New Thermostat Housing Leaks Like A Tap!

[MikLSP 0]

Evening all, I'm in a very disagreeable mood after spending bloody ages fitting a new thermostat housing to sort my water leak. Those god damn clips on the hoses already got me in a bad mood and then a rounded bolt didn't help but eventually I got the old housing off and found that it was completely shagged! Good job I'm doing this job, I thought, as the old one probably wouldn't have held out much longer.

 

So I started with the new housing and came to fit the thermostat, it wasn't a very good fit but it was at least too tight rather than being loose. The thermostat cover (don't know what it's actually called) was even worse though and I was dubious as to whether it would be water tight. Again though it was an awkward squeeze rather than loose so I guessed that once all done up all would be well.

 

I got the whole thing on the car no problem and only wish now that I had tested it's ability to contain water before I did that!

I began filling the coolant reservoir and soon noticed that there was tons of water coming straight back out! I took off the cover from the yellow, blue and black sensors to find that coolant was running out from around them like a running tap (I didn't forget to put the o-rings or clips in)!

There also seems to be a slower leak from around the thermostat cover. I had no silicone sealant but I read that it was optional and thought that the rubber seals would be enough, is silicone essential?

 

It seems that the housing is so poorly made that it's simply the wrong shape and now I'm left with a car I cannot even drive to change the part or get to a garage for help! I'm furious!!!

 

Anyone had similar problems with new housings? How much are the parts directly from VW (I'm considering paying them to do the whole thing as I'm so annoyed with the job!) :mad2: :bad-words:

 

rant over ;)

Mik

[Jon_vr6 1]

I used genuine VW parts when i did mine as i knew anything coolant/electrical related your best getting a genuine part and i also used gasket sealant while i was there its been on their 2 and a half years and 0 leaks, hope you get it sorted mate and replace the clamps for around the hoses to jubilee clips far easier mate

[MikLSP 0]

I'll be ringing VW tomorrow but I suspect they may be closed for the bank holiday (anyone know if they close or not)

 

My problem is that I needed to use the car at the weekend and it's just typical that I decided to do this at bank holiday time :lol:

[daves16v 1]

I'm going to change the thermostat on my VR soon, will I need anything else other than thermostat, o-ring and G12+ ? Should I replace the housing :shrug:

 

Thanks

Dave

[8vMatt 1]

I'm going to change the thermostat on my VR soon, will I need anything else other than thermostat, o-ring and G12+ ? Should I replace the housing :shrug:

 

Thanks

Dave

 

Be on the safe side and change it. When I did mine, the inside edge of the housing had crumbled away to allow the rubber to squeeze inside and cause a slight water leak which would've taken ages to find as it was so small. Gen parts all the way guys.

 

 

 

Ignore the fogs, I bought this lot when I came to work on the coolant system. Found it to be a good time to fit the mk4 Golf header tank.

 

[MikLSP 0]

If it's the original thermostat housing then it will be worth getting one. Here is mine that I took off today, similarly to Matt's the inner edge had completely disintegrated but to a greater extent as only the corners remained. As a result the seal had deformed badly and was leaking. You can also see there's a pretty major crack working it's way across the whole body!

climatronic wiring-Golf from May 01.pdfN194 DTP Thermostat Housing 1.JPG[/attachment:1u9q1u2x]2.8l 24v Climatronic system.pdfN194 DTP Thermostat Housing 2.JPG[/attachment:1u9q1u2x]N194 DTP Thermostat Housing 3.JPG[/attachment:1u9q1u2x]

[daves16v 1]

Matt, do you know how much the housings are, they look expensive.

[MikLSP 0]

Mine was £20 so I suspect from VW it will be more than that.

[vagman 0]

Did this the other week, and i have to say the housing that i took off was in good condition, but i bought genuine new from VW just to be on the safe side! The only reason i did the job was every now and again there was a leak from the housing and rad was on its last legs which was causing the car to run hot. A good bit of advice i picked up from here was to put a very light smear of oil on the new Orings everything slips back together nice and smooth , take your time and double check everything. Its a fair fiddily job to be doing over and over again!

[MikLSP 0]

Tell me about it, I can't wait to do it all again after wasting my time today!! :brickwall:

 

How much was the housing from VW then?

[vagman 0]

Tell me about it, I can't wait to do it all again after wasting my time today!! :brickwall:

 

How much was the housing from VW then?

 

£27.20+ vat

[MikLSP 0]

Thanks...and a guaranteed fit :cry:

[vagman 0]

Well i cant guarantee it, but i cant see why not :scratch:

[MikLSP 0]

No, didn't expect you to guarantee it. I just meant that a part from VW is going to fit and not give me the problems I had today.

[8vMatt 1]

Matt, do you know how much the housings are, they look expensive.

 

I got v lucky on ebay and picked it up for a tenner. I believe its £28 ish + vat from VW.

[craigowl 0]

I did mine about 3 years ago. You can save a bit by getting the parts from Ford (cough cough) as they are used on the VR6 Galaxy, too.

 

Watch the torque when tightening up!!!! It is low - something like 9lbs - so it is easy to crack the plastic.

[too hot 0]

I did mine about 3 years ago. You can save a bit by getting the parts from Ford (cough cough) as they are used on the VR6 Galaxy, too.

 

Watch the torque when tightening up!!!! It is low - something like 9lbs - so it is easy to crack the plastic.

 

Likewise I bought the Ford parts,they even came in a VW bag with the Ford part no. sticker over the top of the VW one :)

Worth trying them if you are stuck with your VW dealer.

They are fairly cheap parts and tend to get brittle with age so its easier just to change the lot to be on the safe side.

[CazzaVR 0]

As above! Get them from Ford, and don't do it up too tight. I always wire brush the surface of the block where the stat housing attaches + then a light going over with wet and dry paper to make sure it's totally deposit-free.

[Erny 0]

From personl experience, I would change the lot, all new seals, and silicone sealant as I noticed how I'll fitting half the seals were the otherday when I was dealing with this headache