Here's my deal: Love my car...dont know what to do:
86K on '01 Jetta.
11/6- NEW air flow sensor
Drove 600 miles to NC everything was fine.
11/14 1DAY in my new location:car blew steam and water !! Everywhere!!!spewingOUT from upper right corner underneath hood, looked like underneath where the brake fluid cylindrical thing/Air Filter area is(I'm female, gimme a little credit)--
11/15-11/23 Sat in mechanics shop, finally decided it was the intake hose that cracked to the engine or radiator ---they replaced it.
11/25- brought car home-- runs hot.
12/1- took car back to shop-- to bleed air out of the lines-- (didnt work)- brought car home still runs HOT.
12/8 took car back to shop AGAIN-- b/c it totally overheated.
12/13-- they said its my fault I was driving around (never over 10 miles round trip)
12/13 until NOW said its Alternator and its a cheap part but tons of Labor.?
Does this sound correct? Let me know.
Thanks!!

 

ok, first, the alternator cannot make anything overheat, it can go bad and the belt falls off and which could make the car overheat due to the belt not being on, but thats a LONG SHOT. If the belts are on, no deal!! when your hose blew, it was already due to too much pressure in the cooling system. possibilitys are: 1 thermostat stuck 2 cooling fans not working( electric on this car, think fuse, relay, fan motor) 3 radiator plugged 4 blown head gasket.These are in order of most to least likley. Its really not rocket science for a real tech. maybe time to take itto a different mechanic?Sound like they're not test driving it, which is bad, very very bad.... hope this helps, good luck.

 

Thanks dude, That was my thought.
I'll let ya know what happens

 

Well, all that was not my thought..hahah-- but taking it to another mechanic. Thanks!!!!

 

I'm with itcooksvw the altenator doesn't cause the car to overheat....................you must of taken to a domestic car mechanic.
their way of fixing the problem is to replace everything and with luck knock out the problem too.

It could be a clogged radiator you'd be suprised how many times this is the problem. Flush the system and replace the thermastat..... this is easy and relatively attainable to anyone who can open the hood latch.

try that then tell the results here

hope to help............

 

The itcooksvw is right and for 1 you ARE a GIRL soooooooooooooo unfortunatly the mechanic is takeing you for a ride....You seriously HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A VW mechanic. All the GET-R-DUN boys think they can fix anything but a VW requires a specialist.....lol A VW isnt a mustang or a camaro remember that.

 

Yea the first thing I would do is a reverse flush on cooling system, it's harder flushing these systems than a domestic car. But yea, flush the system, then if that doesn't work, replace thermostat. Also, make sure the belt is secure around the water pump pulley, make sure the pulley is able to spin, also. Other than that, I'd have to agree with some of the things already posted, and sit and think quick about other alternatives.

 

Overheating can be caused by anything that decreases the cooling system’s ability to absorb, transport and dissipate heat, such as a low coolant level, loss of coolant (through internal or external leaks), poor heat conductivity inside the engine because of accumulated deposits in the water jackets, a defective thermostat that doesn’t open, poor airflow through the radiator, a slipping fan clutch, an inoperative electric cooling fan, a collapsed lower radiator hose, an eroded or loose water pump impeller or even a defective radiator cap. The coolant also has to get rid of the heat it soaks up while passing through the block and head. So the volkswagen radiator requires the help of an efficient cooling fan at slow speeds. Thermostat must be doing its job to keep the engine’s average temperature within the normal range. If the thermostat fails to open, it will effectively block the flow of coolant and the engine will overheat.