Big.Beezy

I am new to the world of DIY car repair, but I am trying to get into it and I'm really in need of some help diagnosing my issues. Recently, I have been having issues with my 2002 B6's cooling system. about 2 weeks ago I had a small leak turn into a much bigger leak (To the point where the car was out of coolant within minutes) and discovered a massive hole in my turbo coolant return hose. I have since replaced that hose, but after spending a day flushing the system and multiple test drives am still having issues with my cooling system and car is still overheating. I have noticed that the heat in the car barely works or just blows cold air, and just a few days ago I was driving home from work and discovered a major leak/possible new hole or problem in the system has developed when my car's coolant light came on and I noticed the car was starting to overheat again. I pulled over immediately and popped the hood to see my reservoir was empty and there was steam billowing out from right underneath it. I was able to get the car back home with the help of a couple bottles of coolant I had in my trunk for if/when this situation came around, and have tried flushing the system including the heater core by hooking up a garden hose to it. At first there was some gunk that came out of the heater core, but then the water came out at a pretty steady pace... so I thought it was all good, until I hooked the intake back up and left the output unhooked to check it and nothing came out after running the car for a considerable amount of time. Also the heat is still absent.

After looking around here, I'm guessing that maybe I didnt flush the heater core enough so it might still be pretty clogged? Other thoughts as to why nothing was coming out (from reading other posts about somewhat similar issues), could it be the water pump is not functioning properly anymore? The thermostat? Maybe a blockage somewhere else down the line? Like I said, any help would be much appreciated. If I need to give any other info just let me know and I will gladly provide it! I just want to get my car back on the road again!

lyleswk

First off, need to separate the overheating from the heating issue. They are are likely unrelated since you say you have an obvious leak beneath the reservoir. A blocked heater core will not alone cause the car to overheat; mine was blocked for 3 or 4 years and never overheated.

I would start by making sure your fans work. With the A/C selected "on" (Econ light "off"), make sure both fans are spinning. The symptom for this would be no overheating while moving, but it overheats at a stoplight.

If the fans are working, then you simply have to find the leak. You say it is below the reservoir and there is lots of fluid, so it should be easy to find. The 3 things that come to mind are a cracked thermostat housing, a leaking J-plug (just behind the thermostat and alternator on the block itself) or maybe a bad reservoir cap.

Big.Beezy

No issue with my fans at all, just the heat. After "fixing" my car the first time, I took it out for a test drive and the heat worked for a few seconds before blowing cold air again.... But I suppose that is the least of the troubles now.

To clarify, I don't think there is technically a "leak" but when I pulled my car over, the coolant was boiling and steam was shooting out of the little blow-off valve under the reservoir, not necessarily leaking. I had the car for a few days and had been driving it with no issue until I left work 3 days ago. When I noticed my coolant gauge climbing, I stopped the car and that is when I noticed this. I waited a few minutes for the steam to die down, grabbed my coolant and refilled the reservoir. I drove the car less than a mile, the gauge went up, I pulled over again, refilled the reservoir and sat for 15-20 minutes... and again one last time before I was able to get home. I never once actually noticed any coolant on the ground during any of these stops.

W261w261

When a head gasket fails in a way that breaches the separation between the combustion gases and the coolant passages, the high pressure from the combustion chamber overpressurizes the coolant system. The combustion gases bubble up in the coolant reservoir, and the pressure relief blows out coolant rather than have another part of the system fail. If you leave the reservoir cap off, you'll see the liquid rise and run out the top. The bubbles in the system read as "hot" as they pass the sensor, and eventually the "hot" is hot, because the coolant has been expelled. The coolant reservoir will have an oily sheen and smell like exhaust with antifreeze.

This is a classic sign of a blown head gasket.

lyleswk

Agree with W261. Your second description are similar to a Merkur I owned years ago. I would take to a mechanic to have it verified.

W261w261

This has happened twice with me. Once with that pos V6 jointly developed between Volvo, Peugeot and I believe Renault, and which graced the engine bay in an 85 Volvo 760. On that one, I bought some magic additive, which you couldn't use with any antifreeze in the coolant mix, so lots of flushing. I put it in and within 10 seconds it worked,and continued to be fine for a couple more years until I sold it.

The second time was in a 98 Outback, in which Subie went from a truly great 2.2 to my 2.5. It was famous for blowing head gaskets. The PO had fixed it at 90k,supposedly Subaru had developed a new gasket, but mine let go again at 160k. I tried a couple of times with an additive, but no luck.

lyleswk

Yeah, the ford turbo 2.3 was notorious for it as well, I think mostly because they didn't do enough to handle the 12 psi boost the version of Merkur Ford had. I blew it twice in 160K and gave up on it after the second one went.

W261w261

My 95 Windstar was enveloped in a cloud of steam at a stoplight. 60k miles. Ford had a hidden warranty on it. If I recall, they fitted stronger studs and clamped the heads down harder.