Coolant level dropping

oliverpologti · Post by **oliverpologti** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:42 am

i noticed this morning that the coolant level on the gti is low by the warning light coming on

remember reading that some peeps had a leak somewhere on the system anyone shed any light on this so i could have a look myself or is it a dealers job.

would it matter about a coolant rad/intercooler leak with the car being remaped? just incase it has to go back in for work

any replies will help

cheers ollie

KennyPOLO_Gti · Post by **KennyPOLO_Gti** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:25 am

Jack the car up and have a look under mate see if u can see any sign of a leak. Top it up and see how it goes, if it happens again just take it to the dealer. Nothin to do with a remap, so dont worry.

oliverpologti · Post by **oliverpologti** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:00 pm

sweet cheers kenny will top it uptonight and jack it up at weekend

chewy · Post by **chewy** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:51 pm

whitegtipolo had this a few month ago if I remember, then he lost all his coolant

Rich_T · Post by **Rich_T** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:27 pm

mine went of the other day, its happened to me three times now about once every year, seems to only go off when it gets cold, happens every year without fail.

whitegtipolo · Post by **whitegtipolo** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:56 pm

the radiators leak on the join where the matrix joins the plastic at each end !!! Mine did and VW says they common problem! If the level keeps going down there is a problem as since the radiator been replaced no more dropping levels at all, i found it myself you need to remove the undertray to see clearly!!!

oliverpologti · Post by **oliverpologti** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:04 pm

cheers for help everyone going to have a look at weekend light went off on its own tonight even when i havnt done anything

KennyPOLO_Gti · Post by **KennyPOLO_Gti** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:58 pm

Maybe airlocked? Have u changed it recently?

Jeff GTi · Post by **Jeff GTi** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:51 am

if thats the case white polo, maybe people can tyy different clamps at each end? jubilee or similar?????

i had this too on mine and found it to be an airlock in the system from the factory

let the car go stone cold and top up the coolant level, now with the top off, start the car and have it running for bout ten minutes, youll see it start to steam

after the ten or so mins, turn the engine off, and refit the cap, now leave to go cold again

when cold, remove the cap again and squeeze one of the big coolant hoses ten or so times, then re top up the fluid and refit the cap,

repeat the process as needed until the coolent does not fall any lower

NOTE : this is a guide what i did and may not be absolutely correct in vw's eyes of what to do, but it worked for me

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:21 pm

Jeff GTi wrote:if thats the case white polo, maybe people can tyy different clamps at each end? jubilee or similar?????

No, I think that you missed the point that whitepolo was making - its the way the radiator is fabricated that is the route of the problem he highlighted. There is the central part, the matrix, at each end there are end caps with connection points etc, its where the ends get clamped to the centre matrix that there are bits that are bent in to grip the assembly together, with gasketing material at each end, the leaks tend to eb at these mechanically clamped points not on rubber hose clips. This nasty design is a modern bit of crap - I had heater matrix failure twice with Fords in 1982 and 1984 two different cars same problem - and that same joining method is still being used by Skoda - shocking.

whitegtipolo · Post by **whitegtipolo** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:10 am

RUM4MO wrote:
Jeff GTi wrote:if thats the case white polo, maybe people can tyy different clamps at each end? jubilee or similar?????
No, I think that you missed the point that whitepolo was making - its the way the radiator is fabricated that is the route of the problem he highlighted. There is the central part, the matrix, at each end there are end caps with connection points etc, its where the ends get clamped to the centre matrix that there are bits that are bent in to grip the assembly together, with gasketing material at each end, the leaks tend to eb at these mechanically clamped points not on rubber hose clips. This nasty design is a modern bit of crap - I had heater matrix failure twice with Fords in 1982 and 1984 two different cars same problem - and that same joining method is still being used by Skoda - shocking.

exactly what i mean you explained it for me

daa709 · Post by **daa709** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:53 am

I had massively low level coolant the other week all of a sudden. Light came on, had a look and it was about an inch too low. Topped it up, and 2 weeks later it's still all fine.

Was really weird..

whitegtipolo · Post by **whitegtipolo** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:06 pm

mine was like that it takes a while to drop ! All this air lock talk is crap and will only apply if the system is drained and refilled not to a system thats been full and running for a year or so! Your coolant should not drop a mm if its all sealed !!

daa709 · Post by **daa709** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 1:51 pm

To be fair, I have had the car 2 years now, and when I noticed the low coolant level, i did leave it for a few days in freezing weather...

MarcoPolo · Post by **MarcoPolo** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:04 pm

Our's did the coolant dash warning thing too. We just took it into VW and they replaced the expansion tank and level sender under warranty.