coolant warning light and yellow gunk

[gingerninjer]

hi all
I am no mechanic. but suspect head gasket issues if u could pls advise
....

car : golf 1.6 se auto 2003

got I car tonight and warning light on dash "STOP COOLANT" check manual
Its just 5 mile home so I obv didn't stop
subsequently go struck in traffic fro 15 - 20 mins... brill

kept eye on temp gauge .. it got to mid point and stopped rising
all good>?>

continued drive and then noticed some weird " grading" noises

got home
smoke from under bonnet
coolant res. empty
cream foamy gunk under oil cap

topped up coolant ... emptied in 5 mins .. noticed it was coming out under engine ... could nt see where in the dark..

thoughst pls

<
?
thx help

[Krikkit]

Lol... Car says stop shop you ignore it? HGF, ruined engine, back to square one.

[texaxile]

HG failure.

yelow gunk is the water and oil mixing (non miscible) due to the heat generated and creating a mayonnaise like substance under the filler cap and in the coolant reservoir.

Temp guage is merely a sensor reading, don't pay it too much mind or give it too much credence.

Smoke is steam, given by overheating due to coolant not being effective as it is mixing with the engine oil as the Hg has failed.

You might get away with HG skim, new gasket and fresh coolant / oil, unless the engine siezed in which case it is, effectively ,buggered.

Take it to a decent Indy, they'll fix it for a price, but on an 03 it's probably worth scrap only.

[MalcolmSmith]

Why ‘obvs’ , it said stop, were you passing through a war zone or something?

Destroying machinery does my crust in, if you didn’t have head or head gasket issues before, you certainly do now.

[gingerninjer]

texaxile said:

HG failure.

yelow gunk is the water and oil mixing (non miscible) due to the heat generated and creating a mayonnaise like substance under the filler cap and in the coolant reservoir.

Temp guage is merely a sensor reading, don't pay it too much mind or give it too much credence.

Smoke is steam, given by overheating due to coolant not being effective as it is mixing with the engine oil as the Hg has failed.

You might get away with HG skim, new gasket and fresh coolant / oil, unless the engine siezed in which case it is, effectively ,buggered.

Take it to a decent Indy, they'll fix it for a price, but on an 03 it's probably worth scrap only.

I do have a decent indy
will see wot he says
engine not seized maybe there is still hope!

cheers

[gingerninjer]

MalcolmSmith said:

Why ‘obvs’ , it said stop, were you passing through a war zone or something?

Destroying machinery does my crust in, if you didn’t have head or head gasket issues before, you certainly do now.

not trying to destroy anything
I had all eyes on temp gauge .. and I have had many a warning light on this and other cars... and all get sorted

but yeah I was keen to get to the pub ...

sorry for doing your crust in ....

[Zad]

The temperature gauge probably stopped rising because the cooling system had emptied itself into the cylinders and there was no water flowing past the sensor. Alternatively, the cooling system depressurised itself, and started boiling. Without being pressurised, it will never remain liquid below a certain temperature (mixture of antifreeze dependent).

Fingers crossed anyway, you may be lucky.

[Bibbs]

It's a VW. If you stopped driving anytime the engine check light came on, you'd never get anywhere.

[anonymous-user]

gingerninjer said:

hi all

topped up coolant ... emptied in 5 mins .. noticed it was coming out under engine ... could nt see where in the dark..

My guess is that could be a split hose that resulted in you losing all the coolant and you cooking it.
Could try a a bottle of £20 head gasket sealer jollop.

[Section 8]

Put some tape over the gauge and drive as normal. The mayo in the oil let’s the working parts of the engine get more lubricated. Ignore and steam and noises and whatever you do don’t STOP. Putting your fingers in your ears and going la-la-la is optional.

[Rawwr]

gingerninjer said:

"STOP COOLANT"

[cobra kid]

Bibbs said:

It's a VW. If you stopped driving anytime the engine check light came on, you'd never get anywhere.

Interesting how mine has never come in the three VW cars, and 15 years in total of driving them.

[Pothole]

"Grading noise"? Your car sounded like a teacher with a pile of test papers?

[eybic]

Cars take their temp gauge reading from the coolant, if there is none then it won't know it's overheating.

[Olivergt]

How much cream foamy junk was under the filler cap?

I know of a Golf that was used for short journeys only, didn't use oil or water, but always had creamy junk under the filler cap (keep it country!).

If you filled up the water and it all came out again, this does not sound like HG, more like a split water pipe.

If you are not mechanically minded, do you know someone who is who can take a quick look at it?

As others have said though being an 03, it might be time for a replacement.

[spookly]

eybic said:

Cars take their temp gauge reading from the coolant, if there is none then it won't know it's overheating.

Yep. And they generally only measure the coolant temp in one place. If the coolant is low then there could be hot spots in the engine that are far hotter than the measured temperature.

If the car says stop then you really should stop unless you're fine with destroying the engine.

[Little Pete]

Its possible the head gasket has failed because the engine has overheated but coolant running out after you’ve poured it in is likely to be a hose or the water pump. The residue under the filler cap is quite common because condensation forms on the inside as the engine cools and mixes with the oil.
I’d get the leak looked at first.

[Coilspring]

I am no mechanic. but suspect head gasket issues if u could pls advise
...


I suspect a major leak, needs finding and sorting, and then severe mechanical damage.

You will be lucky if it is viable.

[GreenV8S]

gingerninjer said:

thoughst pls

You've probably done a lot of damage by driving without coolant and the engine could easily be beyond economic repair. Depending how valuable the car is, that could easily write off the car.

Driving with a 'stop' warning light on was foolish. Continuing to drive for 15 - 20 minutes in traffic with a reported cooling system problem was doubly foolish.

Hopefully this is a lesson you only need to learn once.

[Bibbs]

cobra kid said:

Interesting how mine has never come in the three VW cars, and 15 years in total of driving them.

The light was probably broken.



You know it's "a thing" don't you? Have a Google of "vw cel meme"