UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

hi, ive got a 97/R 1.4, looked under the bonnet the other day and from the right side of the engine, kinda where the sparks plugs are theres pink,cream fluid leeking out.....i havent gt a clue the car seems fine but if i try to pull away quickly it stall's or the power dies then comes back...but after that its fine. ne help would b appreciated thnks.

Not sure but might be the radiator fluid??? not 100% sure though

see if you can get a pic on here so we can really see what you mean.

What a coincidence. I was just going to post something similar. The same on my car. Just under the distributor it looks like it has been leaking from the thermostat housing. Thick pink liquid and pink residue. Must be coming from the thermostat housing but i dont know what has caused it. I have checked the oil and water to make sure there has been no cross contamination of either. (worried that it may have been a head gasket!)

Anyone had something similar happen or know what the cause is. How do i fix it?? Need your help asap as need the car next week.

Do you think that a knackered temp sender would leak?? (GUNNER- a faulty temp sender would cause the problems you are experiencing)

I have some photos but dont know how to upload them here????



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what about the gear box?? i know gear fluid is red so i dunno if that cud be tha cause, u clearly may have a crack of definate break in a part

defo not the gearbox as this is pink and i can trace it up to the therm housing

Well, i've had a word with a local vw mech. He says its the thermostat housing. If there is too much antifreeze solution, especially the vw G12, it begins to perish the seals inside. it also will attack the temp sender which leads to 'hesitation' esp when trying to pull away.

this seems to tie in with what your experiencing Gunner.

gunner wrote:hi, ive got a 97/R 1.4, looked under the bonnet the other day and from the right side of the engine, kinda where the sparks plugs are theres pink,cream fluid leeking out.....i havent gt a clue the car seems fine but if i try to pull away quickly it stall's or the power dies then comes back...but after that its fine. ne help would b appreciated thnks.

Yeap thats exactly what it is, the correct coolant fluid in a Polo is Pink, and thats what your seeing leaking, HOWEVER if it is turning cream then the coolant is mixing with the engine oil which could be the result of a failed head gasket.

Water and oil mixing in an engine can be catastrophic so get the car to a qualified mechanic to be checked as soon as is possible!

Good advice polo-paul

I've checked my oil and its not creamy. Coolant looks pink but i took some out and theres no oil sloshing around in it. I may be ok and its just a perished seal in the thermostat housing. i'll let you know.

Dont know whats happened to gunner -maybe he got his fixed. be useful to find out.

astirl2809 wrote:Good advice polo-paul

I've checked my oil and its not creamy. Coolant looks pink but i took some out and theres no oil sloshing around in it. I may be ok and its just a perished seal in the thermostat housing. i'll let you know.

Dont know whats happened to gunner -maybe he got his fixed. be useful to find out.

smell the coolant res if it smells of exhaust then thats bad.

I currently have the exact same problem on my car. This is the anti-freeze. I took mine to the local VW garage and it is a seal that has perished by the thermostat. I have bought a new one from VW and was going to replace it myself, but can get proper access to all 3 bolts with the tools I have. Going to take it to the garage to get it done asap.

Im not experiencing any jitteryness or anything, but I am constantly topping it up with a mixture of anti-freeze and water so that it doesnt drop below the minimum mark. If it does you are likely to get problems with overheating - Not good! I had this before I was aware of the problem. Now i carry a pre mixed solution round in my boot to top it up when needs be until i can afford to get it fixed.

My car has been booked into the garage for tomorrow morning to get this sorted out. The mechanic thinks it should only take around 30mins to an hour to fix.


il let you know how it goes !

thanks for all your advice, im going to get it booked in asap...

Yea, you might as well. Mine was only £2 for the replacement seal from VW, and £45 labour.

Its about a 30min - 1hour job for a mechanic. (well it is when VW dont supply you with the wrong part like they did to me!)

To be honest, you could probably do it yourself easily enough if you have the correct tools and a replacement bottle of anti-freeze (the system will need to be drained while it is worked on)