Temperature overload

[raypau 0]

I need a little advice. I have just bought a 93 VR6, no complaints except one. I was driving down the motorway when my temperature warning light came on. I pulled over and checked under the hood, no bellows of smoke of anything like that but the temperature gauge was reading 120°C. The coolant tank was filled with water and with no antifreeze, engine appeared to be clean, no leaking oil or coolant it seems or any indication that it is a head gasket problem. Taking it to the garage, does anyone have any ideas what it could be?

 

Cheers

 

Ray

[LowG 0]

vr6's tend to run hot but that is to hot and should be less when you on the mway

[Joe M 0]

Probably just down to the lack of antifreeze as it also raises the boiling point of the water.

Try draining some and put antifreeze in and see how it runs.

[raypau 0]

Cheers guys. Only got on saturday and from what I gather it hasn't been on a long run for a while. I'll get the guys in the garage to give it an oil/coolant change and check sensors

[Henny 0]

raypau Check to make sure your fan is switching on and running OK, also checking the sensors is a really good idea as some of the VW ones are known for failing and giving "interesting" readings... :roll:

[vr6storm 0]

I need a little advice. I have just bought a 93 VR6, no complaints except one. I was driving down the motorway when my temperature warning light came on. I pulled over and checked under the hood, no bellows of smoke of anything like that but the temperature gauge was reading 120°C. The coolant tank was filled with water and with no antifreeze, engine appeared to be clean, no leaking oil or coolant it seems or any indication that it is a head gasket problem. Taking it to the garage, does anyone have any ideas what it could be?

 

Cheers

 

Ray

 

 

by the sounds of it you could well just have a dodgy sensor in the expansion tank............and if it was your oil temp guage(on the mfa comp) reading 120 then thats ok for a VR6 on a motorway......if it was the water temp guage then again its not too worrying as they are prone for reading a bit OTT........the one main worry i would have is the fact that you have only water and no coolant in the cooling system......apart from as joe M rightly says it increases the boiling point of water........it also has corrosion inhibitors in it and can stop the waterways "furring" up......apart from the potential cooling probs it can cause it also points too less than "careful" maintainence........best thing to do is to get your garage to flush thru the coolant sytem a few times and then re-fill it only with VW's own brand coolant(not the cheapest but probably the best for the VR6 engine).....i think its only G-12+ thats available now.........if you get either G-11 or G-12 then these can't be mixed with each other though both can be mixed with the G-12+ coolant

[raypau 0]

OK guys here's some strange readings. I am a corrado novice so some of this might seem simple to you guys. Got in the car this morning and drove it for literally 2-3minutes and the temperature gauge went berserk!! Gave a reading of 130°C and the oil temp went to 160°C am beginning to think that the temparature sensors have totally gone nuts. Would this make sense to you guys?

 

Ray

[Henny 0]

OK guys here's some strange readings. I am a corrado novice so some of this might seem simple to you guys. Got in the car this morning and drove it for literally 2-3minutes and the temperature gauge went berserk!! Gave a reading of 130°C and the oil temp went to 160°C am beginning to think that the temparature sensors have totally gone nuts. Would this make sense to you guys?

 

Ray

 

Check that your fan is working... Mine's just packed in :roll: and I hit 120C Water AND Oil temps this morning on the way to work... :shock: Not good.... New fan and temp switch will be fitted at lunch time! :wink:

 

I'd say it's unlikely that BOTH an oil and a water temp sender have gone down at the same time... Probably worth changing the water temp sender just to check though as these are quite prone to going doo-lally...

 

Whatever you do, be careful not to ignore the gauges or you could have an engine meltdown on your hands... :?

[raypau 0]

Engine meltdown!!! Well its going in on Thursday for a check, not even had the car for a week...gutted!! Surprised the car hasn't melted in this heat!!

Anyway what else should I be wary of so that it doesn't give me a heart attack when I find out? Its a 93 VR6, 78000miles

 

Ray :?

 

:?:

[sc16v 0]

Does the fuel gauage read ok or does that play up as well, ??

 

VR6 is a solid engine and 78k is nothing for one of them,

[raypau 0]

Fuel gauge as far as I can tell is fine. Just the funny temp readings

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Perhaps your water pump impeller blades are worn down? Would explain the rapid overheating. Not a pleasant job changing it either!

 

Kev

[vr6storm 0]

VR6 is a solid engine and 78k is nothing for one of them,

 

 

very true............but it all depends on how its been treated over those 78k miles........as all engines no matter how well engineered/strong will expire more rapidly if neglected and/or abused

[raypau 0]

No signs of neglect as yet. Engine is pretty cleans. Car has had a full VW service bar one occassion. Thanks for everyones help, as soon as I know what the problem is I'll post it in the forum.

 

Cheers

 

Ray

[sc16v 0]

vr6storm wrote

sc16v wrote:

VR6 is a solid engine and 78k is nothing for one of them,

 

 

 

very true............but it all depends on how its been treated over those 78k miles........as all engines no matter how well engineered/strong will expire more rapidly if neglected and/or abused

 

Agree with you there mate. but to think of C being neglected :(

[raypau 0]

Right,

 

Have just had the quote back to remedy the problem. I have been told that I need a new water pump and thermostat, does that sound about right to you guys? Didn't realise what a nightmare job it is to replace, being charged £220+VAT for labour alone and £120+VAT for parts. Am I being taken for a ride here?

 

Answers on a postcard :(

 

Ray

[spoier 0]

Probably just down to the lack of antifreeze as it also raises the boiling point of the water.

Try draining some and put antifreeze in and see how it runs.

 

Nope afraid that's wrong, running straight (distilled please) water in your engine will keep it coolest, but promotes corrosion, and obviously has a much higher freezing point. However many racers run straight water for enhanced cooling, and drain it after the race.

 

In moderate climates (no trips to Lapland in winter, now) a 60/40 water to AF mix is a good combination. A bottle of RedLine Water Wetter will drop it another few degrees.

 

I've heard theories about the water pump needing "lubrication" from the antifreeze but I don't know if that has any real basis....

 

Edit: forgot to add its actually the pressure of the cooling system that raises the boiling point of the water. For instance on cars where the pressure is controlled by the rad cap, if you change from a 7lb cap to a 15lb cap (assuming your system can handle the extra pressure) you will have increased the boiling point of the coolant.

 

Skye

[sc16v 0]

raypau. just phone a dealer and see what they charge then you can gauage the price quoted.

[vr6storm 0]

Right,

 

Have just had the quote back to remedy the problem. I have been told that I need a new water pump and thermostat, does that sound about right to you guys? Didn't realise what a nightmare job it is to replace, being charged £220+VAT for labour alone and £120+VAT for parts. Am I being taken for a ride here?

 

Answers on a postcard :(

 

Ray

 

 

right ray.........you could be getting taken for a ride with the parts btw......here is the retail price for the water-pump-2.9i VR6 021121004X £29.65

 

and for the thermostat-2.9i VR6 075121113D £12.00 now if you were in the vwccgb you would also benefit from parts club prices which drop the prices down to £21.86 and £8.85 respectively NB these are all VW prices and are also + vat

 

so unless they are also replacing the likes of the serpentine belt,coolant,and other sundries......which tbh is really best to do while doing the water-pump then the £120+vat looks ok if they are just replacing the water-pump and thermostat alone then you are being had

[raypau 0]

Thanks for the figures. Fortunately I am only going to be contributing one quarter of the repair cost so am a little less bothered about being had I suppose. All I am bothered about is getting it back on the road at the moment, but this serves as a good test to see if this so called specialist is any cheaper than a main dealer. Does anyone know of any good garages in London, preferably South London?

 

Ray

[VR Zen 0]

I go to the one in Tottenham North London and also have a VR

if you do a search on recommened garages in North london this thead will come up

heres the number anyway 02088087979

 

just say Tony sent you

[Joe M 0]

 

 

right ray.........you could be getting taken for a ride with the parts btw......here is the retail price for the water-pump-2.9i VR6 021121004X £29.65

 

and for the thermostat-2.9i VR6 075121113D £12.00 now if you were in the vwccgb you would also benefit from parts club prices which drop the prices down to £21.86 and £8.85 respectively NB these are all VW prices and are also + vat

 

so unless they are also replacing the likes of the serpentine belt,coolant,and other sundries......which tbh is really best to do while doing the water-pump then the £120+vat looks ok if they are just replacing the water-pump and thermostat alone then you are being had

 

 

Could it be the auxiliary water pump? Doesnt that cost about £120?

[raypau 0]

And the prize goes to kevhaywire!!! Who correctly diagnosed the problem. Impeller blades knackered. But now the car is fixed and now I can enjoy a bit of VR6 fun. Thanks for all the help.

 

Ray