dr_mat

Could also be the steering column ... does the pattern of play change if you adjust the tilt mechanism? They seem to be a(nother) weak point at high miles...

Doubt it. Did you lose much coolant? Mine got down to the point where the light came on on the dash, I'd lost a litre or more by that point, but I basically saw the light (erm, as it were), killed the ignition and coasted to a lay-by. I've had no further problems.. Oh btw, that hose often goes first, but it's also often helped on it's way by sloppy engine mounts. Primary one to go it seems is the gearbox one, resulting in lots of engine movement on the overrun, pulling on that hose and weakening it..

Yes, there's a few horror stories of the tensioner bearing seizing and the belt being shredded or burned or something bad ...

Might be an idea to make sure that it's safe first - brakes work, steering works, etc etc... ;)

Not kidding...! Sounds more like the gauge is under-reading by about 15 degrees though, which would make it a far more sensible "sitting at 85", "rising to 100 in traffic". Still doesn't explain the steam. How much steam do you get after your 12 mile sprint? Got any pics?

Wow, that's low. Does the radiator get hot (top *and* bottom hoses)? What happens if you sit there with the engine idling and not moving. The temp should creep up till the fans come on. But then you've already said the fans come on, so sounds like your temp gauge is fubar to me. Weird symptoms though. I really wouldn't expect to see hardly any steam, even in this weather, after a 20 miles drive.

How hot does it get when you do your drive to/from work?

Could have sworn Kev said he'd had the same problem with one pump at some point. Never mind. Yes, could be latching, but the weird thing is it'll sometimes latch to "full" from quite a low fuel level, like less than half tank. It seems more likely to be electrical to me. It started happening after I got the garage to "recalibrate" the scale, cos they'd fitted a new pump and it was consistently reading low cos they'd not put the "Corrado-shaped" sender unit onto the new pump. If I can be arsed I'll open it up and have a look, but it's more annoying that anything. When the level gets down to the .25 tank area, it stays accurate enough for me to not worry about accidentally running out of petrol!

Or more to the point - how exactly do you test drive a car you're thinking of buying without this cover?

Got RAC cover? Go over on the train and call them out to tow you home ... ;)

Do let us know if you get the random-full-tank problem on the fuel gauge after you've swapped the pump and sender...! And even better, if you fix the random-full-tank-problem!

Dunno about the fitting end, but they come attached to much longer cables. There's a reason the dealers charge about 3 times the price for the rears as compared to the fronts! (But I'm not 100% sure what that reason is!)

Dodgy cold-start valves would just result in it running rich I would think. Usually that gives you black smoke, particularly under power I think.

And it's still steaming when the engine is fully warmed up? I mean it's natural that some tiny amount of water vapour is produced, but once the exhaust is hot all the way to the end, it doesn't usually condense out until the vapours have long since left the car..

Is it smoke or steam? That's the first question ..

There's no official discount any more, it's totally depending on the mood of the dealer in question.

Use your own opinion as a guide - how much a difference would it make to you if you were buying the car tomorrow whether it had been main dealer serviced or not? Personally I'd say take it to a VW specialist at least, but main dealer isn't obligatory.

The hose has a flow restrictor, and a branch rubber welded into the middle of it. I think that's why they think they can justify the expense. There's another one that costs about £120, much bigger, with many more junctions ...

The hose is about £40 from the dealer, but I got a local garage to replace it. You have to take the cable guides off the top of the engine, and then the hose clips can be kinda fiddly. I didn't have time to faff around, needed it sorted...

Bet you a pint it's the rubber hose that goes from the head to the heater matrix split down by the head.. Mine did the same thing.

I think it's a little unreasonable, thinking the alternator can drive all the lights and heaters and stuff by itself at idle.. I mean, the headlights are 10 amps, screen heaters are another 10 amps, blower I dunno how much ... What's the alternator on a G60 rated at? Might be better to test the voltage at the battery when there's no load too, to give you a better idea of whether the alternator is actually working at all ..

Well, the weekly "new coupe from vw is it new scirrocco/corrado" (* - delete as appropriate!) posting! Sorry geezer, it's been posted a dozen times before!

Water temp on the gauge? 105 is a bit high .. but not ridiculous if you're sitting in traffic all the time. Make sure your fan is coming on at all the right temperatures .. (use the search for more details) ..

The sensors can be intermittent while they're failing .. I've had both extremes: total instantaneous sensor failure, and occasional-light-on-but-mostly-ok-for-months ..

3D fonts, along with serifs, should be sent to the font bin in the sky, thankyouverymuch ..