VW Jetta Overheating?

I have a 1999 VW Jetta. Within the last several months I've been having a overheating problem. It first began with my temp light going on. I inspected the overflow tank and noticed the water level low. So I added water, the light went off. About two weeks later same thing. One day as I was putting water in the overflow tank I noticed the seal on the overflow tank cap broken. I replaced the cap. That worked for about 1 month. Last week the temp light went off while I was driving. It was almost to the red area. I pulled the car over, waited for the car to cool off then added water. I didn't get more than 1.5 miles and the temp began to rise very quickly. I noticed water under the car when I got home and thought it was just an overflow of water. Now I can't go more than 3miles before the car overheats. The cooling fan does not go on. I also hear a slight hissing coming from the right side of the engine and there's a small of water dripping from the left side. Theres Any suggestions??
VW Jetta Overheating?
Try replacing all your hoses - about $50. You may have to refill your reservior tank with more antifreeze - $10. Then if that doesn't work, replace your thermostat - $50-75. Hope this helps.
VW Jetta Overheating?
Try replacing all your hoses. You may have to refill your reservior tank with more antifreeze. Then if that doesn't work, replace your thermostat.
Reply:There is a plastic watter outlet, just below the cyl. head at the rear of the engine. I've seen many of these crack. The cracks are not usually visible and it probably won't leak unless it's under pressure. There is probably a lot of grime hiding the crack, too. VW gets about $50 for the part.
Reply:Take it to a shop for diagnosis %26amp; repair. Don't keep driving it. Hope you havent blown a head gasket.
Reply:Your last sentence indicates that the fan does not work? If that is the case, then the solution is simple: check fan for power supply, otherwise replace the fan. It looks very much that the efficiency of the fan was dropping slowly over the period, so the water overheats/boils and could blow out most hoses. The purpose of the fan is to extract the heat in the radiator to help keep the engine operating temp with a desired range, normally between 85-95 deg C.





Best to seek help from competent shop if this idea does not work.





I hope this helps.
Reply:Listen to wrench.monkey above!!





I had a coolant leaking problem in my 04 Jetta (a few months after I bought it used last year) and the repair cost me $5600. Turns out I had a warped cylinder head. The previous owner overheated it and just kept driving it.





The moral of the story is, as soon as you know something's wrong, related to the cooling system, take it to the shop and find out what you're dealing with! The diagnostic fee will be a bummer, a couple hundred usually, but you could be saving yourself from a repair bill in the multi-thousands later.
Reply:DONT DRIVE THE CAR FURTHER. It could be that when the engine overheated the first couple of times the cause was a water leak and the fan failing. Overheating could have caused further damage eg to the head cylinder gasket. This means the car will constantly overheat as the cooling system is contaminated by hot gases coming from the engine. Have the pipes etc checked and if that doesnt help, take it into a workshop. Blown gaskets usually come with warped heads and are not cheap to sort out.