Well got her a golf re: this thread she says she love me lots and was grinning a lot


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it's a MK4 1.6 petrol and on the way home on the motorway the temp guage shot up and it started to flash "STOP check coolant". however on checking there was plenty of antifreeze in the tank and it wasn't even close to overheating - also the gauge dropped to normal very quickly after stopping.

So I set off again on the motorway and once up to speed the guage went up and the messages started again. as before there doesn't seem to be any sign of overheating or coolant loss. the car ran fine.

once back below motorway speeds the gauge read normally all the time.

There is no sign of pressure or frothing in the coolant.

So is it just a temp sender playing up? or has the impeller fallen off the water pump? or something else?

other little jobs I noticed were the Alternator belt looks to be in fairly poor condition, the heated rear window doesn't work and the aircon needs a recharge but otherwise it drives nicely and looks good.

Cheers

Mark

Vw waterpumps do have a tendancy to get eaten away by antifreeze so in the end your just left with the centre turning but the impellers just fall off! and then usually block the flow of the water!

Not sure on the petrol engine, but a common fault on the tdi PD engine, the impellar parts company with the shaft in the water pump. This displays the same symptoms as yours Mark.

This happened on my wifes Seat Alhambra ( VW engine ) - new water pump sorted it.

good chance the water pump is Fubarred my 1.8 Turbo failed at 63k. I also had the check coolant on occasions after the pump had been changed I found that removing the connection on the header tank and reffitting usually fixed that problem

Not sure which engine they fitted to the 1.6... But as above, water pump..

Or water temp sender... I have replaced the one on my polo every couple of years... starts to send the temp guage nuts and messes with the mixture settings as well causing flooding.... pretty sure they use the same sensor on a lot of similar aged cars.

The root cause of the problem is you bought her a VW - now if you'd bought her a SAAB you'd know how to fix it!
Cheeers, Pewe10

so Water pump then - easy job?

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Originally posted by pewe
The root cause of the problem is you bought her a VW - now if you'd bought her a SAAB you'd know how to fix it!
Cheeers, Pewe10

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may as well do the timing belt at the same time mine cost £250 to do inc service and belt and pump

There is also a regular problem with thermostats in some VWs. The ones that live in the plastic housing along with the temperature sender on the bellhousing end of the engine. Mounted on legs off two plastic lugs, the lugs fail and the stat partially blocks coolant flow leading to overheating.
If replacing the waterpump change the cam belt and pulleys at the same time. They're good for 60,000 only.

[Edited on 22/6/12 by Dusty]

Slightly off topic, but having owned several Passats, park up, turn the steering full lock and stick your nose behind the front wheel - the CV boots are a bugger for splitting regularly.

Never had any trouble with anything else in 6+ years of ownership, and the temp gauges always stayed rock-steady in the centre (90deg as I recall).

You fool Mark you should have got a Vauxhall
Graham

[Edited on 22/6/12 by jacko]

quote:

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Originally posted by jacko
You fool Mark you should have got a Vaxhall
Graham

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Nah, it's a big room where he stores his branded vaccuum cleaners and carpet shampoo machines.

quote:

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Originally posted by owelly
Nah, it's a big room where he stores his branded vaccuum cleaners and carpet shampoo machines.

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If the aux belt is old, it's likely the cam belt and water pump are old too. I'd plan for a cam belt, tensioner, water pump and aux belt change.

If its not overheating its more than likely its temp sensor very common on vw group cars as for w/pump rev engine above 2000 rpm if water is going back into expansion tank via small pipe w/pump should be ok hope that helps...

quote:

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Originally posted by owelly
Nah, it's a big room where he stores his branded vaccuum cleaners and carpet shampoo machines.

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Quick update:

The water pump impellor had become disconnected from the shaft as everyone said. I did the timing belt kit and vee belt at the same time and all is now well .........

- apart from I noticed that one spark plug seems to be at on odd angle and I guess is cross threaded (*&%$ing amateur mechanics ) whilst it is running I will leave it alone but at some point I guess it will have to be helicoiled before I can fit a new plug.

It is worth investing in a helicoil kit or is this best left to a professional?

Cheers

Mooky

@ Jacko, I'm getting better ta very much.
@Mookoloid, if you can find someone who can do the work without taking head off, let them take the responsibilty for it!