Ok so yesterday on the way home from work car started to over heat didn let it go to H but went pass halfway which it never has since my 3 years owning it. We'll warped the coolant resv and cracked it from all the heat and pressure. The drivers side coolant hose to the rad is hot and the drivers half of the rad is hot. The passenger side hose from rad to thermo housing is ice cold and the the passenger half of the rad is also ice cold. All other lines are hot. 96 a4 2.8 12v qm

 

I had a coolant reservoir crack over time from normal operating temps so if your reservoir is old that's not a big surprise. You're obviously not getting coolant flow through your radiator. My first guess would be thermostat. Could also be a clog somewhere, the water pump, or air in the system. Thermostats are cheap but unfortunately it is behind the timing belt on V6's.

 

Ya I know it wasn't cracked until yesterday lol. Could it be a clogged rad possibly? Cause If it's not that then I know what the only other choices are bad thermostat or waterpump which means it I belt job

 

Anybody else????

 

Either a stat, pump or a clog. You haven't put any of that stop leak crap in it have you? What's the last time you did a T-belt job?

 

No never stop leak it's an Audi lol. I know timing job is coming up soon. But the only thing that leads me against stat is that when it started to heat the radiator core itself half was burning hot the other half was ice cold. Even if thermostat is bad that should stop the coolant from flowing to the thermo flange should it. The radiator should flow all the way through not one have ice the other have burning. Am I right? Or is my thought wrong that the rad isn't clogged

 

Problem is, usually radiators aren't just clogged or unclogged. Usually they are restricted, its just a matter of how much. Why not drain it and run a garden hose through to see what kind of flow you have? Or better yet, if its timing belt time, or close, just do a water pump and stat. To do that, you have to drain the coolant so you can run a hose through the rad at that time.

 

Ya I was thinking it is the radiator I can't do timing right now funds are issue and need to go to work on Monday. And nobody even stocks it. I can get a brand new rad for $85 with lifetime warranty. And I flushed the rad with the hose obviously I can't get a lot of pressure not same size hoses but water came out both ways but rad did same thing half hot half cold

 

If funds are tight and you've got good flow through the radiator, don't buy a new radiator. Save the money for a timing belt kit. I know that doesn't solve your current problem, but a new radiator probably won't either.

Do you have good heat? That would at least tell you the pump is working...some.

 

If you flushed it and fluid came out, it wouldn't overheat that fast. If you want need the cooling diagram for the cooling system on the V6 PM me and I'll email it to you. You can look and see the coolant flow. But if you're saying the lower radiator hose was ice cold...I would then think it would be the radiator as well,probably a clog. And the clog could move, float back and unclog, then clog again, but what would be IN THERE is a mystery.....

BUT, it could also be a stuck Tstat or water pump failed. Is the water pump leaking that you can tell on the front etc?

As others have said, was/is the heat working? The flow on these is a little different than normal cars..