I currently am i new proud ( or was proud until problem arose) of a used 01' VW Jetta 1.8t WE with about 98k miles. I got the car about 3 days ago and it had been running perfectly fine. Today i drove it and after picking up my brother from school, there was a hill to exit the school area. SOoo i put a little more force on the gas pedal and was up and over the hill and on my way home. Not even a mile from this, the car started overheating and i pulled over to let it cool down. I looked under the hood and the coolant was not leaking or all over the engine bay. The coolant was just a little under max level. After letting it cool down, i started to head home (thinking it would be fine) but the temp. gauge just kept rising and the CEL came on as well. Now im panicking cuz im 18 yrs old and just got the car not really sure what could be the problem BUT!! i have been doing my hw by reading through vwforum i have found that other people have had this similar problem and they say they had to get their water pump replaced. Now..im not a whiz with this car stuff but does this seem logical? I dont think i pushed the car too to make anything else break hard did I? Well, im gonna have to get the water pump replaced and see what happens, but i still got that damn CEL. Any clues on what it could be? Well, its been a longa$$ story but hopefully you vdub folks can help a newbie out. Im not gonna give up on my new found love for vw's!!
OOh yea and when i go under the hood, i can hear a kind of sputtering sound like the coolant is leaking but i dont see any puddles of coolant on my driveway or nothing. Again i've done my hw and searched vwforum and came up with some answers:
1. Water pump (plastic POS broke)
2. Pressure switch (dont know wtf that is :S)
3. Thermostat/Temp Sensor
*And i still have the CEL on as well*
Im just looking for more info on the problem before i start buying stuff i dont need since money is practically a stranger to me. Thanks in advance for all the help given.
More than likely your water pump impellar broke, this is a common problem and why VW never resolved the issue is beyond me. I had mine replaced under warranty but I'm not sure if its a recall item or not. Your best bet is to call a VW dealership and see if they'll replace it for free or not. Be warned though if they do replace it they'll just put another wp in with the plastic impellar and there is the possibility of it happening again. www.ecstuning.com sells a wp replacement kit that comes with a metal impellar, I'd go with that if your paying for it out of pocket.
what we would really like is a code. that would help us tell you exactly why the cel is on. next question is who you bought the car from. if you "just" bought the car, what were the terms of the purchase. did the seller provide you any sort of warranty. its been what, 3 days. did the seller have any maint records or receipts?
well, i bought the car from a small dealership and yea they offered me a warranty but they said i had 13-15 days to reply back so i think i can still take them up on it which is good. umm not really sure what else it could be but i took my car into the shop today and they're replacing the thermostat but if that doesnt work then im gonna take on the water pump. Thanks for the replies. Hopefully the engine is alright and performance hasnt been messed with. BUT!! If there is any kind of additive i could add to my engine to ensure performance restoration, what would i be looking for??? Thanks again.
If there is any kind of additive i could add to my engine to ensure performance restoration, what would i be looking for??? Thanks again.
If there was any damage done to your motor due to the overheating no additive will cure that. If your just looking for an additive for your coolant Redline makes "Water Wetter" it supposedly helps your coolant work more efficeintly by helping it cool down quicker? I'm not totally sure and I'm not sure you can use it with the coolant we run in our cars. I've used it on some of my older VW's with no problems so who knows
So went to the shop today as they were replacing the broken thermostat(as suggested by my dad) and as i watched my car overheat i came to realize that it wasnt the thermostat that need replacement...damn wasted money...onto the water pump...
Oh yea, im planning to buy the chilton's repair manual and DIM(do it myself O.o)I kno that the water pump ranges from $50-$60 and well do you guys think that the water pump is an easy part to replace? I mean my dads there to help me, but i dont wanna spend any more money by taking it to a shop. This is our first v-dub and yea what'chall think?
Oh, and do you think i can get the water pump with the metal impellar at the v-dub dealership?
i know for a fact that the 2 dealerships I have asked do not carry the wp with the metal impeller. it wouldnt hurt to call them. pretty sure all the dealerships in the states carry just the plastic impeller type. really not too big a deal if you get the metal or plastic, but online is the way to go as far as pricing.
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Engine Overheating!! CEL :(
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