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I have a 2002 Volkswagon Passat. The stop check coolant light went on and the temperature gauge ran hot. I was told I needed a new fan clutch and temperature gauge. The radiator was bled for 2 hours as there was sludge and supposedly the wrong coolant put in previously. Car engine light also came on and car was smoking. After all this, car continues to run hot and overheat. I was told I need the radiator replaced. Does this sound right?
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Have you checked your cooling fan to see if it is working propely? Let the car idle and get warm and listen for the fan to kick in (if they are electric) or just watch to see if the fan starts to spin faster if it is the old school type with a clutch. Have you replaced the thermostat? A bad one will let the temp rise since it opens too late and then the temp will drop off. But it won't due this only at a light and it will do it infrequently.
The computer is supposed to ground the fan relay when the engine temp reaches 220 degrees. If the coolant level is low, or the sensor is faulty, the computer will not know the engine needs the fan. A mechanic would check the sensor with a scanner or meter. Its also possible the gauge on the dash is not accurate.
A "check coolant" message is generated when a coolant sensor (the Passat has more than one, I believe) returns an abnormal reading. That can occur when there's no coolant circulating (eminent engine seizure) or if the sensor is stuck in an air pocket.
A bubbling/gurgling sound suggests that your cooling system has some air in it, and that might be generating the error messages. If you have just flushed your system, it's possible that someone didn't take the time to purge the system of all air as new coolant was introduced. However, if the system is more or less completely full of coolant, these should eventually work themselves out. Keep an eye on the coolant reservoir tank and keep topping it off if you see the level going down.
A second possibility is that one of your coolant sensors is going bad. I just had to replace one on a 2002 Passat with only 51,000 miles on it. A bad sensor will also return odd readings that trigger warning lights.
A third, much more expensive, possibility is that you are developing a weak spot in one of your head gaskets (I'm assuming you have a Passat with a V6; the 4-cylinder engine will have only 1 head gasket). In that situation, hot exhaust gases may be leaking into your coolant, causing localized hot spots and possibly triggering the error message that you've been receiving.
250 DEGREES ENGINE GETTING TOO HOT.SOUND LIKE CLUTCH FAN FREEWHEEL.IF CLUTCH FAN DONT LOCK IN OR HAVE RESISTANCE TURNING BY HAND WHEN ENGINE HOT.FAN CLUTCH IS BAD.IF FAN CLUTCH OKAY COOLANT LEVEL CORRECT.I WOULD CHANGE THERMOSTAT FLUSH OUT ENGINE AND RADIATOR.IF ENGINE TEMPERATURE STILL READS 250 DEGREES OVER FLOW JUG OR RESERVOIR NOT BOILING OVER THE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR FAULTY.
You can see the coolant level by looking through the opaque round coolant reservoir. It should be just over the middle. There's a line indication proper level. Orange Dexcool meets the VW specification and is generally available. The rear coolant flange can warp and seep over time and leaks onto hot parts. That's probably why you smell it.
p0217 is coolant over temperature. the fan clutch may be slipping or the thermostat is bad. changing the thermostat would probably be the easiest and most inexpensive fix to determine the problem.
You might need a new ECT - engine coolant temperature sensor. If it's not reading the correct coolant temperature it's not going to tell the fan to turn on when it should.
Is the check engine light illuminated? I'd bet the ECT needs replacement.
Hi,One of the fans is the regular one , the other is an auxiliary one it should come one when you turn the air on . they must be working properly . leave the car runing with the hood open and wait till fan comes on , if it does not comes on you should have it check by a tech...good luck....
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