Overheating & rough idle

[JimmyJames]

Hi. I'm new to forum and I hope I'm posting in the right place. 98 Jetta TDI broke down last night. Had it towed home. Wife was driving and says it overheated and would not go over 40 mph. When I first saw the car there was only a little coolant that had leaked out and the resivoir was just a little low. This morning I strted the car. Idled rough with weak throttle response. I checked the intake to see if it was clogged, and it looks unrestricted. I found a tiny bit of coolant that had collected in the front passenger side of the engine compartment in the plastic engine sheild. Please help because I don't even know where to begin. Thanks in advance!
Jimmy James

 

[runonbeer]

somebody lend this guy a compression tester.

 

[bkfm72]

or a motor

 

[JimmyJames]

I checked the coolant to make sure there wasn't any oil in it and vice versa. Each appears to be free of the other. I took the intake off to get a better look at it. It was very dirty , but not completely clogged. It sounds starved for fuel or air or both. I'm hoping it's not as bad as the responses I got. I'm not sure if they are bad jokes or people that have less of a clue than I do. I hope I can get some more helpful responses and we could save the jokes until we solve the problem.

 

[DPM]

That's a pretty helpful response. Low power, idling rough, using coolant? Sounds like head gasket to me. A conpression test will soon confirm...

 

[Diesel Dude]

I would look at a plugged fuel filter first. Had you recently filled up? Was it at a station you trust for good quality fuel? Check the filter for contaminants. Check the air filter for blockage. The coolant in the passenger side of the engine pan could very well be a small leak in the water pump or a hose. Eliminate the small things first before jumping to the big problems. Good luck.

 

[runonbeer]

somebody lend this guy a compression tester.

No joke. I suppose originally I could have stated more clearly why I felt the test was necessary, but DPM pretty much summed it up.