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  1. Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    I have a 2009 mk 2 Sharan that overheats every time I tow a caravan (generally after about 2 hours). The VW dealer has had it in twice but can't find any problem. He said he has done a block test for head gasket, checked water circulation for water pump and radiator, and checked that water is returning through little pipe to expansion tank. Drove back from Bournemouth last weekend: After 20 miles STOP check coolant message came on. Needed to add 1 litre of water.
    36 miles later same thing.
    28 miles later temperature in red and STOP message. Water boiled over from expansion tank. Put 2 litres in.
    2 miles later temperature red again. I pulled over and temperature returned to 90. Stop sign appeared. No water in expansion tank. Released cap and water bubbled up into expansion tank to full level then bubbled back down. Put another litre in engine. Started car and revved for couple minutes. Stop sign came on. Looked at expansion tank which was empty. Put another 2 litres in.
    16 miles later temperature in red. Water bubbled over and added 3.5 litres.
    38 miles later Temperature gauge normal. Stop light came on. No water in expansion tank. Released cap and very small amount of discharge. Water level at normal then dropped. Turned on engine and revved a few minutes and had to put 1.5 litres of water in.
    30 miles later same thing. Added 3.5 litres.
    11 miles later STOP message again.
    Does anyone have any suggestions?


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  2. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    Putting that amount of water in its got to be boiling over or leaking somewhere,my a4 gave me problems once towing and it was the water pump,how long has it been on the engine?my theory was when towing the engine's working very hard and generating a lot of heat,and the pump impellar was getting hot and it would expand and it had come adrift off its shaft,under normal conditions it could cope,so basically how long has it been on.
    A4 B6,A4B7Quattro,MK4 Golf,MK5Golf gone and well forgotten,MK6Golf.
     
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  3. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    The VW dealer changed it within the last year when they did the cambelt. I did question the VW mechanic on this but he thought it was fine as water seemed to be circulating well


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  4. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    The car did tow fine before the water pump was changed though so that could be the cause. I presume the engine management diagnostics that VW dealers use cannot tell if a water pump is shot?


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  5. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    Thermostat not operating as it should?


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  6. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    That's some volume of water to be added during a journey (14.5 litres?) , I'm thinking that Sharan has one of the last 1.9 PD engines with dpf? Has the stat been changed in all this time and are the fans kicking in? When you've added this extra water how long have you left the engine to cool down from red hot to adding cold water. I'm thinking you may now have a crack in the head or leaking head gasket which opens during heavy loads, gassing up the system or letting water into the cylinders, any sign of water in the oil or residue in the exhaust pipe? Any weeping or crusty coolant residue around the head gasket? Check radiator top hose inlet temp and bottom hose outlet temperature with a thermocouple or IR thermometer, check radiator for coolant deposits, maybe the rad has poor airflow if blocked with leaves etc.

    The dash temperature gauges are very inaccurate so even though you think it's normal at 90'C it could well be over 100'C, plugging in a diagnostic tool into the OBD socket will give you a better temperature reading, you might find you are overheating during normal driving but the dash gauge isn't showing it. You've had the cooling system tested, but a small crack might not open up until the engine is red hot. Changing the stat might be worth it for what it costs once you've monitored actual temperature via the OBD and diagnostic tool, and it could be the water pump impeller, but a slim chance on a newish pump imo.
     
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  7. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    Rob69, sorry not sure what you mean by the dpf or stat but I did see that both fans were working. I added the water into the header tank straight away and I didn't see any white residue in the oil or water dripping from the exhaust.
    Sorry but I am a ludiite mechanic relying on the VW dealer to find the problem so don't have a thermocouple. No sign of leaves on radiator and no sign of crustiness at the head gasket.
    I have a VW extended warranty that would cover a Head gasket but as the problem doesn't show on their devices at normal idling, I would have to pay £750 investigation fee that would be covered if the problem is confirmed as head gasket but not otherwise. Therefore an expensive gamble. So at the moment driving it around until the problem is more obvious with non caravan driving and then I will take it back to the dealer.


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  8. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    Hopefully you've been lucky and avoided more damage when you added cold water straight into the hot engine. I also mean that I think your engine in that car is one of the last of the old PD 1.9 tdi engines but with a diesel particulate filter fitted. The stat is the thermostat which is mounted into the engine block under the alternator. These can get sluggish and it may not be fully opening to give maximum cooling under high engine loads.
    I suggest you get hold of an OBDII diagnostic tool and plug it into the OBDII socket under the dash to see what the temperature is really doing. Have you considered taking it to a good VW independent garage for assessment?, I could be cynical here and say that the VW dealer has little incentive to find and cure this problem for you, as it is under their warranty scheme and cost ( I've no idea how the scheme works mind you, maybe they make money on repairs done), and they could be stalling until the warranty runs out. 750 quid upfront is a bit of a steep excess on the warranty, basically asking you to pay for investigation work to see if it qualifies for the warranty - you sure it covers a head gasket but not a cracked head? you would like to think they would have taken it for a road test and monitored temperature while driving ??
     
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  9. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    a block test will only find a leak if its leaking whilst they test it. what they need to do is get it properly hot, prefaerably by towing a caravan and test it whilst its actually leaking. its probably just not getting hot enough because the engine isnt working hard enough during normal driving. but, i suspect after the roasting a quick cooling by adding cold water to a hot engine, the blown head gasket may be more obvious, or so obvious that the engine is scrap. bit late to say it now but once it got too hot and lost water you should have got it recovered.
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  10. Re: Overheats when I tow a caravan 
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    Did an 85 mile drive on the motorway yesterday without the caravan and the STOP light came on. Needed 1.5 litres of water. Have booked it into the VW dealer again for another look. Will let you know what they say. Thanks for you advice


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