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Cooling system noises


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Hi

Just a quick one that hopefully someone knows the answer to!

The car is a '97 with 51K on the clock.

In the past couple of weeks i have noticed that when i sit in the car after the engine has been switched off i can hear gurgling noises from the cooling system, thought it was an airlock, tried that but no different, any ideas? It doesnt seem to be using water and is running sweet.

Help.

S

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Sh*t!!! I've just read this, I hope this doesn't apply to us? : (

"Firstly, no - its not normal. As long as you are not overfilling the bottle, then you've got a leak. Is it wet ever under the expansion tank?

check inside the oil filler cap - if you see a milky residue, then its either head-gasket or oil cooler - same if you see an oily film inside the water tank.

if you can hear water bubbles gurgling when sat in the car with the ignition turned on after you have heated the engine up, then this points to a head gasket. I have a tool that sniffs the air in the water tank for combustion gases - which helps diagnose a bad gasket.

another common leak point on VR's is the aux water pump - at the back right of the engine when looking into the bay - the plastic pump housing can crack.

Lastly, you might have a rad leak - but not be able to see it. I have a leak on my radiator currently - I cannot for the life of me see where it is - there is no wetness when I look and no coolant stains anywhere - but when I sit in traffic in the morning on the way to work, I suddenly get a wisp of steam coming out the grill over the bonnet - as the car warms up. Then when up to temp - I dont get any more steam. Must be a pin hole somewhere - right up top of the rad where I cant see"

Jules

http://www.vr6golf.co.uk/forum_viewtopic.php?10.1372

[ Edited Sun Dec 14 2003, 06:14PM ]

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hi - like I said in that post, you really need to get a sniffer in the cooling system to verify if its the head gasket. This sniffer tests for excessive levels of CO2 in the expansion tank - which is a bad sign.

I know its not conclusive evidence, but each time I've had the gurgles, its been the head gasket...! sorry...!

You need to get it tested otherwise you'll blow nasty things like the heater matrix - not nice - I can tell you...!

Jules

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