Coolant overflow

[phatsam2003]

Hey everyone,

I've got a few problems with my 93 obd1 VR6, can someone please help.

I've had it a couple of weeks now, and its been sitting on the driveway, waiting while I sell my GTi.

It's taking for what seems forever to heat up!! After about 10 mins at Idle the oil temp is at 68 and the coolant temp gauge on the dash has barely even moved. Its at this point the reservoir tank starts to overflow. Also if I turn the engine off, then restart, the coolant temp doesn't move back to where it was before I turned it off. Not straight away anyway.

Feeling the coolant pipes, the top rad hose is very hot but the bottom rad hose is only warm.

Its also idling at about 600 rpm after about 5 mins of running.

I have searched on here for a possible solution, and to my horror found this could be a head gasket failure.

Theirs no oil in water, or vice versa that I can see.

I've also changed the reservoir tank cap for a blue one which I got from the scrapie. When the coolant started to overflow, I turned the engine off and unscrewed the reservoir tank cap and there was no pressure change, it just unscrewed with no effort.

Can someone please please help

[Agreeable Slick]

Sounds like it would be worth swapping the thermostat housing out for a replacement.

[phatsam2003]

Was thinking of going that route first.

Also the top rad coolant hose was replaced by the last owner, but he got the wrong one and made an adapter up to make it fit.

Could this also be the problem?

Cheers for the advise

[AudiA8Quattro]

Are the coolant hoses rock solid after driving a few miles?
If so you have a headgasket leak probably at no.1 cylinder, the gases will be pressurising the water jacket.
A common problem with the early vr6.
The only definite way to diagnose is to get a garage to test the coolant header tank for exhaust gases.

[phatsam2003]

No the coolant hoses don't go rock solid.

The top rad one gets ruddy hot and the bottom rad one just gets warm, but you can still squeeze them and hear coolant moving.

I'm really hoping this isn't a head gasket 

May have to get it down to the garage for a coolant test

[AudiA8Quattro]

I would change the thermostat, and get the coolant system check for exhaust gases.
You say the hoses aren't hard, but the coolant starts coming out of the header tank after 10 minutes?
Thats pretty quick. Maybe you have a blocked radiator?

[Agreeable Slick]

Either get the coolant checked, or simply a compression check on the cylinders, if the gasket has gone then it will simply blow and the pressure will noticably drop. Normally if you get the thermostat changed by them, they will not charge for a compression check. At least the ones the missus took her car to didn't.

[Wayne]

I would suggest thermostat to start with.

[gtigolfthree]

Could be airlocked

[rubjonny]

check the coolant faq that i put together, tells you how to bleed it, how to check the waterpump works etc.  by the sounds of it I'd say either an air lock or the waterpump is weak.

its been moved to the MK2 section, it was stickied in the garage section before
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=106380.0