[ericagoesbang]

I have a 98 beetle 2.0 gas engine. I just replaced the timing belt along with the water pump due to overheating issues. I got my car back the same day after driving to class and letting my car cool for about 6 hours i started to drive, went through the drive through to grab a bite to eat and once again the damn red temp light went out. I took my car back to my mech who said he cant figure out why my beetle is overheating. He offered to replace the fan switch free of charge so im hoping that is it. I also noticed the coolant level looked way to high it was above the coolant level and have read the coolant must be G12 I told my mechanic he said the coolant didnt matter hmmm.... any other suggestions????

 

[VDubYah]

Did he replace the thermostat? they can fail and cause overheating issues.
Do the cooling fans for the radiator run at both low and high speeds.
Did he mix coolent vw only like the pink vw coolent.Did he "burp" the cooling when it was refilled after the waterpump replacement.
Has the coolent temp.sensor been replaced?
Sorry for all the questions but there are a bunch of things that can cause the problems you are having.
Oh and one more question is your mechanic a volkswagon mechanic?

 

[Smileybug]

Is the temp light solid or flashing? Flashing points to coolant being low. Solid means overheating.

If he didn't flush the system and threw in a generic green coolant, you can end up with some sludge. G12 should be run in these cars...you need a mechanic that knows VWs well, which is sounds like your guy doesn't.