New Beetle cooling system trouble

[bugstnt]

I bought a 05 beetle 1.8 turbo for my teenage daughter but i am having problems with getting the car to take antifreeze do you have to use the G13 because no parts store around me has it can fill it up with water but tried prestone for any car and it does not take it it either leaks out or runs out the overflow also cooling fans wont kick on

[TDCTDI]

VW used g-12 antifreeze. They had their own specific antifreeze due to the multi-layer steel head gaskets that would cause electrolysis & subsequent degradation of the aluminum cylinder head if the wrong antifreeze was used.

G-12 also does not ply well with other antifreezes, it will start to congeal & crystallize when mixed with other antifreezes.


The 1.8t does a decent job of self bleeding. Overfill the reservoir, cap it, & run the vehicle until the thermostat opens (the lower radiator hose gets hot. Once that happens, shut the vehicle off & let it cool, the system will eventually “burp” & you might have to top it off after a day or two of driving.


During this initial run, you should see fluid & bubbles returning to the reservoir through the hose at the top of the reservoir, if you do not see flow there, you might have a bad water pump.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[volksworld]

the G12 has been superceded to G13...theoretically the chain stores should have compatible stuff(Peak pink european formula,Pentosin, Zerex pink/purple etc) .that being said it doesnt matter what you put in it shouldnt leak out...that problem needs to be addressed and is not the fault of your anti freeze...origially those engines came from the factory with water pumps that had plastic impellers that cracked and spun on their shafts so no water would circulate ....and many replacement pumps are plastic too...the switch that turns on the fan is in the radiator and could be bad, and the electric fans are also known to seize up... but if the pump or thermostat is bad the engine will overheat but not circulate any water into the radiator to cool or turn on the fan...plus there are fuses for fan that can blow and theres a fan control module that can go bad too...even a blown head gasket can pump exhaust into the cooling system and blow the coolant out the overflow...good luck....oh and what color anti freeze was in it to begin with ? after nearly 20 years theres a good chance someone already changed it out for prestone...

[TornadoRed06]

Just chiming in to clarify ''a tendency I see too often":

this X has been superseded by this x

No it hasn't!

The *sugar* X, we no longer want to have stock of it because what we really want is just selling the newer *sugar* x, because you know; money talks and we just want to deal with one reference that, tends to be in the most demand...

That above is the truth. In fact, we can still source G11, G12 and G13 from Volkswagen themselfs, maybe even all the other *stupid* variants G12+, G12++, G12 Evo...
We should use/buy what the vehicle needs/the manufacturer states at the manufacture time, not what the clumsy clerk/spare parts retailer wishes.
Myself, soon will be on the lookout for buying G11, that's what my vehicle needs and will be using.

[ps2375]

I've always had good results with the yellow Prestone coolant not creating a brown goo in the system when mixed with the VW spec stuff. But as mentioned before, get the leaks fixed first. And maybe swap in a new thermostat first, and while you have it out you can feel the pump impeller to see if it is loose. Another way to see if the pump is bad is to see if the heater puts out hot air, as the heater core has full flow all the time and that will tell you if the pump is circulating water and maybe the thermostat is stuck/failed.

[bugstnt]

Ok I have changed thermostat fan relay under the battery all the fuses that said anything fan related are new and still fans will not kick on tried just running water in it then mixed with G12 still starts boiling and leaking out the overflow

[TDCTDI]

The #2 fuse in the distribution panel on top of the battery.


Check this fuse to see if it’s blown, or more likely burned where it plugs into the panel. If the panel is burned, melted, or shows signs of overheating, replace it.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.