Coolant Leak = Head Gasket problem?

marspball

Active member
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Location
Coquitlam, BC
TDI
2000 Beetle
My 2000 beetle TDI has been losing massive amount of coolant. The reservoir keeps on getting empty, especially after driving on highways for about 100km. I took it to a local VW shop and they said that the problem is with the head gasket and that it needs to be replaced. However, this will set me back $800. I've done some searches here and it seems that a head gasket problem can cause coolant loss. But how does it really work? Is the coolant leaking into the cylinders? Is it safe for me to drive the beetle in the meantime as long as I keep on adding the coolant? Are there any TDI gurus in the Vancouver, BC area?
 

jasonTDI

TDI GURU Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Apr 26, 2001
Location
Oregon, WI
TDI
20' RAM 3500 CCLB dually HO/Aisan. 2019 Cherokee 2.0T
You need to quit driving it until it's found. You WILL damage the car fatally if you keep driving it.

Could be a bunch of other things.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
TDIs rarely blow headgaskets. I would be more inclined to think the EGR cooler is at fault.. Those DO fail, and can have similar symptoms.

What needs to be done is for the engine to be COOL, and a pressure tester put on the cooling system and let it sit to see where the coolant is going. I would remove the EGR feed pipe from the cooler to the valve as well as the glow plugs. If the pressure drops, the coolant went somewhere. If it went into a cylinder, you'd see it through the GP hole(s). If it is the EGR cooler, you'd see it pooling up in there.

FWIW, I have never had to replace a failed headgasket on a TDI, but have run across about 10+ leaking EGR coolers, and VW even had a recall on some of them.

However, no way I could do a head gasket on an ALH properly for only $800. That is WAY cheap.
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Most of the coolant losses I've seen have been external leaks. Water pump, hose connections, and the most irritating place is where the coolant pipe enters the block on the front side of the engine, down below the injection pump. Provided the car is equipped with VW G12 coolant you'll see tell-tale signs of pink residue wherever the leak is externally (except seeing the water pump leak which requires removal of belt covers unless it is to bad that it leaks out the bottom of the belt area).
 

auto_tech

Vendor
Joined
Jul 13, 2004
Location
Bethany, Ontario
TDI
SOLD - 2001 Jetta blue; 2016 Jetta 1.4TSI 5spd
MOGolf said:
Most of the coolant losses I've seen have been external leaks. Water pump, hose connections, and the most irritating place is where the coolant pipe enters the block on the front side of the engine, down below the injection pump. Provided the car is equipped with VW G12 coolant you'll see tell-tale signs of pink residue wherever the leak is externally (except seeing the water pump leak which requires removal of belt covers unless it is to bad that it leaks out the bottom of the belt area).
+1

Seen that twice now.
 

Ski in NC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Location
Wilmington, NC USA
TDI
2001 Jetta ALH 5sp stock
If you pressure test it, crank engine over with glow plugs out before starting it. The coolant can go into a cylinder, cause a hydrolock, and trash the engine. If you crank it over with gps out, coolant will shoot out the hole and you will know where your leak is.
 

Dimitri16V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Location
DE
TDI
01 Golf, 04 Golf
sooty film in the coolant bottle = gasket failed between coolant passage and piston

chocolaty coolant and elevated oil level = gasket failed between coolant and oil passages

Pressurizing the cooling system as it was suggested is the best way to find out.
 

BadMonKey

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2007
Location
Colorado
TDI
2013 Focus ST
Just finished getting my EGR cooler replaced $550 so its not cheep, the stupid part cost $500 plus gasket and fluid. Mine never left a mark on the pavement but it left red crusty stuff everywhere. Took longer to clean off than replacing the part.
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Keep in mind that the 2000 Beetle of the OP has a different engine and EGR cooler than the 2004 Golf of BadMonKey. The latter engine is known to have EGR cooler problems.
 

rammd

Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
TDI
2005.5
Check the heater hose at the back of the engine. You'll need to drop the bottom debris shield . The heater hose closest to the exhaust is prone to fail if the heat shielding material has fallen off. My 2005 jetta had this issue last week. It was only leaking under pressure and it was hard to find when the engine was cold.
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
On the 2000 Beetle of the OP, you can readily see heater hoses from above. The 2005 Jetta is a different engine.
 
Top