'89 200 Quattro overflowing pressure valve before it even heats up?

Question

I have an '89 Audi 200 Quattro that is building up too much pressure in the coolant right after startup.

So much to the point that it is blowing out the relief valve on the radiator cap pretty much right when you start to accellerate moderately. So much that I have to add coolant every 60 miles or so.

I have not noticed anything resembling water in the oil, nor oil in the coolant. No white or blue smoke at all.


I should mention:

Replaced the water pump, the pump we replaced it with had narrower teeth than the rest of the gears on the timing belt.

I replaced the radiator cap, still has same problem.

There is no thermostat installed, which I found out 5 minutes ago while attempting to see if the thermostat is seized. 

It is running straight water in the cooling system now, because I am not made of money. 

The turbo was modified by a previous owner.

Does not seem to have lost any power, but runs rough sometimes.


Any ideas?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

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Anonymous · Answer

You might have a blown head gasket, which could be intermittently pressurizing your cooling system.  (What you are seeing is often the very first symptom of a blown headgasket problem.)

Try starting the car with the radiator cap removed.  Have someone stomp on the gas pedal to very quickly but briefly bring the engine RPM up to near redline.  You have a problem if your coolant bubbles while this happens.  But be careful; if the problem is bad, the coolant will blow out like a geyser!

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'89 200 Quattro overflowing pressure valve before it even heats up?

2 Answers