Steam from under bonnet

Hi there I have a 1990 cabby 1.8 auto ( Webber carb) last week after a long run I was waiting at light when steam started coming from under bonnet I managed to get home a later a replaced a suspect pipe and left the car car idling to check for leaks couldn't see any however when I took her out again the same happened after a couple of miles back home I cannot see any obvious leaks it just seems to be when driven ( under pressure ) am I right in thinking that there may be another pipe split/tiny hole that expands when warm or am I looking at something worse

was it raining? could be radiator got wet and was drying off.

look closely at the rad end caps top to bottom, often thats where they start to leak from before they pop

Are you losing any coolant?

Hi all thanks for the help unfortunately it's the head gasket just starting to go at the back of the block and spitting onto the downpipe hence the steam 😣

There's a small rubber grommet between the inlet manifold and head which lets coolant around the manifold. Check that 1st as it’s a common problem as the grommet goes hard with all the heat.

It's between cylinders 3 and 4.
You can see the grommet here.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-CABRIOLET-MK2-1-6-1-8-INLET-MANIFOLD-GASKET-GROMMET-C811/190590694921?hash=item2c60173609:m:mZZwYIl2fuMg4nrusI0TsGw

Cheers many thanks for that will check it when I start on car next week 😁

as above, its unlikely to be the head gasket causing it since its underneath the exhaust manifold

my 1.6 had the very same issue, though it wasnt as bad. could see random wisps of steam coming from round the back of the head, new o'ring sorted it.

pain in the rear to do though, you need proper allen head sockets with thin socket extension to reach them all, and a mirro helps massively as they're very deep between the manifolds