Date:         Mon, 11 Dec 2000 01:35:40 -0800
Reply-To:     T Berk <tberk@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         T Berk <tberk@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: Another Jetta question
Comments: To: Sersote@AOL.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

"Paul M. Hillbish" wrote:
>
> Lately in my 85 Jetta, if I am stopped for a while (like at a long line of
> traffic or at a convenient store to run in a grab cigarettes) some form of
> smoke or steam is issuing from the engine. Upon inspection under the hood, I
> have found that it is the radiator. I checked the coolant level, and it's
> okay, I checked my hoses, and I could not find any apparent leaks. The smoke
> smells like antifreeze, but nothing is dripping that I can see. Is this just
> overheating? I also noticed that my fan is not turning on until the temp
> needle is in a high range. Is that normal? Or should I look into replacing
> the thermostat? She is my daily driver now (since she has great heat, not to
> mention the only vehicle I have that's legal) and this is making me a little
> paranoid. Thank you for any input.
>
> --Paul--



You may have a cracked radiator, not too uncommon an occurrence. (Ask me
why my 85 Jetta was $750).

You should be able to verify where the leak is if it is steaming like that-

- Use distilled water and the phosphate free coolant. This is esp.
important as you are no doubt boiling fluid off and leaving 'what ever'
behind. Best that this is not minerals from the tap water.

- The end caps and outlets are some kind of brittle plastic, at least
they become brittle over time, check the upper house outlet as people
tend to put their full body weight on this as the lean into t he eng. bay.

- Replacement Radiators are not too expensive; See the Man:

<http://www.parts4vws.com> Potter will hook you up. (btw- Non A/C cars
get the A/C radiator, don't seat it, it does a great job of cooling)

- The A2 coolant system has the expansion tank with hose, the hose may
be worn or split, the 'nipple' it attaches to on the Rad may be broken.

- Since the Rad is made of two dissimilar materials they may have separated.

All these ideas account for why your system is not holding 15 psi and
therefore you are not getting proper cooling & why the gauge goes up ,etc.

hth,
TBerk