VR6 Cooling questions (Major Breakthrough - Last Page )

[DanVW 0]

Nice one mate :-D glad you got there in the end!

 

So when are the coilovers going on? ;-)

[JIMMI 0]

How sunburnt where you on friday then Goldie ??? I think you are now the expert on removing corrado front panels and bumpers !!

I would of been able to help you a bit more but i was as busy as fook on thursday as you noticed, i didnt finish til 11:50PM !!!

At least they are all sorted now then and it saved ripping out that fan wiring loom !!

 

Jimmi.............

[Badger 0]

I've been having a look at my fans because the rubber belt has come off and im sure that i have only the two fans, should there be a third? If so where's that then?

[gogsboy 0]

Still on the cooling issues, how high is the water level meant to go in the expansion tank whilst running.

 

Are you meant to hear lots of water circulation after switching off engine.

 

Expansion tank seems to be bubbling a fair bit but I'm not the best person to judge whats normal or abnormal, its just it has been mentioned that it could well be the head gasket allowing gas into the coolant system...or something along that lines.

 

Just getting a bit paranoid after fitting new tank cap given what happened to the last one and I'm not in the habit of watching engines......until I aquired this Corrado :x

[Goldie 2]

So when are the coilovers going on?

 

Good question mate, i hope soon but i need to generate the funds first...

 

How sunburnt where you on friday then Goldie ???

 

I was a bit on the pink side mate, honestly i could get burnt sitting under a lamp!! Jimmi i understand you were chocker and didnt expect you to stop your stuff to run after me, it was a good chance for me to get stuck in...

 

should there be a third? If so where's that then?

 

There are 2 fans that are mounted on the VR radiator, they shoulod be linked with a rubber belt, ie if you turn one by hand they should both move....

 

how high is the water level meant to go in the expansion tank whilst

running.

 

I should be anywhere between the max and min levels. As for circulation after turning the car off it depends on the temp, if mine is around the 100 degree mark it circs the water and runs the fan for a short period...

 

its just it has been mentioned that it could well be the head gasket

allowing gas into the coolant system...or something along that lines.

 

If it seems bubbley id maybe try running the car up to temp with the cap off and massaging the top and bottiom radiator pipes to encourage any air from the system..

 

Head gasket wise id be wanting a very reliable second opinion before going down that road..

[gogsboy 0]

Goldie, it seems to rise above the max mark

 

Tried running it with the cap off and as soon as it hit 90 degrees it spilled its load......

 

Does this defo spell trouble with regards to the head gasket or could there be another explanation.

 

How do you do one of these sniff tests, is the gear easy to come by and is it spot on.

[JIMMI 0]

Goldie, it seems to rise above the max mark

 

Tried running it with the cap off and as soon as it hit 90 degrees it spilled its load......

 

Does this defo spell trouble with regards to the head gasket or could there be another explanation.

 

How do you do one of these sniff tests, is the gear easy to come by and is it spot on.

 

Sounds like head gasket to me mate to be honest ! A sniffer is always correct, it works on a chemical reaction so its 99.9% accurate. I have one but ill be guessing you arent around these parts otherwise i could of had a look at it for you mate.

Jimmi.........................

[Goldie 2]

Sounds like head gasket to me mate to be honest !

 

I had a feeling that would be the case unfortunately...

 

My knowledge of sniffers isnt very great anyway so glad someone stepped in there...

 

Good luck getting it sorted..

[gogsboy 0]

Sounds like head gasket to me mate to be honest ! A sniffer is always correct, it works on a chemical reaction so its 99.9% accurate. I have one but ill be guessing you arent around these parts otherwise i could of had a look at it for you mate.

Jimmi.........................

 

No I'm up in Aberdeen, did used to live down Boro way so that would have been handy.

 

These sniffers expensive to get hold of mate?

 

The Corrado started losing water around the housing area but it wasnt consistent and then it blew the halfords cap to bits, havent taken it far enough to see if it will blow the new vw one.

 

So it finds the weakest part of the system, does it get worse over time what iwth last time it finding the expansion tank rather than pipes around the housing.

 

Whats the damage for head gasket £££ wise

[Goldie 2]

Head gaskets arent majorly expensive it is the having them done at a gargae bit that bring tears to the eyes.. There is a reciept in the history for my car for a head gasket at a grand but that is VW dealer prices. Id expect to may a shade over half that unless you fancy doing it yourself...

 

Id take the car to a mechanic that you trust and gat hime to have a sniff at it and go from there....

[gogsboy 0]

Goldie, it seems to rise above the max mark

 

Tried running it with the cap off and as soon as it hit 90 degrees it spilled its load......

 

Does this defo spell trouble with regards to the head gasket or could there be another explanation.

 

How do you do one of these sniff tests, is the gear easy to come by and is it spot on.

 

Sounds like head gasket to me mate to be honest ! A sniffer is always correct, it works on a chemical reaction so its 99.9% accurate. I have one but ill be guessing you arent around these parts otherwise i could of had a look at it for you mate.

Jimmi.........................

 

Jimmi, not been able to do much with the car this week, did phone around a few places but not many seem to have sniff tester....and the one who did said it would cost £60 and I see snap-on sell them for that!

 

Have came across cheaper ones, would they still be as accurate as say the snap on, all much about the same....or is that not the case.

 

The snap on does boast about having Double chamber in unit for a high accuracy level....but maybe the cheaper ones do to.

 

However also on trying to pinpoint this issue/leak etc.....just topped up with the coolant and took it for a good run, as long as car is moving then temp sits about 80, only when you stop occasionly or not move so freely does it sit 90 and off course when you stop it soon goes to 100, oil temp always stayed around 96 ish..

 

So once came back and switched off got underneath for a look to try and pin point when its losing water from, if you look under the car right in the middle its dripping down from there but I couldnt exactly get my head under for a look up...and even if did probably be none the wise due to my lack of mechanical knowledge!

 

Where is this likely to be coming from, whats up above there roughly, could hear lie a constant hissing noise and collant was dripping down in the centre onto a thin pipe ( I think)

 

This info help any more with trying to diagnose this.

 

Cheers

[trudubrstu 0]

finally got closure on my problem (water temp on dash reading 100-102 when warm/crusing and rising to 110 in heavy traffic when the nosiy fan settig would kick in and drop it a few degrees)

 

there was NOTHING wrong with it!!!! dash reading was incorrect! where it read 102 on the dash, it was reading 89 under the bonnet; believe this was due to a sensor in the thermostat housing giving faulty readings - oh, and the fans were all coming in when they should!

 

so, if you've got the o.k. on your 'stat, fan settings and coolant mix - check this sensor out! i was sitting in the car with it ticking over and the diagnostics plugged in watching the car warm up and the difference between the dash/diagnostics was obvious, and i can tell you i'm glad to know it was just a dodgy sensor! wahey, i can go for a long drive now without fear of cooking my engine!

 

great threads guys, it's helped a lot with the fault finding 8)

[trudubrstu 0]

finally got closure on my problem (water temp on dash reading 100-102 when warm/crusing and rising to 110 in heavy traffic when the nosiy fan settig would kick in and drop it a few degrees)

 

there was NOTHING wrong with it!!!! dash reading was incorrect! where it read 102 on the dash, it was reading 89 under the bonnet; believe this was due to a sensor in the thermostat housing giving faulty readings - oh, and the fans were all coming in when they should!

 

so, if you've got the o.k. on your 'stat, fan settings and coolant mix - check this sensor out! i was sitting in the car with it ticking over and the diagnostics plugged in watching the car warm up and the difference between the dash/diagnostics was obvious, and i can tell you i'm glad to know it was just a dodgy sensor! wahey, i can go for a long drive now without fear of cooking my engine!

 

great threads guys, it's helped a lot with the fault finding 8)

[Goldie 2]

Glad you got there in the end trudubrstu, which sensor was it you changed, was it the yellow or the blue one??