Hello anyone reading this. My 2003 A4 1.8T Quattro started to idle like **** yesterday, when i opened the hood to check it out, popped open the overflow cap and the coolant was boiling and gushing out the engine, obviously got hotter than the 90 degrees the needle was showing me, i got a lot of valve clunking and it became apparent that i have an overheating problem. Now, my issue is that the needle shows 90, the fans dont kick in, i have very good heat inside but the engine is obviously too hot. Sombody suggested i to see if the thermostat is stuck closed by boiling it in water and seeing if it'll open. Problem is that i dont understand how the temp could be normal and the engine overheating, any ideas?

 

That is strange, it should have shown it was overheating, but you obviously have a overheating problem, and I would also recommend taking a look at the thermostat. However, there may be another issue - in that your sensor is not reading properly.

 

Hey, i found the problem, it was a vacuum hose, the one for the valves. Causing them to chatter and running the engine hotter. Thanks for your response.

 

Glad you found the problem.

 

Then why didn't you're temp gauge go above 90 if you're engine is running hotter????

 

That is what had me scratching my head for 2 days...cant tell u

 

You may still want to get your car looked at. Engine temp gauge is a critical gauge and it's important that it works properly. If my temp gauge wasn't working, I'd be a nervous wreck every time I sat in stop and go traffic....

 

i might have the same problem. can u tell me where the vacuum hose is for the valve please?