5 years, 1 month, 3 days ago

Dear Santa, Please Help me get the Jetta back on the road!

I purchased our brand new Jetta Tdi. Tonight at 118,765 miles, while driving to SFO to pick-up my wife that has been stuck in Boston due to weather, the water temperature light comes on! I let the car kool down, pick her up, kids and gift all in the car, we start to drive back and again the temp gauge goes way up! This time there is a little noise coming from the right side of the engine compartment, and there is a little smoke as well! We leave the car in the city, get a ride home! Ohhh dear trusted gurus, including OldPoopie who performed the TB change about 1 year ago; what do you think this issue could be? The road where I parked was pitch dark, it was pouring so I did not even open up the hood!

Merry Christmas ...

What type of impeller is on the water pump?

Mechnurse said:

What type of impeller is on the water pump?

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I have no idea! I am going right now to tow it back to my warehouse!

It's sure not Justins fault .. Your only as good as the parts you use .. Let's see over heating tdi .. not common .. Water pump , Radiator . hose blown, thermostat , faulty temp sensor , or Had only one blown egr cooler pumping hot gas into the system .. What ever you do stop driving the car and wait to get it Diagnosed .. Rich

Also check the 30A fuse on top of the battery. This one got me on my beetle once. It acts just like a bad water pump.

Charlie Your alive .. I want a blue dancing dude ..

lets refocus here ! I towed the car to my place! I opened up the hood and noticed that all the coolant was gone! So I am going to have TST take a look at the hoses, these Kerma's fuse suggestion then ... in what order should I try to diagnose this issue? Thanks for your help .... Rich, can I tow it to you on the 26th?

Sure but I'm 650 miles away .. Sorry for joking around but I'm getting cabin fever .. It might be as simple as a hose check that first .. K Rich .

Rich, don't worry about joking ... I am a prankster!
I am just worried about getting the car back on the road ...
I will start with the hoses ....
When the engine runs, it makes a ticking noise, not from the block but from the TB area and/or fan area! Any ideas?

Mechnurse said:

What type of impeller is on the water pump?

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I believe it is steel! Would this make a difference?

Merry Christmas Andrew. I had a water pump failure with 25K miles on it. Same symptoms.

If you have no coolant I wouldn't be running it.
Check the obvious - any signs of coolant leak? Where did it leak out from?
My guess is a bad water pump as well.
Poop certainly knows what he's doing, but if he or someone else overtightened the belt, it could lead to early failure.

If you're in trouble, I'm off Friday and I can take a peek but I'm still limited by my right shoulder so no repairs for me.

V.w got rid Heater control valves in 1985 .. Had a lady drive up to the shop in the old days with her heater blower fan on full blast and her temp guage pegged .. I whipped her with the piston rings after I tore the motor down .. Rich !

Put water to see where the leak is eminating. If it is a hose, you should see pool of water on the ground. You may be loosing coolent due the blown head gasket and that in turn causing the water pump to fail (I used to see that happening on old diesel Peugeot 505). On the other hand, pump failure should not result in complete loss of water but circulation. So replacing the water pump would not solve the problem if the cause is blown head gasket.

Put water and run the car to see if there is pool of water on the ground. This should indicate hose crack. Replace the hose and run the car again. See if you are still losing water and how fast. If it is fast without pool on the ground, check if the car is steaming from the exhaust. Steaming would indicate blown head gasket in which case replacing it would solve your problem. However, if you still believe the pump has lost blades or the bearing failed, replace the pump that would not involve ending lifting.

Dodoma said:

Put water and run the car to see if there is pool of water on the ground.

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On the return line entering the over-flow coolant tank/fill, you should see that line dribbling coolant into the bowl from the top 1/3 of the reservoir if the water pump is operational and circulating properly. If the line is dribbling coolant then you should look into the other issues outlined above, that being ...the head or thermostat being closed shut [malfunction frozen/rusted].

I'm sorry its been a prob. Dont run it till you check some things out first. Possible the bearings failed in the waterpump. Pull the timing belt cover first. If the bearings failed, it can damage the t-belt as well. How many miles on the belt kit? Was it one of Aaron's kits we used?

bschlatt said:

Merry Christmas Andrew. I had a water pump failure with 25K miles on it. Same symptoms.

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Brian,
Merry belated Christmas to you too!
Thanks to all for you for your insightful replies, they really help!

- There was steam when this happened, that I remember seeing.
- It makes a loud grinding noise when I run it so after a few seconds I turned it off, not long enough to witness any leaks!
- Danix if you are around today and would not mind swinging by to give me your opinion I would certainly appreciate that! TST is closed and I do not have any tools but at least I could start ordering all the needed parts for Monday delivery!

888.733.2572 ext 1



Thanks again!

Ok, I just did visual inspection!

There is a leak ...

There is a grinding noise and when I removed the TB cover I noticed that the TB has shifted over to the right about 1/4 inch which leads me to believe that one of the tensioners gave out of that even the water pump pulley gave out, but I am no guru or expert ...

oldpoopie said:

I'm sorry its been a prob. Dont run it till you check some things out first. Possible the bearings failed in the waterpump. Pull the timing belt cover first. If the bearings failed, it can damage the t-belt as well. How many miles on the belt kit? Was it one of Aaron's kits we used?

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You did the TB about 16 months ago when you came to Sacramento. It has not been a problem and I am not blaming anyone for it, just the parts that failed! I have ordered a new water pump and it sounds as if one of the bearings failed. Should I have a new TB installed if one of the tensioners/pulleys/bearings failed?

I'd say, unfortunately, if the belt has shifted that likely it is the waterpump bearings that failed. I'd advise against using the belt again. As I said earlier, I've seen waterpumps fail, shedding needle bearings that then cause damage to the belt.
I'd say that the large roller and two small rollers are fine, as is the cam-seal and pump pully bolts. I'd plan on replacing the following:
Timing belt
Tensioner
Waterpump
Large roller bolt
4 motor mount bolts

happy to report that after 14 days the car is back on the road driving like a charm!

Imagine how difficult this had been if the dealer had been involved!

Congrats on successful troubleshooting!

mannytranny said:

Imagine how difficult this had been if the dealer had been involved! Congrats on successful troubleshooting!

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Tomas Sport Tuning did all the work and the trouble shooting was quite easy! The Water pump bearing just shattered ... luckily is still spun therefore causing no damage to the engine!

You replaced the parts that Justin recommended right?

danix said:

You replaced the parts that Justin recommended right?

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allof those and then some ... with $$$$$

NewTdi said:

allof those and then some ... with $$$$$

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Andrew,

Sorry to hear about your W/P problem ! I am glad to hear it is fixed and on the road again.

This might be an interesting coincidence but at the TP/WP GTG, Old Poopie did your car right before mine. I had gotten the parts from Aaron at another GTG before, but had the "Laso" water pump (brass impeller).