idle, heat and over heating problems

[PANDARESCUE]

hey guys having some problems with my 92 tsi. this car over the past couple months has become a complete A hole on the cold mornings. it has been starting up fine and idles fine while i go back in the house to let it warm up a few minutes later i hear idle surging. go out side the car hasnt over heated but instead is at perfect operating temp.... also the heater at that point is still blowing ice cold air.
after i drive for a couple minutes the idle is perfectly fine and as far as the heat goes i have to drive for almost 10 minutes at full temp before i start to get warm air and even then its not overly warm. also it seems as though every 2 or three weeks when i come to a stop somewhere the thing starts over heating and i am losing coolant but its not going into my oil. i replaced the radiator cap and that helped a little with the time frame before it over heats. but i popped the hood the other day after it over heated and the top of my trans was covered in coolant and i have no clue where its coming from the rad. cap was clean and the res tank was empty idk where its coming from. i plan to pressurize the cooling system here soon and seeing where the coolant is leaking from but until then any common things to check would be nice and i really want to find out what is wrong with the heater it sucks driving to work at 6am when its in the teens outside and your heater isnt working thanks in advance for any help guys

 

[eclipsyco]

Only thing a can think of for your situation is to pressure test your cooling system and see where the leak is and as for yhe heater make sure you don't have any clogged lines.

 

[jayson427]

i have read a bunch of threads this morning but didnt you just get done putting a rebuilt head on your motor? i hate to say it but your HG might be torn or maybe it wasnt torqued properly. if your getting coolent on the tranny and its not coming from the radiator or hoses it only leaves so many optioins left. check all around the head and jack it up you will find out where its leaking with a flashlight.

 

[GSTurbo1]

check your radiator hoses for pinholes or any small breaks.

 

[cianfar]

did you check your thermostat or thermostat sensor? Let it warm up and then drive around town for 15 min to let the coolant heat up. Then touch the bottom radiator hose to see if it's warm. If it cold still your T-Stat is not working properly or your T-Stat sensor. Check both of those. If that not the problem then check your engine oil to see if you have coolant in them. If coolant in oil you have blown HG.

 

[mr2krazee]

maybe try checking the heater core for leaks???

 

[PANDARESCUE]

i plan to pressurize the the system to find a leak hopefully, i dont have any coolant in my oil and next time i drive it im sure tomorrow i will see if the hose is warm im sure its fine because once the car is warm until it gets low on coolant it doesnt get hot at all i hope to God that hg isnt damaged i dont want to go through that ordeal again and the radiator should be fine its a pretty new all aluminum mishimoto and my thermostat is a fairly new thermostat i think its either a 180 or 186 degree. it was pushing coolant before then i replaced the radiator cap and it stopped doing that

also i dont think my core is leaking i dont have coolant on my floor ever

well drove it for about an hour tonight checked the lower coolant line and it was warm

 

[drewbuddy]

also what is the condition of your rad? (inside) had an escort that was so contaminated it wouldn't throw heat cause the core was caked.made driving the highway at -35C not too fun. just a thought

 

[DSM1G90]

When was the last time you flushed out the block and heater core?

 

[clipto]

Start with all coolant things related, radiator, thermostat, temp sensors, coolant/level, radiator hoses, flush the system, water pump, and as previously mentioned pressure test the system. At idle while the car is sitting is where it gets the hottest. Do you have a fmic? Also having the a/c condesor and the fmic in front of it blocks air from getting to the radiator. Are your fan's turning on? Also if having idle surge check this. http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/191137-how-fix-your-idle-surge-problem.html

 

[uummm]

If you take the radiator cap off (when cold) is your coolant low? If there is no coolant flow in the heater core then you will have no heat. Also with there being coolant on the trans, doesn't one of the radiator hoses run to the back of the block (above the trans)? If so I would check for leaks around there.

 

[PANDARESCUE]

the coolant is coming out near the thermostat housing but it isnt the housing this weekend im going to retorque the head studs and flush the system the radiator is only a few months old mishi and the water pump has like 3000 miles on it at most and no i still have a stock smic and the ac is completely deleted no condenser anymore

 

[Firsts tuner]

If you just had head work done like I think someone mentioned earlier, I would check the thermostat housing. Paying close attention th the water pipe o ring, and the gasket between the head and housing. That o ring is easy to pinch.

 

[PANDARESCUE]

hey guys figured it out i had a coolant hose below the thermostat housing that was leaking a little so i said screw it and replaced all of the hoses in that area with new fuel line hose hopefully that wont split also put all new clamps on should be good to go now