There is a car in the shop that is perplexing everyone at the moment, thought I'l throw it out there for you all. It's a 93 V6 camry, about 180k that is overheating after 20mins or so of idle and only a few minutes of driving. It was orignially diagnosed through a leak test as a head gasket, so the heads were pulled and the fault was visually confirmed. New gaskets, tstat, and the overheating still persisted. So they looked to the radiator, which looked to be a very old aftermarket unit, and replaced it, still overheating. Pulled off the water pump, the impellers look fine, no wear. So, they checked the temp at the sensor, found a steady climbing reading up to 230F (yikes), yet a normal temp reading at the radiator. Tested the tstat again, it's openingas it should. Shoved a hose in the inlet pipe, and water pours out the other end, indicating that flow through the system is normal. Assuming he has measured and tested everthing correctly (which this guy has a rep for doing), it's a head scratcher. If anyone knows how to fix it, I'll mail you a Toyota arm patch.
Sounds like the water is not flowing properly. Are you sure the water pump impeller was not loose and spinning on the shaft ? Was the system purged of air as we all know the water pump won't pump air ?
1-Engine overheated at highway speed. Fine at idle. 24k mi First dealer could not find problem (?) 80 miles from home.
2-Five miles later, engine overheated. 24k mi Second dealer located and replaced failed water pump. 70 miles from home.
3-Water pump leaked, engine overheated. Third dealer fixed leak by tightening bolts.
4-Loss of coolant Third dealer replaced torn gasket.
Anybody here work for VW or a dealer ? Am I crazy or what ?
My wife had a 1985 Jetta. The heater core failed in 1989 and VW repaired it out of warranty.
1985 Jetta motor mounts failed, 105k mi, covered out of warranty. I had a 1991 Acura, radiator cracked out of warranty, replaced free by Acura.
Now, after 4 (FOUR), 3 new,VWs that we have owned collectively they would not replace a blown vacuum hose 1,000 miles out of warranty.
To make it worse, on our current 2002 Passat, they tried hard not to replace a CV boot that was seriously cracked, but had not failed, with 500 miles left on the warranty. After being frustrated by the dealers scripted, emotionless warranty guy I raised my voice. Still no response. I called VWoA, "up to the dealer" Called dealer, up to VWoA, asked for GM who refered me to service head. Finally git them to agree to fix it after threatening to drive a tight full lock circle in front of the dealership, with a sign, until it failed.
VW's customer support has gone down the tubes.
My 2002 Passat warranty issues:
Monsoon radio failed. 5k mi.
Monsoon radio failed. 12 k mi
Sunroof leaked. 18 k mi
Ignition coils replaced 19k mi
Engine overheated at highway speed. Fine at idle. 24k mi First dealer could not find problem (?) 80 miles from home
Five miles later, engine overheated. 24k mi Second dealer located and replaced failed water pump. 70 miles from home.
Water pump leaked, engine overheated. Third dealer fixed leak by tightening bolts.
Loss of coolant Third dealer replaced torn gasket.
9 Bad vacuum hose, 40k miles
Cracked and blown out CV boots. 49,500 miles They tried hard not to replace the one that was severly cracked.
Failed vacuum hose 51,000 miles NOT COVERED !
No Goodwill = NO RETURN BUSINESS.
I have all records to indicate that the car has been properly maintained.
It has been a long time since I've tried to fix a car that a master tech couldn't fix ;-)
First, I'll assume that all the basics have been checked - cooling fans operate properly (sounds like they do if radiator temp is normal), cooling fan shrouds are in place, air purged from system, etc. Are proper spark plugs installed and ignition timing correct? Are there any restrictions in the exhaust?
It sounds like the coolant is not circulating or something is making the coolant really hot in the block. Do you have a way to circulate the coolant like one of those drill-operated in-line pumps and see of the problem goes away? If you can circulate the coolant and the problem goes away, then the water pump is suspect - perhaps the pulley is slipping on the shaft or something crazy.
WHY do you keep buying these things?!?!?! I bought my wife a brand-new '85 Jetta. After 2 years, I had 5 times the work orders that I had on a six-year old Corolla! We traded it for another Corolla and never looked at a European car again. When we got rid of her Corolla, we moved up to an Accord. Again, No Problem. VWs have the looks and the performance, but they should have them assembled in Japan, using Japanese parts.
We fixed it today. Turns out a small piece of rubber from the aftermarket radiator cap (we suspect) was in the right place at the wrong time. Blasted about 100 gallons of water through the engine from the high-pressure water line the cleanup dept uses, and the little bastard finally showed up.
Dunno exactly where it was. It certainly wasn't big enough to completely restrict flow. It was probably in a very specific place that restricted flow enough to build heat in a certain spot yet still allow some return to the radiator. Wierd.
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