[Vwdiesel] head gasket needed?

[Roger Brown]

Marvin Jansen wrote:
> My 85 1.6na is blowing antifreeze from the rad cap and seems to get
> hot, over the 3/4 on the temp guage on a cold day after driving 30
> minutes or more..  Maybe it's just the cap I got from O Reileys
> leaking .  It's a German cap, but maybe a VW cap is a different
> pressure or something. How can I check?  There is no apparent oil in
> the water and no water in the oil.  The temp light is still coming on
> sometimes, but after shutting off the engine while still rolling and
> starting back up the light stayed off the last 20 minutes of the trip.

Sounds like an exhaust to cooling system leak.  My '81 had that problem.  A cooling system pressure test can rule out leaks and a bad cap and also tell you if the cooling system is being pressurized by the engine compression.

-- 
    Roger