Mechanics advice needed

taff63

taff63

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Was driving home tonight from work and noticed the temp rising next thing stop lite came on with message check engine coolant so pulled over and let cool down then opened the water coolant container and inside was like a brown scum so topped it up with water and slowly drove to the garage to top it up that's when I noticed the water was coming out underneath so going to garage in the morning to get it checked out so any ideas what could be it's a 51 plate passat if that helps .
Tnx in advance
Mark
 
Split hose?

Cracked radiator?

If lots of water has fallen out make sure it is topped up before driving to the garage. I am assuming you don't have AA/RAC etc?
 
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Might also be head gasket :(

Any white gunk on inside of oil filler cap?

If there is a pool of water under the car it is more likely to be hose or radiator though.
 
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Could also be the water pump :( mine went recently on a seat leon
Is it making a noise ?
I was to l told not to drive the car as if it was the pump and it seized, being driven by the
cambelt meant it could damage the engine ! Luckily l have a great garage who picked it
Up free when dropping off another car nearby.
Depends where the water is pooling, but good luck, hope it's just a hoze
 
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If you are lucky the brown scum is dislodged rust from the radiator which due to the leak and change in pressure is making its way around.

If you are unlucky it could be oil mixing with water. Is it laying on top and a little bit like mayonaise?

Personally, especially if you have recovery cover, I wouldn't drive it. The risks are too great that something else get damaged and bills could escalate super rapidly.

I just wouldn't take the risk, not even for just five minutes away. It could be a hose or radiator or pump now, ok it could be a cracked head but lets remain positive. That could easily turn in bent valves, totally broken head etc if any seizes.

Good luck.
 
Phew. Glad go hear no lasting damage done.
 
For reference, the borwn scum is what builds up when you don't change the coolant often enough or run it on just water. It's basically a rust milkshake, and it can set like a rock in coolant passages causing all kind of fun.
 
taff63 said:
Just dropped off at the garage water pump gone also changing the timing belt as a precaution
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Yep that's normal, antifreeze on the cambelt can cause it to deteriorate, and they have it apart anyway so shouldn't cost much extra in labour charges.
Glad it's sorted (y)
 
dejongj said:
If you are lucky the brown scum is dislodged rust from the radiator which due to the leak and change in pressure is making its way around.

If you are unlucky it could be oil mixing with water. Is it laying on top and a little bit like mayonaise?

Personally, especially if you have recovery cover, I wouldn't drive it. The risks are too great that something else get damaged and bills could escalate super rapidly.

I just wouldn't take the risk, not even for just five minutes away. It could be a hose or radiator or pump now, ok it could be a cracked head but lets remain positive. That could easily turn in bent valves, totally broken head etc if any seizes.

Good luck.
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If decent antifreeze is used in the right mixture usually 50/50 there shouldn't be any rust.
 
I'm sure you wont be surprised how many top up with water ;)
 
You wouldn't think but I have seen and known brand new cars that need topping up. Anyway the op has a 51 reg Passat not a 61 according to the op.
 
dejongj said:
You wouldn't think but I have seen and known brand new cars that need topping up. Anyway the op has a 51 reg Passat not a 61 according to the op.
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I misread it.:banghead: Distilled water and antifreeze mix should be used. If the system is properly sealed and the reservoir bottle done up tight, it shouldn't need topping up until renewal.
 
nilagin said:
I misread it.:banghead: Distilled water and antifreeze mix should be used. If the system is properly sealed and the reservoir bottle done up tight, it shouldn't need topping up until renewal.
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It should have the proper antifreeze stated in the manual, you can't mix OAT and Ethylene Glycol, not to mention the ones that manufacturers supply ready mixed which of course shouldn't be diluted at all. Normally brown water is a sign that it hasn't been looked after well, but I can also vouch that it takes a hell of a lot of flushing to get coolant to stay clean once it's reached the brown point.
 
You were lucky, my water pump failed on the way back from a TP meet. It seized, burnt out the cambelt and killed the engine.
 
I had a Toyota once, their antifreeze is a black premixed solution. Never seemed to need topping up in all the 3 years I had the car. It was only when I went to sell it on and idly opened the expansion tank to have a look that I realised there was virtually nothing in there. The black stuff had permanently stained the inside of the expansion tank, so it always looked like it was at the correct level. Oops.
 
My 53 plate Focus is in the garage today, just got a bill for the same as I paid for the car last year! New discs all round, new pads on the front, glow plugs replaced, steering rack joints were seized, sump is leaking and the rear suspension springs were about to snap. Oops.

On the bright side, I have a BMW 1 Series sports hatch to play with for a few days :D
 
taff63 said:
Thank you all for the advice really appreciated garage just been in touch water pump was totally f%÷#@$% was lucky timing belt never went also fan belt been changed .
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mrgubby said:
You were lucky, my water pump failed on the way back from a TP meet. It seized, burnt out the cambelt and killed the engine.
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Hence my garage chap telling me not to drive it. The total bill was about £400, just over £100 of that being the cambelt kit.
The annoying thing was that the car came wuth a full service history showing the cambelt had been changed about 20,000
miles before.
When he got it apart it looked like it had never been changed since new, the teeth were perished and I was damn lucky it hadn't failed,
yet the previous owner had paid a fortune for a service that included changing the cambelt and been charged £150 for the kit.
I trust the garage I go to 100% they don't overcharge or do stuff that doesn't need doing
 
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taff63 said:
Thank you all for the advice really appreciated garage just been in touch water pump was totally f%÷#@$% was lucky timing belt never went also fan belt been changed .
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Or the pump was about to Fail Under Customer Testing, across the channel 'foutu'. reminds me of a Vaxhaull Astra with "recently replaced cambelt". True, but a rattle was diagnosed as water pump erm... time to do the job properly
 
kennethwfd said:
Or the pump was about to Fail Under Customer Testing, across the channel 'foutu'. reminds me of a Vaxhaull Astra with "recently replaced cambelt". True, but a rattle was diagnosed as water pump erm... time to do the job properly
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Was once assisting (by chatting up assembled crowd of girls, hurling verbal abuse at mate and drinking tea) a lad changing timing belt on his Corsa - he snapped 3 in succession after starting the car having forgot to let the tensioner back down each time.
 
Good advice - the majority of the cost of the renewal is the labour of digging down to it, so the relatively small extra for the new belt is worth it for peace of mind.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
It should have the proper antifreeze stated in the manual, you can't mix OAT and Ethylene Glycol, not to mention the ones that manufacturers supply ready mixed which of course shouldn't be diluted at all. Normally brown water is a sign that it hasn't been looked after well, but I can also vouch that it takes a hell of a lot of flushing to get coolant to stay clean once it's reached the brown point.
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Haha, brings back memories of crawling around under my old Celica that does ;)

But quite right, different manufactures have different specifications of antifreeze, general rule is don't mix red/pink with blue, or you'll end up in all sorts of trouble
 
Or mine - remember the grey one that died because the brown gunge had solidified and completely blocked the thermostat bypass and most of the cylinder jacket?
rpsmith79 said:
Haha, brings back memories of crawling around under my old Celica that does ;)

But quite right, different manufactures have different specifications of antifreeze, general rule is don't mix red/pink with blue, or you'll end up in all sorts of trouble
Click to expand...
 
my passat recently needed a new water pump as well. Its almost 3 yrs old
 
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