Fumanchu Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 2001 Golf GT TDI Mk IV - 110bhp - 240,000 miles A few months ago, back in winter my Coolant sensor started sounding off at start up morning where it was particulary cold the night before. I'd get into the habbit of checking the coolant levels - never really noticed a decline and just used to restart the engine after the car had warmed to reset the sensor... all seemed okay. About 4 months ago, I noticed that the coolant measure reducing and needed topping up, and also noticed a dark tide mark around the reserviour. Then 2 about two months ago I noticed the water was starting to decline at a faster rate and the water was turning colour. This continued until 2 weeks ago i noticed I was having to top up alot and I had to put some green/blue coolant to get me home on an occasion.. this obviously made the coolant quality worse and now its not looking healthy at all. I'm topping up about a litre every 200 miles now ( which is about 3 days av driving for me). Observations: The car does NOT overheat The engine performs as it has done for some time given the high mileage it does feela bit tired...but not different. There is a damp/wet patch under the windscreen wash..its constant whether the was is full or not (sometimes ts empty for days yet the damp is there). The engine appears to make a 'sucking' noise a bit like those big grass sprinkers you see at golf courses. The water pump was replaced 18 months ago. The plastic water pump had failed and the car went through a period of overheating before it was fixed. The oil is black as it always was... no mustard mayonaise in the cap or on the dipstick. Is this likely to be a coolant problem? I have no idea where the water is going, I dont notice patches under the car after parking up. Piping? Gasket? Should I expect loss of power and chronic overheating or mayo in places where it shouldnt be? If it is a gasket, how much is that likely to cost at a garage (I dont want to be caught at a garage with my trousers round my ankles having to listen to their engine armageddon cooments). Any advice welcomed. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Hi! Fumanchu - Excellent name - great old films. The Fiendish Plot of Dr Fu Manchu! Anyway, I digress. You should be using G12 red coolant from VAG for the car. Do NOT put any more blue stuff in. They do not mix well, but instead react with each other and can make internals go wrong, as the mix eats seals and corrodes VAG metal. The best thing to do is to drain all that coolant out, flush it and put in proper G12. And pray it has not done too much damage. Do this as soon as. As for the topping up, sounds like a leak under pressure - once you've shanged the coolant, drive the car until it's hot and then open the bonnet and see if you can see any leaks from under the car (by the windscreen?). Under pressure, you will get a fountain like a pin prick in a hose, and that will help pinpoint the problem pipe/area/seal. That is how I found a leak in the coolant pipe of my Audi V8 quattro. Good luck - but change that coolant ASAP please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchu Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Many thanks! Update - didnt quite doa flush, just drained the system - which has made the collant a little cleaer, however, I think that collant mix emulsion was stopping the leaking to a great extend, the hemoraging has increased two-fold. Looks like a trip to the garage is on the cards. The leaking is is visible at the drivers side, front of the car - I'm thinking a hose might of split - although I cant get tot the pipe in question (if it is even that). Bad news is that my elexctric windows have also failed now (not related i hope). I dont think its the regulators either because I can operate the windows using the key in the lock, the only bad thing is to get the passenger window up II have to use the spare key in the ignition and the other key in the door. Central locking hasnt worked for a long time. Fuses look okay - could this be a certain relay/switch... any idea if there's a central one that links the windows and c/locking? I'm sure VW will have give me the usualy Sensor/relay quote of around 150 quid, supply and fit. Many thanks for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchu Posted June 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 **Update** Took it to a decent VW dealer near where I work (used before, bit expensive but a good lot - Keiths Garage, Aylesbury Bucks). They performed a pressure test - which the car past. They suggested it could be the head gasket, but they'd need to conduct futher analysis. The estimate as it stands: £405 for plugging it into VAG for 7 hours £97.50 for the gasket £27.50 for a new water bottle £530 total They didnt recomend any addtionals ie timing belt, water pump etc etc If it is the gasket, then the £405 covers the work on fitting that and the water bottle. I'm not i that area at the moment, so I've dropped it into a local garage, see if they can beat the price. I'd be happy to have let Keiths do this as it is a very good garage (barring the £135 per hour labour) but I'm not going to drive 70 miles miles on a wim and a prayer to get have it seen to (bit short on laon cars too.). Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 £530 is about 50% of the cars current value isn't it? Is it worth spending that much on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchu Posted June 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 50%???!!!!!!! I'd say more like 90... although it had some new eastern-block tyres put on it recently. Think i'm now resigned to ditching it. Try and px it for something like a 04/05 vectra. Went tot he other garage, the mechanic said he could sort the gasket out but I was only prolonging the enevatable... said I'd maybe get about 3 or 4 months worth of useage out of it until something else went wrong. Said he would charge about 700 quid in all. He said that I should offload it... but before hawking it I should put some kind of gasket sealent (for internal leaks) in to the system to make sure up the engine while I'm using it, said that it would probably block up the heater after a coupe of months, but these work well. Cant remember the name or brand. Anyone know? I really need a commuting car, not too bothered about what that car might be. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 Fair enough - when faced with a big repair bill and unless it keeps the car going for another 2/3 years, then it's tiem to get shot. My Bora commute car is a Y-reg 115 PD, and has 170K on the clock. I do 30K a year in it. Come replacement time, I was also thinking of a Vectra but with the 3.0 V6 CDTi engine. I get 55 mpg on the Bora, should get 45+ on the Vectra, but with the added benefit of a decent V6 soundtrack AND lots more poke. However, my commute is 120 miles of dual carriageway, so great for mpg and cruising between 65 - 80 (depending upon mood, weather, traffic, early or late!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 I think the stuff you might be looking for is called Radweld?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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