Engine's running hot

[silverspeedbuggy]

I've put in a new water pump, new radiator, new fan switch, and 'burped' the system after warm. Any thoughts?

Also noticed some squeeks from the belts when turning the steering wheel. Could the h2o pump belt be slipping?

[silverspeedbuggy]

The pic above shows the gauge when driving. Idling in stop and go traffic it can rise even higher than this. If I keep the car moving it stays in the range shown in the photo.

[Blaines_Rocco]

Yeah I'm having similar problems as well. Mine while I'm driving over 40 mph stays generally in the middle, but when I come to a long stop light it shoots up to about 3/4 of the way. I'm to the point of replacing the whole system minus the water pump.

[fundmc]

have you verified that the fan is running?
and that it is running at the right time?

[silverspeedbuggy]

I know the fan runs when I **** the car off. Not sure if it runs while in motion.

[fundmc]

I know the fan runs when I **** the car off. Not sure if it runs while in motion.

let it idle till the fan comes on. thatll help narrow it down. im pretty sure the fan coming on after the car is off doesnt mean it works while running. since thats controlled by another sensor.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Drove the car around for a bit, got out with the car running and checked the fan: it was running.

[silverspeedbuggy]

P/S / h2o pump belt does need to be tightened, but it's still spinning the h2o pump.

Bad temp sensor?

[crazyaboutrocs]

I've put in a new water pump, new radiator, new fan switch, and 'burped' the system after warm. Any thoughts?

Did you happen to flush the system with some sort of cooling system cleaner? Water Wetter is also a good addition to put in, but I don't think it will lower the needle as much as you need. May want to check the overflow bottle's cap too, to make sure it's holding pressure.

[Angrygilmore]

its either bad flow of air through the radiator...... a bad thermostat whicH i doubt or the impeller in the water pump is rotting away

[Aaron16V1.8l]

Have you double checked to see that the coolant is full? I have found that after the first fill and then running the car, that the car will overheat and there will be no coolant in the reservoir because it displaced any air in the system. Then I would refill the reservoir and it is fine. If it were me, I would remove the restrictor from the hose going to the reservoir, and idle the car after it has cooled off for a while with the reservoir cap off until there is a study stream of coolant into the reservoir. Top it off, then close the reservoir before it boils over, and see if things are better.

HTH

[8716vrocco]

Are you 100% sure there are no leaks? Mine ran at similar temps after my swap was done. I had seen a very small coolant leak from the waterpump area, turned out the plastic thermostat housing was slightly warped where it mated to the pump causing a tiny leak and not allowing the system to build up the necessary pressure for proper operating temps. Got a new one from the dealer and temps dropped down exactly where they needed to be. Just wanted to give my experience. Make sure you burp it really well too, 16Vs are know to be a little difficult, I filled mine through the top hose.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Did you happen to flush the system with some sort of cooling system cleaner? Water Wetter is also a good addition to put in, but I don't think it will lower the needle as much as you need. May want to check the overflow bottle's cap too, to make sure it's holding pressure.

Didn't flush. Cap is holding pressure.

[silverspeedbuggy]

its either bad flow of air through the radiator...... a bad thermostat whicH i doubt or the impeller in the water pump is rotting away

I installed a new radiator, new thermostat, new water pump.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Have you double checked to see that the coolant is full? I have found that after the first fill and then running the car, that the car will overheat and there will be no coolant in the reservoir because it displaced any air in the system. Then I would refill the reservoir and it is fine. If it were me, I would remove the restrictor from the hose going to the reservoir, and idle the car after it has cooled off for a while with the reservoir cap off until there is a study stream of coolant into the reservoir. Top it off, then close the reservoir before it boils over, and see if things are better.

HTH

Signs are pointing to this ^^^^

Drove car Thurs, ran hot.
Drove car Fri, ran hot, burped system, topped off fluid.
Drove car Sat, ran cooler. Burped system again.
Topped off coolant this morning. Car ran cool for 30 minutes, then ran hot. Burped system. Topped off when cool.
Drove 40 minutes, stayed cool (only slightly above mid-point on gauge). Burped system once more and only needed to add small amount of coolant after engine cooled.

I'll monitor over the next few days.

[tboygm97]

just my 2 cents, but, have you tried burping your cooling system with the car on ramps/tilted up. i've only have to do this once when i drained my nasty looking worn out coolant, and have never had it running hot as you described. good luck though. and i topped my coolant off the upper rad hose also with the reservoir at full level.

[Teighlor O']

Stop trying to "race" 300+ hp T50 Volvos...

Hehe

[BluDemon]

Looks normal to me if you're in stop and go traffic. Even if you let it sit at idle the temp will go up until the fan kicks in and the needle with go up and down with each cycle.

When I'm in stop and go traffic with AC on and fan is running on high the temp stays in the middle pretty much.

I wouldn't worry about it unless your temp light is coming on.

How's your oil temp?

[vdubster1]

check to see if you got a blowned headgasket that happen to a mark 2 golf i owned to repair it try some blue devil it works great if in dought check out youtube for more info on the product

[silverspeedbuggy]

UPDATE:
Car is running nice and cool now. It appears there was some air in the system that had to be worked out. I've 'burped' it at least 4 times total. Each time less and less coolant was needed to top it off with (when the engine was cold).

However:
There is a leak somewhere; it appears to be from the cap. Drove it at lunch, stayed nice and cool, but when pulling back into the garage at work I smelled coolant. Sure enough, there's a small amount near the cap. I'll pick up a new one and see if this cure's the problem. If not I'll keep looking.

I'm also going to do a full flush of the system and topping off with entirely new coolant.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Whelp car overheated today. I've been driving it daily for 2+ weeks now and the car has run nice and cool. Had to run errands in it at lunch and on the drive home it overheated. The guage slowly krept up and the light started blinking. I pulled over immediately and let it cool then drove the last 1.5 mile home.

It appears the car acts up after being driven more than 40 minutes. What would cause that? Note: I have NOT replaced the coolant cap. Most of my drives are 30 minutes or less, but it's when I have to drive the car for extended periods that it overheats. Today I drove it 10 minutes to the BMV, then 25 minutes to the Title Agency, was there for 15 or 20 minutes, then on the way home it ran hot, and 20 minutes later it overheated.

Once again, the car has a new radiator, new waterpump. It also has a valve cover gasket leak, but I can't imagine that would cause it to overheat.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Car almost overheated on a 15 minute drive home tonight. I don't get it: why did it drive fine for 2 weeks, then start acting up again?

[definition56]

Not sure if this will make a huge difference but have you checked if you are getting good flow back to your overflow reservoir. Those small inlet hoses at the top can "melt" closed on the reservoir. Mine melted shut and blew the coolant level sensor out of the threads on top of the reservoir...it split at the top of the threads below the hex flange.

Could also be a faulty or wrong temp thermostat. I've seen new ones fail so don't discount that.

[silverspeedbuggy]

As the car is running coolant should be coming out the spout at the top of the tank, right? If so, it's not coming out.

Took this video, car is running (duh), engine is WARM:

[silverspeedbuggy]

So I've got to believe its a bad thermostat (even though it's brand new) or a clog somewhere.

[definition56]

Yep. Looks like little to no recirculation to your overflow reservoir. It should be a recognizable stream. If your thermostat is open...you should be circulating. Pull that small hose off (crimp it first) and double check if the opening is actually open. They can melt closed over the years but still look okay. If the pathway is clear, let your engine get up to operating temp (HOT) and open up your heater core (turn the heat on) while the engine is running. Squeeze the top rad hose repeatedly, to make sure the entire system is "burped". At this point, you should see coolant returning to the reservoir.....assuming the water pump is doing its job as well as your thermostat. The pumps in 16v's are usually pretty fool proof so my guess is a bad stat, it's still not "burped" 100% or overflow tank that's melted enough to cause blockage....although from your video, it looks to be in fairly decent shape.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Coolant tank is definitely not melted. After running the car last night I removed the cap, the coolant bubbled up to above the 'max' mark. I then pulled that hose off and coolant came out the plastic nipple the hose attaches to.

I'll give the rad hose some squeezing tonight and pick up a new thermostat just in case.

[definition56]

If the new stat and burping doesn't totally cure it, a lower temp fan switch helps out a lot on 16v's also. Just make sure to open up the system to the heater core when burping. Those bypass valves can leak internally causing air in the system too.

The other thing to check is your fuel mixture...if you're running lean, it can also contribute to running hotter.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Grrrr. So I gave the rad pipe some healthy squeezin's: no dice. I pulled the thermostat, checked it using the test in the Bentley; seems to work fine. But I decide to replace it with the flimsy one from the auto parts store. Bolt everything back up, take the cap off the expansion tank, turn to get the fresh coolant: DRIP DRIP DRIP. I guess I didn't get the stat, the gasket, and the housing put together just right when reassembling.

Any tips on how to line this all up while upside down?

[definition56]

You are putting the new o-ring on the housing not on the block right? I usually like to put some silicone plumbers grease (vaseline works also) on the o-ring to help it stay in place and keep it from dislodging from the housing while pressing it back in. The thermostat should "pop" into the block (spring side goes into the block). I've seen thermostats get put in backwards so I have to mention that. Make sure everything's clean before reinstalling, any dirt or grime can damage a seal.

A decent write up here:

http://www.justanswer.com/vw-volkswa...-scirocco.html

[silverspeedbuggy]

Thermo in first, spring into pump, THEN o-ring. Will try some Vaseline.

I must have just moved enough to keep it from sealing. It's a 2 month old gasket BTW.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Got new stat in with no leaks. Topped off coolant, took for a short spin, burped system, topped off with more coolant. Took for a longer drive, burped again including healthy squeezin's of upper rad hose. Gonna let it cool, top off again, go out for a longer drive.

Through all this I've NEVER seen coolant come out the top hose on tank. Will it come out when the system isnt pressurized? I checked the water pump when I had the stat off; it's spinning fine.

[silverspeedbuggy]

Also the fan hasn't switched on the last few days after turning the car off. All this leads me to think the coolant just isn't circulating.

[definition56]

Sounds like your chasing a handful of problems beyond just coolant circulation issues.

First off, did you overheat on your last drive after getting the stat situated?

If your stat is working and your engine's up to temp (stat open, make sure the engine is HOT), when you squeeze the top rad hose, coolant should squirt from the inlet on your overflow tank. If you have air in the system and it's not pressurized it might not. Getting air out of 16v's can be a PITA and can take some time.

Did you turn your heater on full to get coolant up into the heater core (open the bypass valve) when burping the system? You are burping while the engine is running?

Just for sh!ts, check your temp level sender on top of the reservoir. Remove it out and check CLOSELY for cracks around the threads. Shouldn't be your problem but just trying to cover the bases.

If your fan's not running after your car's shut off it could be:
-it's not up to temp (or over the range of your fan switch)
-your fan switch is bad
-you have other electrical/component issues (bad fan relay, bad fan motor/resistor, etc)

If you're overheating and your coolant isn't circulating, your fan should be compensating for this and basically working overtime.

[silverspeedbuggy]

I got to drive the car again last night; ran hot. When I got home I kept the car running and switched cranked up the heat. The fan turned on IMMEDIATELY so I took that as a good sign. There was also some coolant around the edge of the tank. I'm really thinking the coolant level sensor is either not tight enough or the tank is cracked somewhere in the threads for the coolant sensor. It was too late last night when I got home to pull it apart, so I'll take a look at it tonight.