Coolant Leak..Heater Core?

[anarchycamp]

So i have a coolant leak, have only just noticed it but have only driven the GTI once in the past few weeks due to being away.

I had a leak fixed in November last year which was a leaking water hose but the symptoms were different, no actual major coolant loss, just a slight dribble at the hose.

However, this time the loss is a lot more and is dripping under the car. My concern is that the lovely people who replaced my air con compressor broke my heater core (or some part of it) in the process, i know this a fairly common thing on some air con setups and sometimes heater cores are knackered while pulling things out. However im not sure of the setup on the MkV, anyone have any ideas about this?

Its booked in on Thursday to get checked out anyway, any thoughts?

[nismo23]

This thread is useless without pics, bit hard to picture what you are referring to , if you know what i mean.

[anarchycamp]

ummm how is it useless without pics?

All im asking is that, is there a chance the guys that replaced my air con compressor damaged the heater core in the process?

[Spoddy]

A damaged heater core will generally show signs of failure inside the passenger shell as it will leak into the carpet rather than just on the ground under the car. I think the problem will be a poorly reconnected hose or hoses they undid (or is that undone) to make room to work on the compressor.

[anarchycamp]

yeah Spoddy..did think of that ...most heater core break downs seem to dump the coolant onto your feet but wasnt sure of the setup of the MkV, lets hope its just a dodgy hose again.

[Spoddy]

lets hope its just a dodgy hose again.

They should also check for a fractured pipe (the bit the hose goes onto). I had a failed heater core in a Ford Terror Wagon and in fixing that they fractured a solid pipe on the engine side of the fire wall - that saw coolant landing on the ground under the back of the engine.

That repair saw them rework things 5 times including taking the dashboard out 4 times - a long story but it was a Ford....

[nismo23]

Well I though t you didnt know what the problem was so you trying to identify the fault. Pictures would possibly give a better indication of what is leaking and maybe where.
You seem to already know what the problem is though and yet you create a thread to ask what our thoughts are
Oooookay then. Goodluck with that

[anarchycamp]

i was asking what the issue could be...my thoughts were heater core but perhaps not......anyway....no hard feelings..there just isnt anything to take photos of unless you want to see a half empty coolant reservior or a small puddle in my driveway. Cant get the MkV up on my ramps either which is annoying...

its booked in to get looked at tommorow so will see what they come up with.

[mrx]

Cant get the MkV up on my ramps either which is annoying...

After butchering my front spoiler I am now marketing planks of wood which I call, "Euro-shaft", to anyone else who is interested in using standard ramps with their VW. PS. They don't come cheap, PM me.

[jaimo]

The heater core is nowhere near the A/C compressor. One is inside the vehicle and the other is at the front right of of the engine. If the coolant leak is at the front of your car then maybe someone has disturbed something? So how many k's has your car traveled since the compressor repair? because the cooling system is under high pressure & if it was damaged somehow, it would have leaked within that week of driving.
Sounds like there is another leak from your engine.
Jaimo.

[anarchycamp]

I had driven only a few kms since the AC Compressor replacement. But anyway turns out they must have just disturbed a hose at the back of the block or was just a coincedence that it popped off a few days after getting it done...as thats all it was....

[Spoddy]

Good to hear it was a minor problem. Luck was clearly on your side.

[anarchycamp]

Took it in the day the warranty ran out too.....i have extended it but 3 years old to the day.....

the guy did admit that it was probably knocked loose when they were doing the AC refit!

[Spoddy]

Took it in the day the warranty ran out too.....i have extended it but 3 years old to the day.....

How much was the cost to extend the warranty? and what are the conditions?

[anarchycamp]

approx $1,500 for 2 years....is an extended factory warranty, not a dealer warranty...so conditions are the same as a normal warranty..