Do I have a leaky head gasket??

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J2EE Convert - 02 Jul 2007 18:59 GMT

Hello,

I have a 2001 VW Jetta Wolfsburg edition.

Last week my car overheated. I brought it to a local mom and pop place
near my house that I generally trust to have the car looked at. They
told me I had the following issues.

1. My fan assembly needed to be replaced.
2. My Thermostat needed to be replaced.
3. My Coolant test positive for emissions and I may have a leaky head
gasket.
4. Water pump needed to be replaced.
4. I could also have a cracked engine head.

The quoteted me a range between 3000 - 5000 to fix!!!!

I have 600 miles left on my warranty so I had it towed to the VW shop.
The next morning I got a call saying that my water pump needed to be
replaced and that it was covered and ready to be picked up.

I asked the OVER AND OVER again if they addressed the other more
costly issues such as the gasket and the engine head. However they
stated that there is nothing wrong other then that it needed a water
pump. And my car is running fine.

Frustrated I brought it back to the Mom and Pop place. The did a block
test right in front of me and the instantly the test came back
positive for emissions. I called VW and they said "Sir there is
nothing wrong with you car!" I don't know who to belive. I

Is it possible that this block test is not reliable? My concern is
that VW did not address a major issue with my car and in a few weeks
when my warranty is up I will be stuck with the bill!!

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Pitdog

Reply to this Message

Steve - 02 Jul 2007 22:24 GMT

> Hello,
>
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>
> Any thoughts?

I don't have a feel for how reliable the emission contamination test
actually is. Does the car have any other symptom of a blown gasket
(bubbles escaping from the radiator when the engine is running,
overheating, water vapor in exhaust, etc.?)

If I were a very cynical person, I'd say the VW house is probably
betting you'll get out of warranty before you have any further problem,
so its not in their best interest to be excruciatingly thorough....

Reply to this Message

J2EE Convert - 02 Jul 2007 23:53 GMT

The original sympton was the car overheating but they claim it is the
waterpump not the gaskets. Who knows...

> > Hello,
>
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Nate Nagel - 03 Jul 2007 02:29 GMT

The water pump was the cause of the overheating. The head gasket is a
common result of overheating. VW has fixed the cause. The mom 'n' pop
place is trying to tell you that as a result of the car being
overheated, they think that the head gasket might have gone, in which
case you would definitely want to fix it, otherwise coolant
contamination of the oil could destroy the whole engine.

So, you need to know now who's telling you the straight scoop about the
head gasket. An easy way would be to take it to another mechanic and
have them do the same test that the mom 'n' pop did, or alternately a
cooling system pressure test, or another possibility would be a leakdown
test of the cylinders, or preferably all three.

good luck,

nate

> The original sympton was the car overheating but they claim it is the
> waterpump not the gaskets. Who knows...
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J2EE Convert - 03 Jul 2007 04:46 GMT

Nate thanks for you post. I am just fed up with these VW idots. They
refuse to even test it. They just say "There is nothing wrong with
your car sir." I am going to bring it to a different VW dealership and
have the test done. I have had better luck with a different one a bit
further away.

If the test comes back as I think it will I am going to go back to the
other dealership and spit on them.

Brette

> The water pump was the cause of the overheating. The head gasket is a
> common result of overheating. VW has fixed the cause. The mom 'n' pop
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