kerrinmay

Can the rear bumpers be prepared when they get a knock like that? I've got a bit of a dent in the back of mine which was picked up when the previous owner had it - which isn't all that bad but leaves the top of the bumper not completely flat. I was wondering if this sort of damage can be repaired or does it mean a new bumper?

Don't know if yours being a VR6 will mean it cost more for head gasket renewal? Mine's just a 2.0 valver.

I tried to get a quote off them yesterday when I took it in - but because of the nature of the problem - they couldn't quote me until they had it stripped down - although they did estimate around £500 if it was straight forward.

Mine's having a new head gasket at the moment. Took it in yesterday as had coolant loss but it was running really nicely and it hadn't overheated at all. Anyway they say they have got it back together now with new gasket and apparently the cylinder head bolts had also been loose! They won't know until Friday when they get it running again if it really is ok as they have to wait for some parts - also needs a new radiator, but fingers crossed! Mine is being done by main dealer Peter Cooper and they've quoted me £446.38 for doing the head gasket job.

Just had phone call from garage and they got it all stripped down and although they say they found slight distortion on the head, they say they have got it back together and they believe it will be ok. They also said that some of the cylinder head bolts were loose! So that won't have helped! Bearing all this in mind, together with the fact that it was driving fine and sounded lovely and quiet when I took it in yesterday, they believe that it should be ok but won't know for sure until it is all completely back together and up and running - which won't be until Friday as I also need a new radiator and they have to wait for some parts. So fingers crossed!

They also commented that there was quite a bit of air in the coolant. Hopefully if that was the only sign of the head gasket having gone and not having had any overheating etc then it won't be too bad - but I guess I'm just hoping that, I really don't have a clue - will just have to wait and see what they say.

The garage did the test again yesterday while I waited, where they put something on top of the coolant expansion tank and draw vapours through it and apparently something changes colour - which it did.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm just waiting to hear from the garage as to how bad it is. They only checked the head gasket last week and it was ok then and it's definately not overheated at all since then as I always keep my eye on the temperatures etc., and it was only yesterday morning that I noticed the coolant level had dropped, so I'm hoping that the head is still in pretty good shape.

The fatal mistake in all this is that VW main dealer have recently been doing all this work on my car and therefore I took it back to them today in case the problem was related to all the work they had recently done and they now have it in their workshop. After the work done to the car last week I had been intending to find a local VW specialist but this problem cropped up before I had a chance to look around.

They say that that VW don't recommend re-skimming heads so that won't do them. Do you think I can insist if it comes to it?

Well finally got the C back on Friday and they hadn't had to do the Head Gasket which I was pleased about :D Drove car all weekend and it felt lovely, really nice and quiet too! Then got in C to go to work this morning and the coolant warning light started flashing and I hadn't even pulled away! So I stopped the engine and popped open to bonnet to find that the coolant level in the expansion tank had dropped to below the 'Min' for the minimum mark. I topped it back up and then carefully drove to work and the car seemed fine and then checked the coolant level at lunch time and was still ok, however I had decided that I had better pop back to the garage with it this afternoon for them to check it over - seeing that they had only just replaced the water pump last week. Went to the garage and waited etc until finally the managed to get to look at the car and then guess what they came and told me? The head gasket had gone :cry: And they didn't recommend that I even drive it home. I now have to wait until tomorrow or the day after for them to get time to strip it down and see if they can get away with just fitting new head gasket or if the cylinder head is stuffed.

I'd be tempted too - unless the UK produce one.

oxfordpaul, that's great. Thanks very much for scanning that in. If you've ever at a loose end then please feel free to scan the rest of the Jan '92 brochure in as I'd be very keen to see the whole thing :wink:

Thanks for the offer VR6storm. I'll wait to see how oxfordpaul gets on as he has the right year brochure to match my car, otherwise I'll give you a shout.

oxfordpaul, don't suppose you'd be able to scan in the part of the Jan 92 brochure that has the colour options in would you? Would be nice to have it in print. Not to worry if you can't, or don't actually have that brochure, just thought I'd ask.

I have to say that I am quite miffed about this water pump thing. The thing is, I recently had the cambelt, tensioner, pas and auxiliary belts and coolant expansion tank changed and when I got the car back it was making this sort of squeeky noise that I mentioned. In my opinion the garage should have noticed the noise from the water pump at this point and at least mentioned it to me and this could possibly have saved me some labour costs if it had been sorted at the same time. I'm definately going to mention tomorrow when I speak to them that I think they should have spotted this before - especially as it was making the noise when I picked it up from them after they had completed all the above mentioned work. Can anyone tell me if the cambelt will have to come back off to change the water pump? If it does, then I will arguing about what they charge me for labour. :mad:

Not sure but I'm going to quiz them more tomorrow when I speak to them.

N*** GGO dark coloured (too dark to see actual colour) VR6 with beige leather parked almost opposite my house in Southsea - it's parked there now.

I'm down in Portsmouth and currently (dare I say it) using the main dealer here - Peter Cooper.

Was getting a horrible sort of squeeking noise from engine (chap at tyre shop asked if I had a pigeon under the bonnet!) so took C to garage and they say it is the Water Pump, but they also said it might also be a problem with Head Gasket but they won't know until they do the pump :cry: I've not noticed any loss of coolant or overheating or anything - although it doesn't always start very well and idles a bit iffy sometimes but I thought it probably the injectors need cleaning. Has anyone else had similar problems?

Although the garage also commented that there is also the possibility of the head gasket needing replacement - but they won't know until they do the water pump :cry:

Had phone call from the garage earlier and it is the slave cylinder that's gone, but on another note I also need a new water pump :(

Looks like I'll just have to get a leather interior then :D

Yep, mine is an early '92 and so it does have the early doorcards, dash etc. Is it possible to fit later door cards to an earlier 2.0 like mine? How do they differ to the ones I have?

I've got grey seats, carpets and plastic. The only black bits are parts of the dash and the leather VR6 steering wheel, handbrake grip, gearknob and gator. Think I'm tempted to go for the anthracite grey as if will break up the light grey a bit and hopefully show less dirt than the lightish grey ones.