[5591Joki]

My 2003 Beetle overheated due to impeller disintergrated. Had it replaced at VW dealer. They stated no leaks in head gasket were detected. Drove 5 miles and it overheated again. They checked thermostat and all was good. They tested at high rpm "out back" and said all was good. I insisted on a road test and it overheated again. Another hour or 2 later, they said they now found a small leak and that the head could be warped, needing a $4,800 replacement. My question is when did the head warp ? My position is it warped during the ensuing overheating episodes at the dealer, not caused by the initial overheating. Anyone with thoughts on this ?

 

[Supercharged98]

My old NB did the same thing, broken plastic impeller. I warped my head, also. No coolant leak out of the engine and no coolant leak into the oil. But, the compression blew into the coolant and heated the coolant even more. I repaired mine for $500. I bought a timing belt kit w/ metal w/p, head bolts, and gasket set. It was $40 at my local speed shop to get the head milled down.

 

[Smileybug]

Yeah, no reason it should cost nearly 5 grand just to replace a warped head. I'd get that car away from the dealer and to an independent VW shop that will treat you better.

 

[bme]

The dealer literally doubles the price on every part. I would take the head to a machine shop as well. They can measure it and make sure it is warped. Most dealers just replace parts instead of repairing.

If you stopped and had it towed immediately upon overheating and did not drive it could be the dealers fault, but it would be hard to prove it.


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[red turbo 03]

Your probably right, the dealer warped the head while they had it, the problem is they will never admit it or pay for any damages that they caused. There's someone on here that has a tag line, " Just cause it's done at the dealer, doesn't mean it was done right " And I'll follow the theme here and say, Lose the dealer, try to find a good independent VW or European repair shop. Unfortunately you will have to suffer the cost of redoing the head yourself, but a independent will do the repair for probably half if not a third of what the dealer wants. Thinking, a head resurface it pretty average repair, just a good over all garage maybe able to do it, if finding a VW repair shop is a problem. Good Luck.