QUESTION: cooling system

How old are the hoses? What kind of clamps do they have. My guess is you need new hoses and/or new better quality clamps.

However just for fun, replace the radiator cap. It controls the max pressure in the system.

If you have not flushed the system and replaced the fluid, now would be a good time while you replace the hoses that may be 11 years old.

Don't bother. If the system is obstructed due to limestone, you have a really big problem and baking soda is not going to fix it. There is only so much calcium chloride in the water you put in the system There is no where near enough to cause that kind of problem unless you are adding water daily for a year.

If you used nothing but VW coolant then there should be no crud in the system. More likely:

1-radiator fan-does it come on at the correct temperature 2-radiator and condenser(AC car) are they clean in front of fins 3-radiator cap-check for pressure rating 4-hoses are old and may need to be replaced. 5-thermostat might be opening late and engine running slightly hotter than normal

As Joseph mentioned the hose clamps may be the wrong ones. Most VW's use spring clamps. There's even a little symbles on the hoses indicating that. As a added advantage they don't needed tightened as they constantly apply the correct amount of pressure. What Woodchuck says about using the right coolant is right on also. Be carefull what you put in to clean it or you may need to replace the heater core, a known weak spot.

JoBo

My car has no radiator cap. My system has a coolant tank connected with a hose to teh radiator.

The leak occurs at the hose that takes the hot coolant from the engine to the radiator. The leak occurs at the junction of this hose and the engine. I tightened the clamp to the max and still, it leaks about 1 drop/second when hot. It stops immediately when I open the coollant tank cap as that releases the pressure inside the system.

Either 2 things:

1-the radiator is clogged and as a result the waterpump compresses the coolant too much building up pressure on this segment of the cooling system. 2-the hose has a flaw that I could not find by manual nor visual inspection (it is 11 year old).

Joseph Meehan wrote:

Although this forum is about VW cars, mime is not. It is a Pontiac Lemans 1992 (the small version) manufactured by Daewoo (very similar if not identical to the Opel Kadett). I just decided to post at any forum more or less relevant to my problem.

My next attempt will be to cut half an inch of the leaky end of the hose and reinstall the hose without this 'possibly faulty' end.

Otherwise, it is going right back to the doc...

Jo Bo wrote:

Is there a pressure cap on the "coolant tank?" I am going to guess that is your "radiator" cap. I will likely continue to call them that no matter where they are. In any case, I'll bet there is some sort of pressure relief device somewhere. If you have not checked it, now would be a good time.

What is the "max" often overtightening can cause a leak.

If this was true, I serously doubt if your engine could stay cool enough. You would be, in effect, without any radiator. I might add that I doubt if that pump is going to build up enough pressure to cause a problem.

BIBGO!!!

11 years is a little old for a radiator hose. Time to replace them all. I would suggest replacement at 3-6 years.

Why do you want to do this with an 11 year old hose. The only reason I could think if is being stuck someplace where parts are not available.

Replace it. If it did no leak before, after messing with it, a hose that old is sure to leak.

In addition to what everyone else has said, there is also a small possibility that your car has a blown head gasket. Does the oil look OK or does it look like chocolate milk?

Bill