skinnyman9000

From what i understand if the bottom coolant pipe remains cold then the thermostat isnt opening, and therefore isnt allowing water to pass through the radiator. The thermo should open at around 87deg i believe. VW main dealer would be the best place for replacement parts

Lol, not massively but at least this thread has got another reply now. Same again. Just got home, reckons the oil is now 132 and water over 110. No fan until a few minutes after I stopped the engine. Thermostat maybe? Tbh a small part of me hopes the engine blows up and forces me into a more sensible car that actually manage journeys over 5miles without failing

Just driven to solihul, there now. Reckons water is 100 and oil at 126. Got out the car, bonnet cool again, no fan. 2-3mins later the fan kicks in?!?!

Just had a nice lil 100mile round trip to brum and back, sat on the a38 at 75-80 the whole trip. Just got back and my mfa reckons the water is above 110 and the oil is at 128! Now when I pulled up on the drive and got out the fan wasn't even on (it definitely works), the bonnet was cool to the touch, and even the water pipes weren't red hot. Is it possible the mfa is broken and simply lying? When driving at these speeds in this weather I don't see how these temperatures can be reached.

Well it has gone there for things like servicing and small repairs, when i started going the garage was owned and ran by an old german chap who used to work for VW germany, which was good enough pedigree for me! I do prefer to take it to Midland VW when i can, but thats an hours drive away, whereas this place is 10mins, so its not always practical. Also, it only had the HT leads replaced there as i broke down during my lunch break and the AA came out and couldnt start the car, so i got it towed. Now seeing as how i couldnt really get it towed to cannock during lunch i took it to my local place, which is why they ended up replacing the HT leads in the first place. Normally this is obviously a job i would do myself, but it was only taken there due to the circumstances. And up until this point i did trust them due to past work, but after this little stunt im concerned. So it was only this recent event that has made me question them, i wouldnt have taken it there in the first place if i was dubious.

Well I went back to the garage today and told them I wasn't happy with the idea of them stripping the engine down for a fault I felt didn't exist. They weren't 100% happy with replacing the HT lead under warranty so I asked someone to take a look at it again. Luckily the mechanic to take a look was a sub contractor. Took one look at the issue and said it definitely wasn't coolant. He's convinced them to replace the leads. So this weekend going to buy some new plugs, clean up all the seating faces and fit the new leads. Hopefully this will be the end of the problem. The downside is my shaken confidence in the garage. They are my local specialists and I used to take my car there for everything, except major work, then it goes to midland VW. But after this I'm going to have to think twice about using them again.

I've been driving around today and my temp wouldn't budge from 114, regardless of how I was driving. I think a secondary temp gauge is in order

Christ I thort my valver ran hot at 110-118! Highest I've ever seen was 128, and a water pipe failed shortly afterwards. It's all very odd, some people rarely see over 100, whereas my valver has ran around the 110 ever since I bought it 3yrs ago. I've often wondered if getting a secondary oil temp gauge is worth it, can't say I trust the mfa readings to be honest

It runs hot, as per another thread, so its most likely burning it. Tbh running a rado is beginning to turn into a full time job, german reliability my arse!

Well, it was actually the garage that pointed to a possible leak. I had the dizzy cap and HT leads replaced in March due to a starting problem, so i took it back to the garage that supplied the HT leads it get a replacement set under warranty. The chap had a look and suspected a leak, so im taking it to him on Weds to take a closer look. He's pointed to this as he claims the HT plug cap smells of coolant, which i dont think it does, it smells the same as the other 3 which are fine. As for possible gasket failure. The engine had a full strip down and rebuild around 8k ago, so i would be pissed if it was this. But the oil is fine, no white gunk anywhere. It does use water, but no more so than any other car ive had, im talking 1/2 litre top up every 3-4months or so. The plug cap is corroded, but im beginning to wonder if the garage simply doesnt want to replace the HT leads, and wants to charge me £xxx to take a look at a 'leak'. But i haven definately not spilt anything on the engine, im very careful not to do this.

Checking the car over this morning I find I had a HT lead cap corraded that smells of coolant. No obviously external leaks, which leads me to believe it's something more serious. Any ideas?

Mine has always ran in the low 100's, ever since I got it 3yrs ago. I've been having a fiddle this morning trying to solve a misfire issue and I've got a ht lead that has been corroded by coolant, indicating an internal engine leak, so tbh I'm about ready to push the thing off a cliff anyway

It usually runs on syntac silver, I only put the other stuff in as it needed topping up and that was all I had

A few weeks back my oil needed topping up, and the only thing around was some cheapo fully synthetic that my dad uses in his Honda. This past week ive been getting some very high temps during normal driving, im seeing 112-118, which obviously is too hight, it normally hovers around the 106 mark. The water temps have been normal, 90-100ish, and the fan is working as it should. question is, is the crappy oil top up likely to be causing the high temps, and therefore a flush and refill with some syntac silver should solve the problem, or should i be delving further into the issue?

Well my current garage is empty, would be ideal, being rented tho I'm not 100% on how long I'm going to be here. Anymore thorts

Ive had my rado for over 3yrs now, i do love it, but its beginning to become impratical for me to hold onto it. Within the next 18-24months im going to be buying a house, and financially i just dont feel its a good idea to be running a rado daily during this process, due to their unpredictable nature, the breakdowns are making it rather hard to save for a deposit. My question is, how much do people realistically make from breaking them? Its a 1990 valver with 138k on the clock Its got stainless eibach coilovers, which i imagine would fetch £300+ I'd hold onto the wheels, for the inevitable day i return to rado ownership. stainless exhaust FK wheel adapters Audioscape door pods Everything else is standard. It would be a shame to break it as ive spent thousands over the years on engine rebuild, starter motor, ignition switch, alternator, cat 1 alarm etc etc, im sure i would shock myself and a few others if i were to dig out the reciepts. But despite the money spent its still got proper knackered paintwork that could only be solved with a full respray, a big dent in the rear arch, the sunroof and spoiler dont work, and the front slam panel is bent. All this leads me to believe i wouldnt get more than £500 if selling, which is why im leaning more towards the breaking side of things. Some people have recommended i hold onto it until i want to return to it as a full project, but in the mean time it would remain dead money, and i wouldnt want to start with a valver again anyway. Given the prices ive seen some parts go for i reckon it could make a tidy sum once broken. The only other option ive considered is to remove anything from the car of any value and return it to standard, then to just effectively run it into the ground with very little maintenance until it dies, THEN break it for parts. anyone have any thoughts? Or been in a similar spot in the past? Or find themselves in one now?

:censored: I went to my mums office after work to say hello and such, parked my car at the side of the road and popped in. Came out an hour or so later to find someone had ran into it and buggered off. Drivers side rear arch is now nicely smashed in!! Im more annoyed by the fact that they drove off than the result of it happening. The paintwork on the drivers side is fooked anyway, and even if he had of left details i wouldnt have gone through insurance as a spanking new rear arch would look daft next to the matt pink the rest of the car is rocking at the minute. I would have just left it, but the point is they just buggered off. From the white paint left behind im guessing white van man. I hope karma comes around and bites his balls off.

I've had my rado for over 3yrs now, and to be honest the plan is to sell up/break it for parts in 1-2yrs time, with the idea of buying something practical :sleeping: and diesel :sleeping: to replace it as my daily. BUT, the idea of this plan is to then allow me to own a nicer example rado as a second car. I just dont have the time to look after mine, and with me buying a house next year funds will be even tighter, so i'd rather move on and come back to rado ownership when the situation makes it easier.

My rado used to suffer the usual high temps problem that alot of KR's do. However, since fitting a new fan and switch the coolant temp is fine. Yes it reaches 110 in traffic, but then the fans kicks in and it drops to 90, then it will rise again but the fan comes back on and lowers it, so the coolant temp takes care of itself. However, my oil temp remains in the high 110's regardless of the coolant temp. On occasion it has scared me and jumped right up to 126 for 30secs, only to suddenly drop straight back down to 112, no idea what this is. Anyway, my point being, is there anything i can do to reduce the oil temp, considering the coolant temp is ok? I do apologise for bringing up yet ANOTHER coolant question, but most seem around coolant and not the oil seperately.

I think the main reason things take me a while is due to several things. 1) I have my tools in a bag, pretty sure i could halve the time of some jobs if i had a cabinet on wheels with everything in its right place 2) Fitness. After an hour or so of bending over the engine bay it starts to take its toll, i generally move around alot slower 3) I tend to congratulate myself when ive completed a difficult part of a job with a cuppa and a fag, which on the rado is usually after every bolt i manage to undo with the aid of a hammer and a can of WD40.

The only disappointing part of the day was the silences on the cars. When i arrived they had them all lined up, so i was looking forward to hearing them all fire up and drive off, but when they did they all sounded like middle of the road hatchbacks. Couldnt even hear the R8 on tickover

It was a christmas gift. Unfortunately i think my missus paid a pre-crimbo inflated price, but you can do it now for £80, definately worth it at that price.

I bought a photo and cd with a few on so I'll upload a choice few when I get in

I took mine for a quick 15 mile blast down some B roads just for the crack. Despite the wheel wobble and brake pedal vibration i actually enjoyed it, first time for a while.

So far ive had to do the sunroof and ignition switch, im sure heater matrix isnt too far down the line. Ignition switch was horrible. Seats out, lying on my back with the thing in the floor in my back, trying to undo a screw that i couldnt physically see, using a screwdriver i had to bend to a 35deg angle. Nightmare!!!