My car kept wanting to overheat, but by looking at the water pump and listening for bearing noise, there was none and the pulley was turning. Well the 2 items that separate the cooling system are the thermostat and the water pump, since the water pump looked good, I replaced the thermostat with no results, still getting hot, I researched a little and found that the 2.0 has a water pump with plastic impellars inside it (bad design) that break off and lay in the little pocket of the engine. Well, I replaced it and there it was, broken. I replaced the water pump and it fixed and overheating problem.
A lot of people complain about Jettas. Mine has been pretty good. I have had it for over 5 years and the only significant work that need done was the water pump. It took them a long time to figure out what was causing the problem. They showed the original factory pump to me and I was surprised that the fins were made of cheap plastic (think the interior of the car).
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
My car kept wanting to overheat, but by looking at the water pump and listening for bearing noise, there was none and the pulley was turning. Well the 2 items that separate the cooling system are the thermostat and the water pump, since the water pump looked good, I replaced the thermostat with no results, still getting hot, I researched a little and found that the 2.0 has a water pump with plastic impellars inside it (bad design) that break off and lay in the little pocket of the engine. Well, I replaced it and there it was, broken. I replaced the water pump and it fixed and overheating problem.
- Marty P., Laurelville, OH, US