BlueBomber
Member
- :
- 03 P5, 5-SPD
Coolant System Problem
So I was driving home yesterday, about ten blocks from home and suddenly it felt like it was getting very warm in the cabin. I didn't think anything of it and just shut the heat off. (it had been in the middle position)
By the time I was two blocks from home, all this steam started pouring out from under the hood, and the temp gauge started climbing like crazy. I quickly dumped the windows and cranked the heat on and coasted home.
So I shut the car off and popped the hood, and sure enough the top had blown off the coolant reservoir (and actually warped/distorted part of the reservoir, but it didn't rupture). The reservoir was empty. I filled the reservoir to slightly above the full mark and let the car cool down for half an hour. Then I started it up and let it idle for 5 minutes. Then I ran it at 3000 for about 60 seconds, and everything seemed fine. Temp gauge at normal position. Anyway by now it was dark and still pouring rain, so I called it quits.
This morning I pop the hood, and the reservoir is now empty. I open the rad cap, and it appears empty too. So I fill it with water, and idle the car for ten minutes. Temp is fine. By now the reservoir has dropped about 1 inch in water. No surprise. Then I drive it around the block a few times, and everything seems fine. Then I start driving to my friends garage, and after about 5 minutes of driving, the temp gauge starts climbing like crazy again. So I crank the cabin heat, turn around, and go home. When I get home, I pop the hood and the coolant reservoir is basically overflowing.
I am not a professional mechanic by any means, but I am no idiot. I would say I have a "intermediate" level of automotive knowledge, I do all the minor stuff myself. I bought my P5 second hand at 83,000 km and almost 4 years later it has 125,000 km on it. It's been really reliable, save a cooked coil pack and a sticky brake caliper.
Obviously there is a serious problem. For some reason coolant is backing up into the reservoir.
Anybody have any ideas why this is happening?
So I was driving home yesterday, about ten blocks from home and suddenly it felt like it was getting very warm in the cabin. I didn't think anything of it and just shut the heat off. (it had been in the middle position)
By the time I was two blocks from home, all this steam started pouring out from under the hood, and the temp gauge started climbing like crazy. I quickly dumped the windows and cranked the heat on and coasted home.
So I shut the car off and popped the hood, and sure enough the top had blown off the coolant reservoir (and actually warped/distorted part of the reservoir, but it didn't rupture). The reservoir was empty. I filled the reservoir to slightly above the full mark and let the car cool down for half an hour. Then I started it up and let it idle for 5 minutes. Then I ran it at 3000 for about 60 seconds, and everything seemed fine. Temp gauge at normal position. Anyway by now it was dark and still pouring rain, so I called it quits.
This morning I pop the hood, and the reservoir is now empty. I open the rad cap, and it appears empty too. So I fill it with water, and idle the car for ten minutes. Temp is fine. By now the reservoir has dropped about 1 inch in water. No surprise. Then I drive it around the block a few times, and everything seems fine. Then I start driving to my friends garage, and after about 5 minutes of driving, the temp gauge starts climbing like crazy again. So I crank the cabin heat, turn around, and go home. When I get home, I pop the hood and the coolant reservoir is basically overflowing.
I am not a professional mechanic by any means, but I am no idiot. I would say I have a "intermediate" level of automotive knowledge, I do all the minor stuff myself. I bought my P5 second hand at 83,000 km and almost 4 years later it has 125,000 km on it. It's been really reliable, save a cooked coil pack and a sticky brake caliper.
Obviously there is a serious problem. For some reason coolant is backing up into the reservoir.
Anybody have any ideas why this is happening?