mic_VR 3 Posted March 6, 2009 Afraid so mate as I don't think you can get to the stat without taking the whole housing off....... gutted :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted March 6, 2009 Yep, because you can only get 2 of the 3 bolts off the thermostat cover in situ and it's a real nuiscance. Everything on the VR is like that though, have you noticed? 1 - Main water pump, you can see all 3 pulley bolts, but can't quite get to the 3rd, jack the engine up. 2 - Thermostat - can get 2 bolts off, not the 3rd, off with the whole housing. 3 - Upper chain tensioner pad, you can see where it clips on and wiggle it about etc, but can't quite get to it, off with the gearbox. 4 - Offisde front wishbone bolt, you can see it behind the sump, but can't quite undo it, jack the engine up 5 - Lower intake manifold, you can see the last bolt sat there behind the alternator, but can't quite get to it, off with the alternator 6 - You can see and undo the bottom alternator bolt, but can't pull it out because the inner wing's in the way, jack the engine up. 7 - And so on.... Bloody car :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_leon_ 0 Posted March 6, 2009 LOL that reads like a comedy gag. removing the alternator is so annoying... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted March 6, 2009 Yep, because you can only get 2 of the 3 bolts off the thermostat cover in situ and it's a real nuiscance. Everything on the VR is like that though, have you noticed? 1 - Main water pump, you can see all 3 pulley bolts, but can't quite get to the 3rd, jack the engine up. 2 - Thermostat - can get 2 bolts off, not the 3rd, off with the whole housing. 3 - Upper chain tensioner pad, you can see where it clips on and wiggle it about etc, but can't quite get to it, off with the gearbox. 4 - Offisde front wishbone bolt, you can see it behind the sump, but can't quite undo it, jack the engine up 5 - Lower intake manifold, you can see the last bolt sat there behind the alternator, but can't quite get to it, off with the alternator 6 - You can see and undo the bottom alternator bolt, but can't pull it out because the inner wing's in the way, jack the engine up. 7 - And so on.... Bloody car :lol: LOL Kev. You do have a great nack of writing very amusing responses :wave: But yes, that is a very definitive list... Oh well. Bloody car. :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted December 3, 2009 This has hacked me off, perhaps down to me getting ONE non VAG part, but the most important one :bad-words: Looks like my new stat is also stuck open. Water takes ages to get up to temp and on a motorway run drops down to about 65-70! In traffic it will rise nicely to 95-100 and no higher and the fans trip in and out well. Fuel economy has not been affected at all though. I REALLY dont fancy draining and refitting a stat during this crppy weather and short days, any options, not that i think there are any? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon_vr6 1 Posted December 3, 2009 You sure its not the temp sensor reading wrong or have you bought a low temp thermostat ?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted December 3, 2009 Its the stat from AVS (Febi), so i assume its a normal stat. I think the temp is actually too low as the heater was on and the warm air actually dropped significantly in temp - i had to wind the heater dial round to full. Having said that, a few drives in traffic later on cusing te water temp to rise then made it behave better - perhaps the effect of the hot water caused the stat to 'unstick'. It seemsed to be ok after that (around 75 on the motorway), but again today the temps were lowish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy T 0 Posted December 4, 2009 Surely once the hot running VR engine warms up the stat should be permenently open anyway except in extreme low temperatures, so it shouldn't affect normal running, only the length of the warm up period. I'd bet on the [EDIT] yellow temp sensor going faulty or a bad connection. How does your water temp compare with oil temp on the MFA? when warming up and motorway driving my oil temp tends to be about 10-15 deg higher than water. When sat in slow traffic the water temp rises to the same or slightly higher than oil temp. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
g0ldf1ng3r 15 Posted December 4, 2009 thanks for this post, i found it this evening having planned to change the housing & stat tomorrow....talk about timing lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted December 4, 2009 Surely once the hot running VR engine warms up the stat should be permenently open anyway except in extreme low temperatures, so it shouldn't affect normal running, only the length of the warm up period. I'd bet on the black temp sensor going faulty or a bad connection. How does your water temp compare with oil temp on the MFA? when warming up and motorway driving my oil temp tends to be about 10-15 deg higher than water. When sat in slow traffic the water temp rises to the same or slightly higher than oil temp. Actually at the moment the oil temp wire on my relay panel is loose so i dont have the temp on the MFA. But in the summer it didnt go over about 100C. Water goes up to about 100 in traffic at the moment I thought that the thermostat would open and close as the water temp varied? Also, wasnt the black temp sensor for the third fan speed? I've wired in two spals into the connector so speed 3 is irrelevant in my car. Open to suggestions anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy T 0 Posted December 6, 2009 Surely once the hot running VR engine warms up the stat should be permenently open anyway except in extreme low temperatures, so it shouldn't affect normal running, only the length of the warm up period. I'd bet on the black temp sensor going faulty or a bad connection. How does your water temp compare with oil temp on the MFA? when warming up and motorway driving my oil temp tends to be about 10-15 deg higher than water. When sat in slow traffic the water temp rises to the same or slightly higher than oil temp. Actually at the moment the oil temp wire on my relay panel is loose so i dont have the temp on the MFA. But in the summer it didnt go over about 100C. Water goes up to about 100 in traffic at the moment I thought that the thermostat would open and close as the water temp varied? Also, wasnt the black temp sensor for the third fan speed? I've wired in two spals into the connector so speed 3 is irrelevant in my car. Open to suggestions anyway. Yeah you're right about black sensor I meant yellow sensor. I've just noticed this weekend that I don't have oil temp display on the MFA anymore, gutted! how did you find out yours was wiring at the relay panel, is it a common fault for MFA's? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted December 6, 2009 Its only a guess as i was fiddling with the panel, trying to fit it flush and straight, thereafter no reading on the MFA. The oil temp sensor is very straightforward, its just two wires, one to the MFA the other to earth. The connection to the sensor is fine, so it only leave the other end on the relay panel. Not got round to checking it properly though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FenderSi 0 Posted March 22, 2013 Thank you, thank you, thank you! This thread has just saved me a load of hassle. Easy to follow and the problem was easy to find and fix!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
