98 Cabrio- coolant leak

My wife's Cabrio has a coolant leak.

It has been spotting in the driveway for a while- but her low coolant light came on & I topped it off this morning. I only got to look at it for a second or two before she went to work- checked the hoses for bulges and didn't see anything. But there is some coolant puddling on top of the transaxle.

My eyes aren't what they once were- so a hint of what I should look for first would be appreciated. Is that a oil cooler sitting on top of the transaxle? Or is there anything that fails regularly and puddles in that area.

Thanks Jim?

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht
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I'll ASSUME that it's the 2.0l engine, since you didn't say, and it's what I'm most familiar with. I can't keep track of what each model from each year had for an engine. :P

For puddling on top of the transaxle I'd guess the gooseneck on the side of the head. It's plastic and commonly cracks. That, or the hoses connecting to it. Either way, I'd probably replace both if the 'other' is the least bit suspect.

Mark '95 Jetta GLS

Reply to
Mark Randol

-snip-

Well done on the mind-reading bit. It is the 2.0.

Hmmm-- It *might* have been leaking around the plastic bit. After running it for a time this morning a single drop of water [clear] formed on top where it meets the head. I couldn't get it to drip on the bottom. Dried everything off & ran it for 20 minutes or so. No new liquid.

Hoses and the plastic 'hub' all look pretty new. [She bought the car this spring- don't know the history.]

I tightened each stud down about a half a turn- I guess I'll watch it for a while and see if the puddle was just slopped from the last service. [a month or so & a couple hundred miles ago]

I noticed that area doesn't get as warm as I suspected. I cleaned it up and I'll watch for it to return.

Thanks- Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

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