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Slowly losing coolant

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:28 pm
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

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2019 9:45 am
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.

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:25 pm
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

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 12:12 pm
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.

Re: Slowly losing coolant

Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2019 6:09 pm
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.