Barryt0
A2OC Donor
Hi all,
Upon starting my FSi one morning recently I had the Low Coolant warning on the dash. I tried topping up the expansion tank, only to hear it gushing out as quickly as I was pouring it in. I called out the RAC, who couldn't get a good enough view to see where the leak was, other than to say it was somewhere near the water pump. So I had the car towed to my local garage, where they identified a plastic pipe running along the back of the engine has cracked, hence losing coolant. The garage replaced the pipe, took the car on a test drive and the temp gauge reached 90° and stayed there (as it should), but they could hear the coolant boiling up, and the hoses felt overly pressurized. It seems that the thermostat isn't opening, so they tried replacing it, but this made no difference. They've tried 3 thermostats, still with no difference. Temp gauge stays at 90°.
They now believe the head gasket may have blown, or the head warped or cracked. Best case scenario £600 ish. Worst case... who knows.
My question is, which issue is the cause, and which is the result? If the head gasket has blown (as they suspect) resulting in the coolant system over-pressurizing, might that explain why the plastic pipe cracked, leading to the loss of coolant? Or if the pipe cracked first, emptying the coolant, is that what caused the head gasket to blow? If so, why did the pipe crack in the first place? Either way, why doesn't the temp gauge read higher than normal?
The reason I ask is that if the head gasket blew first, I can claim on a warranty. If the pipe blew first, I can't.
Any ideas gratefully received.
Upon starting my FSi one morning recently I had the Low Coolant warning on the dash. I tried topping up the expansion tank, only to hear it gushing out as quickly as I was pouring it in. I called out the RAC, who couldn't get a good enough view to see where the leak was, other than to say it was somewhere near the water pump. So I had the car towed to my local garage, where they identified a plastic pipe running along the back of the engine has cracked, hence losing coolant. The garage replaced the pipe, took the car on a test drive and the temp gauge reached 90° and stayed there (as it should), but they could hear the coolant boiling up, and the hoses felt overly pressurized. It seems that the thermostat isn't opening, so they tried replacing it, but this made no difference. They've tried 3 thermostats, still with no difference. Temp gauge stays at 90°.
They now believe the head gasket may have blown, or the head warped or cracked. Best case scenario £600 ish. Worst case... who knows.
My question is, which issue is the cause, and which is the result? If the head gasket has blown (as they suspect) resulting in the coolant system over-pressurizing, might that explain why the plastic pipe cracked, leading to the loss of coolant? Or if the pipe cracked first, emptying the coolant, is that what caused the head gasket to blow? If so, why did the pipe crack in the first place? Either way, why doesn't the temp gauge read higher than normal?
The reason I ask is that if the head gasket blew first, I can claim on a warranty. If the pipe blew first, I can't.
Any ideas gratefully received.