[Vwdiesel] Overheat on uphills - help with diagnosis.

[Terry Briggs]

go to walmart and get one of those prestone radiator flush kits, cost 
like $12 and do it yourself, might take you an hour once you get things 
around.
On Jun 22, 2007, at 4:33 PM, Will Taygan wrote:

> Hmmm.. that's a good idea.  The local radiator shop (not the oil change
> place, I don't trust them..) wants to do some type of pressure 
> backflush
> for $140.  I looked at radiators online ($100), but since it's a weird
> chassis/engine combo I think I want to buy locally in case it doesn't
> fit (napa probably), and they are running around $200.
>
> Any thoughts on radiator quality/brands?  Could a flush work?  I'd like
> to flush the engine and everything anyway..
>
> When I pulled the lower radiator hose the coolant came out in a slow
> steady flow. (1/2 gallon in 20-30 seconds) Is this normal, or should it
> whoosh out like on my other vehicles?  Of course, I had the pressure 
> cap
> on...
>
> I'd much rather change a radiator than a head gasket..
>
> Will.
>
>
> On Fri, 2007-06-22 at 11:47 -0700, rumple stiltskin wrote:
>> when is the last time you installed a new radiator or had that one
>> rodded out..
>>
>> very similar problemand that solved mine...teh problemis
>> now yours probably needs a new
>>
>> head gasket now...
>>
>> pics of my two diesel Rolls Kinnardly (s) attached...
>>
>> rolls down the hill and kin hardly make it up the next hill....(grin.)
>>
>> Will Taygan <william at taygan.com> wrote:
>>         Arrgh! My first thought is head gasket, but I'm trying to
>>         think of
>>         other problems too.
>>
>>         1994 Jetta with 1.6TD, ACN tranny and Plantdrive-like vegoil
>>         system in
>>         Alaska.
>>
>>         All last winter the heat would barely stay warm, temp pegged
>>         just above
>>         the 160F mark.
>>
>>         Had the TD Injection Pump rebuilt last winter, shop returned
>>         settings to
>>         specs, previously they were turned down as it likes to send
>>         black smoke
>>         on moderate turbo acceleration (fueling turned back up).
>>
>>         It always overheated on the long mountain passes, I assumed
>>         from this
>>         rich fuel and a weird tranny/body/engine combo.
>>
>>         Water pump went out last winter, did not overheat, had a new
>>         pump put in
>>         at the neighborhood shop.
>>
>>         I discovered the PO had cut a hold in the expansion cap, so it
>>         doesn't
>>         hold pressure. I switched out the cap for the one on the 91
>>         ecodiesel,
>>         so now it works.
>>
>>         Installed a mostly Plantdrive SVO system, tapped a loop into
>>         the heater
>>         lines and forgot to fill the new lines with coolant (7th
>>         vegoil
>>         conversion, getting cocky.)
>>
>>         Overheated on the highway, boiled over, got to a gas station,
>>         spent an
>>         hour with the expansion cap off pushing the acceleration lever
>>         in and
>>         out burping bubbles. Finally burped it all out.
>>
>>         I put in Sierra coolant (propylene glycol - less toxic and
>>         aluminum-friendly). I wondered if the shop put in regular
>>         green
>>         ethylene glycol, and thought maybe there was to high a
>>         concentration of
>>         antifreeze to water, so I drained the radiator by pulling the
>>         lower hose
>>         and put in distilled water.
>>
>>         Bad idea. Overheated and boiled over again, added lots of
>>         water and a
>>         tiny bit of coolant.
>>
>>         Car is now overheating (well, not boiling over, but between
>>         2nd and
>>         middle tick, where usually it's below the 2nd tick) on the
>>         flats,
>>         significantly on hills (even just parked idling with the nose
>>         up) and
>>         cooling down on the downhills. I can drive to town if I crank
>>         the heat
>>         up to high and roll down the windows.
>>
>>         No oil in coolant, no pressure in expansion tank in the first
>>         minute of
>>         startup, oil weeping from head gasket under #3 injector.
>>
>>         Top radiator hose gets hard on acceleration, coolant dribbles
>>         into the
>>         expansion tank on acceleration, not burping anything
>>         additional that I
>>         can see.
>>
>>         Could crap have blocked something when I cut into the system?
>>         Head
>>         gasket? Bad water pump? Radiator? Aargh.
>>
>>         I have an 82 parts truck that I was going to pull the head and
>>         bring it
>>         into a shop so I don't have to leave the Jetta for a few
>>         weeks, but
>>         don't want to replace the head if that's not the problem.
>>
>>         I can't do a compression test unless I remove the IP, since
>>         the aneroid
>>         block the socket on #2, but I need to do a timing belt anyway,
>>         I'd
>>         rather have a head ready to pop on, if that's the problem,
>>         rather than
>>         do the IP twice..
>>
>>         Help!
>>
>>         Will Taygan
>>         Chugiak, AK
>>         81 1.6NA pickup
>>         82 1.6NA parts pickup
>>         91 1.6Ecodiesel Jetta
>>         94 1.6TD FrankenJetta
>>
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>>
>>
>>
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