GT TDI 130 losing water

[mamalik1]

Hi,
I have a 51 plate GT TDI 130 and it loses water especially when I give it a bit of stick, the head gasket and turbo are fine. Theres no obvious leak anywhere the water container is not leaking.
Can someone please help
thanks

[kite]

Get a pressure test, could be a leaky rad..

[mamalik1]

rad is fine

[kite]

Did you pressure test it ?

[mamalik1]

How do you do a pressure test

[mamalik1]

My radiator is not leaking, I have had the water pump changed, I got a new water bottle from GSF last year so that should be ok.
is there anything else that could be wrong,
thanks

[kite]

Stuck thermostat.
I would run the car at a fast idle with the bonnet up and see where the water is leaking from.

[mamalik1]

ok I will ask my dad to try it,
Also could the head gasket be on its way out?

[mamalik1]

do I need to replace the thermostat

[kite]

ok I will ask my dad to try it,
Also could the head gasket be on its way out?
In your first post you say the HG is fine !
If you take the car to a garage they can pressure test the system for leaks and a sniff test for hydro-carbons
in the water to see if the HG has gone.

[666jck666]

I am currently having same problem, head gasket is fine but im loosing water like its going out of fashion but there no signs of where its going.
I have replaced filler cap as its quite a common fault on german cars. I have taken mine to a german specialist and we had it up on racks for 3 hours looking for any signs of a leak but with no avail. So if you do get anywhere with yours could you let me know!

Thanks

[mamalik1]

I have been told its definitely not the head gasket.. this is a very weird problem

[con1981]

does the car loose water if left to stand for a day or two or just when it's been used?

To check the rad properly you will have to remove the front bumper, front bumper bar and front panel (if you have aircon)have you done this?

If it's leaked you will have red splurges on it from the coolant.

[mamalik1]

only loses water very slowly whilst driving, if driven hard then loses it quicker. theres no rad leak

[con1981]

your gonna have to have a feel about around the hoses after you've run it to see if you can find where it's leaking from. Do you spot water on the deck after it's been stood?

The rads are prone to go hence why everyone is pointing you in that direction. You don't even want to contemplate head gasket failure.

Does the vehicle overheat, go past 90, any white smoke out of the back, sludge in the oil cap are all classic signs of HG failure. If you have none of these your HG is fine.

fork up for a pressure test is all that can be suggested if you can't pinpoint the leak. :(

[666jck666]

Im having mine pressure tested on tueday, Mines drinking water i do about 100 miles each way to work so its using the whole bottle on the way home. I have no other signs of head gasket and weve sniff tested too and all seemed ok. But problem I cant work out why its using alot of water but theres no signs of a leak and ive spent hours looking for one, so only conclusion can be is that its burning it off or coming out the overflow on header bottle.Hopefully find out more on tuesday.

[Fork86]

Check the thermostat housing. Mine was cracked, causing 1.5 litres of water/coolant to be lost every 10 hours.

[FLENG2008]

Check the thermostat housing. Mine was cracked, causing 1.5 litres of water/coolant to be lost every 10 hours.


alot of people on this forum with the same problem

i have the simular problem myself and from what i have read people suggest the head gasket or a cracked head
mine has needed topping up with water for a few years now
although there are no signs of the head gasket, my coolant is leaking from the expansion cap
after having a pressure test and a new cap, it still does it
im gonna get a sniffer test done next to see if thats the problem

[herby0001]

A shot head gasket or cracked block can cause excessive pressure in the cooling system. Can pop the rad at its weakest point too.

[666jck666]

When the thermostat housing went did you see any signs of water coming out from it?Because ive had a look at mine and cant see any drips coming from it. Or did it just leak when it was under pressure?

[mamalik1]

Mine doesnt obverheat at all just loses water like alot of ppl here, I will get the thermostat checked and also get the sniffer and pressure test done.

[FLENG2008]

Mine doesnt obverheat at all just loses water like alot of ppl here, I will get the thermostat checked and also get the sniffer and pressure test done.


go and get a pressure test first, then if it doesnt hold pressure then you know you have a leak, if it holds pressure then get a sniffer test done

a pressure test should only set you back a tenner at the most..

[benbox]

any updates from you guys - mamalik, 666jck, or FLENG ???

My Touran was doing the same as yours - losing water, gradually more and more. It was also having intermittent trouble starting. It had a new water pump a year ago; then a starter motor in August; then went for pressure checks etc. Last week it went in again because it really wouldn't start. Now they have the head off and it's all wet and rusty inside. It couldn't start due to friction in the cylinders! They don't think it's the head gasket - possibly a cracked block, won't know until they get that out too. Effectively a 'new engine' and going to cost a fortune.
So BEWARE don't keep driving if you can't identify the fault.
Also those of us who suffer this need to get together to put pressure on VW to pay up - it's a recurring problem, which must be a deisgn fault. Mine's only done 60k...

[666jck666]

I had mine stripped down as it missed so I shut her off and had AA tow me to my mechanic. Only option was to stripp down as no signs of any water anywhere so had to be going internally, turned out it was head gasket but it was so slight that it was barely noticeable on gasket. I had the head skimmed, decoked, new cam bearings, belt change, sump elicoiled and service for £1200 which I didnt think was too bad. Hasnt been a problem since apart from to start with on cold mornings it didnt want to start but has been 3 weeks now and has lately started to fire properly. so might have just needed bedding in. The fault is actually very common but has only shown up more on the audis.