Slowly losing coolant

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Dg81
New
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:11 pm
Drives: 2010 1.6tdi
Location: Central Bedfordshire

Slowly losing coolant

Post by Dg81 »

Hi all
I was looking for a little advice regarding my 2010 1.6tdi. It's been losing coolant over that last few months, not massive amounts but I'm having to top up from min to max every 500 - 700 miles or so. I've checked the following and can confirm:
No evidence of leak on the drive
No steam from exhaust
No rough idle
No sweet smells in the cabin
No contamination of oil on the cap or dip stick
No hiss from coolant tank when engine is cold.
I've taken it to a garage for a pressure test and they say they couldn't find any external leaks. They've suggested it's either a head gasket problem or the EGR cooler. Both extremely expensive and they can't say for sure which one is causing the problem, so I might spend the money only to find the problem still exists.
I'm at a loss as to what to do. I asked them to do a head gasket sniffer test, but they said because my coolant tank looks stained/dirty it wouldn't be able to give an accurate indication??
If anyone is able to offer some advice, I'd be forever in your debt.
Thanks
joe6
Bronze Member
Posts: 246
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:24 pm
Drives: Golf Mk6 GTI (Scirocco gone) Polo 6c GTI
Location: East Midlands

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Post by joe6 »

The dirty coolant tank may be an indication of head gasket problem as on my 2010 car the tank is still clean. Water pumps are known to start leaking and could cause the symptoms with a slow leak - usually starts after cam belt replacement.
john__m
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Posts: 27
Joined: Tue May 15, 2018 12:18 pm
Drives: polo gti 6c
Location: surrey

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Post by john__m »

I have a 15 plate gti, mines done exactly the same thing from new .again they pressure tested it and said no leaks found
Dink
Platinum Member
Posts: 1144
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:04 am
Drives: 2015 GTI
Location: Cwmbran, South wales

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Post by Dink »

john__m wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:25 pm I have a 15 plate gti, mines done exactly the same thing from new .again they pressure tested it and said no leaks found
Ive seen a few people have this problem and it was the water pump housing.
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iichel
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Posts: 6361
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 2:14 pm
Drives: Polo 6R 2.0 TDI, Passat B8 2.0 TSI
Location: http://mypassat.nl/

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Post by iichel »

Yes water pump is the main suspect, when mileage is high (200.000km range). Otherwise the egr might be leaking internally, this is common as well. Head gaskets don't often blow in these engines.
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