dried up white substance on the bottom of the belly pan in the creases that looks like coolant to me. The tech didn't seem to think so.

 

[Petethegrk]

Yes it's coolant it leaks when it hot .

From the pump/tstat

 

[jimlloyd40]

From the pump/tstat

Thermostat housing.

 

[uberdot]

My engine bay has been covered with dried coolant splatters for a little while now. Thought it was rain puddle oversplash and water sloshing from the belts. It rains a lot here but I was getting it in weird places that rain water shouldn’t be. It’s literally everywhere in my bay now; under, on top, next to and beneath everything. The coolant is dropping imperceptibly and I cannot find any wet leaks anywhere save on top my intake manifold but that’s because I had that done under powertrain recently and they had to disconnect some hoses to reinstall.

Would a rented pressure tester give any clue to where it’s leaking or would it still be faint and hard to find?

 

[jimlloyd40]

My engine bay has been covered with dried coolant splatters for a little while now. Thought it was rain puddle oversplash and water sloshing from the belts. It rains a lot here but I was getting it in weird places that rain water shouldn’t be. It’s literally everywhere in my bay now; under, on top, next to and beneath everything. The coolant is dropping imperceptibly and I cannot find any wet leaks anywhere save on top my intake manifold but that’s because I had that done under powertrain recently and they had to disconnect some hoses to reinstall.

Would a rented pressure tester give any clue to where it’s leaking or would it still be faint and hard to find?

If the thermostat housing is leaking it won't show up in a pressure test. It takes being up to temperature and driving the car. The thermostat housing leak is a very slow leak. TThe first time I had to add coolant it took another 1500 miles to need to be filled again.