Coolant loss Golf mk4 petrol

Dec 22, 2010 3 Replies

About a month ago my daughter had to buy some coolant for her Golf and seeing it was red selected the rarther expensive Halfords red version hoping it would match the VW one. Thats the first question..does it? Anyway she topped up and all was fine until last night when the low coolant lamp lit up and having none in the boot called in at Halford on the way home knowing they do minor things for little or no cost. They werent very helpful apart from selling her more and when she said could it be a leak the guy said he had sold about 10 ltrs of coolant that afternnon and tyhey couldnt all have been leaks it must be the cold weather.



Well I have assumed he was just the usual unhelpful staff but a slight doubt has crept in.I know the fluid expands when hot..hence the expansion tank..does it also contract in these extreme cold snaps and in doing so could itcontract enough to set the low level light off?? Its a well serviced 03 car so I suppose a pipe may have a leak or something. Any musings most welcome. Happy Christmas.


I read somewhere halfords coolant spec match the vw g12 spec don't quote me but I think it should be ok.

Is coolant actually being lost ? I only ask as golfs are common to ping collant warning lights on in the winter as the probs that are in the expansion tank basically chuck a wobbly, can be fixed by changing the expansion tank for about £12 and coolant.

But if coolant is being lost, common places for leaks would be the drivers side bottom rad for a hole ? or around the coolant temp sensor, make sure it seated well and the U clip is attached.. the coolant hoses, around the thermostat etc. All worth a loot.

Hope this helps a little.

Exactly what I was going to say.

Coolant loss (if it is a genuine loss and not what's described above) is not always down to a leak. Sometimes the pressure cap fails and allows it to boil over. You can eliminate this quite cheaply and easily buy fitting a new cap.

Stu

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