My 1998 golf3 has the overheating light coming on and have had to top up water so often,i even changed the head gasket,it cleared for sometime but it is now back,changed thermostat and thermo switch please advise.

RECALLS: CHECK WITH VW.COM TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY RECALLS FOR THAT VEHICLE. IF SO, THEN ONLY FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S INSTRUCTIONS.

GENERAL INFO: ALWAYS GET THE PROPER PARTS & FLUIDS THAT MEET OR EXCEED MANUFACTURER & GOVERNMENT SPECIFICATIONS & STANDARDS FOR YOUR VEHICLE.

PRESSURE: ONLY ON A COLD ENGINE (HOURS WITHOUT USE) replace the radiator cap. With time, radiator caps tend to hold less pressure which can lower the boiling temperature of the coolant mixture.

COOLANT: First of all, everytime that you add water without antifreeze/coolant, you approach a lower ratio of antifreeze/coolant to water. Maximum protection is at 70% coolant to 30% water. A pre-mixed coolant already has water in it & at a 50/50 ratio, IT PROVIDES THE MINIMUM PROTECTION--ADDIMG TO THE PERCENTAGE OF WATER IN SUCH A MIXTURE TAKES IT BELOW MINIMUM PROTECTION WHICH CAN LEAD TO PROBLEMS SUCH AS OVERHEATING. Your best bet is to have the radiator FLUSHED & replenished with a 70/30 mixture of coolant & water.


FANS: It is quite possible that a fan is not properly functioning.

On a belt-driven fan, this could be caused by a faulty fan clutch. Replace the fan clutch AND THE WATER PUMP IN TANDEM IF THOSE SHARE A COMMON BEARING (A ROD EXTENDING TO BOTH). Regardless of what you hear, this is the proper method because when the bearing goes out on one side, it affects the other side. By not replacing both sides in tandem, undue stress can be placed on the replacement as an antagonizing see-saw effect can develop between the two parts.

On an electric fan, make sure that it is CONNECTED--including the GROUND WIRE. A DIRTY GROUND CONNECTION CAN INTERFERE WITH FAN OPERATION. A bad fuse can be discovered by examining for a melted connector inside the plastic (or in the case of an aftermarket "SMART" fuse it will light up when it goes bad). A bad fan relay is often best detected by comparing performance with a replacement.fan relay.

Could be a crack in the block. Fill it with dye & use the special light & glasses to find the leak. Its possibly the head wasnt done properly... I had that problem once & it was as simple as adding block sealer to the coolant. The copper one works best for that