Re: urq blowing hot water (coolant)

[Robert Houk - WorkGroup Server Firmware <Robert.Houk@East.Sun.COM>]

   My urquattro does not like its coolant (or just wants to cause
   trouble...welcome to urq ownership!), because it keeps blowing it out
   through the coolant resevoir cap after I shut the car off.  I typically
   let the engine idle for a couple of minutes to let the turbo cool down
   before shutting it off.  The after-run fan operates at low speed for a
   few minutes after the car is shut off, so I assume the thermoswitch
   operates correctly.  The system must be over-pressurized, but I
   cannot determine how.  Any ideas/experiences?

My first suspicion, as already suggested, is a faulty cap that is
releasing under way too little pressure.

A second thought -- are you running proper coolant? The stock UrQ runs
*WAY* hot (easily 250F+ heat soak), so if you were running (for example)
straight water, it would readily boil over . . . Perversely, running
the engine at idle can leave you with a hotter engine than it runs on
the road (since at idle, you wait 'till the first-level-overtemp comes
on and runs the radiator fan; on the road normal airflow over-cools the
radiator, and the thermostat partially closes to keep the engine up to
the rated minimum temperature).

Since you mention the after-run and "low-speed", I presume you get a
higher speed radiator fan when the engine is running ("correct" opera-
tion!)...failure here could lead to overtemp on really hot days, as
the low-speed really is "low" speed.

Turning on the A/C will engage the radiator fan "Hurricane Force"
speed and over-cool the radiator, bringing the engine down to as low a
temperature as the thermostat will permit -- try that and see what
happens with the coolant boiling over (after trying another cap).

					-RDH