Help!

[thamouse1981 0]

little information required please!....so i have my new corrado, when test driving i noticed the water temp took a while to get up around 10 mins then it stuck around 70 the whole time, oil temp was 94 - 98. It has had a new radiator fitted a year ago ish. Anyway i bought it because the car was otherwise sweet. So a 45 min drive to work again took 10 mins to get to 70 whilst driving at 70 - 80mph held at 70, 30 mph 75 - 80, cabin heating didnt thoughout journey. got to work parked up left it idling and the temp rose to about 95 - 100 then stablised. Drive it again and back to 70? can anybody shed any light on what maybe the problem i had expected the car to be around 90 regardless of movement. As said oil temp is good no smoke under load and it drives superbly well even got 35 mpg on the way in!

thanks in advance

[Jim Bowen 1]

Mine used to do that. I changed pretty much everything (including the complete engine) and it still did it. I could only assume it was to do with wiring or the actual gauge on dash.

 

Am keen to find out if its going to be the same this time around as changing engine again and gone through the whole cooling system and wiring, didn't find anything wrong. Have noticed a few people with the same.

[thamouse1981 0]

Its strange initally i was going to do the thermostat and housing, this car has had a new engine as well! but it was strange the heating isnt working unless its not hot enough to register! i may check to see if the matrix has been bypassed

[rickdonald 10]

Mine does exactly the same, has had a new rad, new water pump, cleaned out the heater matrix and new temp sensors (although not VW genuine ones). sits at about 90 as long as im moving, but strays up to almost 110 in heavy traffic.

 

I hear that the genuine VAG temperature sensors can make a world of difference to your readings, but am yet to find out (next on my list of things to do).

 

I spoke to a couple of guys at work in the power-train department, as like you, I expected the gauge to sit at 90 / middle of the gauge like most modern cars. The feedback I got was most modern cars have a filter on the signal, i.e. not to have the gauge jumping around all over the place and to cause panic. I guess at the time the Corrado was made it was seen more important to show the driver the actual temperature rather than "sugar coat it".

 

That said I would still follow the guide on here and check your fan controller and switches are working ok. Have a search and it should pop up.

[rickdonald 10]

Also as for the heater matrix.....as I have just had the same thing with mine!

 

The matrix itself looked spotless when I took it out, and wasn't bypassed either. But as you say still never really produced any hot air. In the end I took the coolant pipes off both going to and from the matrix, then stuck the hosepipe down there to flush it out.

 

The matrix apparently never really sees much pressure of flow so can have a lot of cr*p sat in the bottom of it. I stuck the hose in there and the water coming out the other end was black. I flushed it back and forward a few times then plumbed it back in. Seems to be a lot better now.

 

However I would turn the hose on "too much", or else you may risk blowing the matrix, but a decent flow should be fine.

[g0ldf1ng3r 14]

what rickdonald says about the thermostat is true - VW reengineered the newer ones to give a dash reading of around 90 degs

 

apparently this was their reaction to receiving lots of calls from drivers worrying about their water temp

 

if your water temp reading is doing as you describe, IE sits around 70 degs, then you are likely to have an old style thermostat

 

i had the exact same as you describe prior to the stealth work which included a new thermostat. after the work was done one of the first things i noticed was that my water temps were reporting differently, post work the gauge now sat around 90 degs & would creep up in traffic

 

i did also notice that my engine fans seemed to kick in more in line with how they should & often do the over run cooling after most journeys, something i had not noticed prior to the new stat.

 

in essence i wouldnt worry about it :)

[thamouse1981 0]

Thankyou for all your inputs, i think i will go ahead and change the stat and housing possibly the temp sensor. As for the heater matrix can you flush it from the engine bay where it goes to the bulkhead and would you do that with a standard tap flow rate or a bit weaker stream?

[Liam20vT 10]

My C also used to always sit at around 70c. New thermostat didnt change anything. Recently my oil cooler gave way resulting in my coolant system being full of oil. Spent 2 days giving the system a good flush. Since then my temp has been at a constant 90ish when driving along going up to 100-110c in traffic.

 

Perhaps a good coolant flush could help things?

 

One thing I did notice was that I have a 87c thermostat, so sitting at a constant 90c does that mean my fan is constantly on, does this effect the performance of the car at all if it is always cooling?

[corrado wannabe 10]

I would agree with the sentiments above regarding the readout on the guage, mine does exactly the same as yours.

 

If it wasnt for the heater not producing hot air, I would say dont bother, but there does seem to be two issues, which may or may not be linked.

 

Dougie

[g0ldf1ng3r 14]

I would agree with the sentiments above regarding the readout on the guage, mine does exactly the same as yours.

 

If it wasnt for the heater not producing hot air, I would say dont bother, but there does seem to be two issues, which may or may not be linked.

 

Dougie

 

heater & no hot air is down to matrix i would imagine

 

thermostat & dash readings being as described should not be related as you say

[thamouse1981 0]

thanks again at least i have some starting points. i know the heater matrix can be a pig to do but as the car doesnt have to move i may try and change it...is there a wiki for the job?

[Jim Bowen 1]

I found this guide nice and easy to follow

 

http://www.corrado-club.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8848

[thamouse1981 0]

Thank you Jim...i love this place!

[g0ldf1ng3r 14]

thanks again at least i have some starting points. i know the heater matrix can be a pig to do but as the car doesnt have to move i may try and change it...is there a wiki for the job?

 

if you PM Jim the administrator he has a PDF of a guide someone done on here with lots of pictures

 

the original link no longer shows them all so i managed to collate them back & sent it to Jim to publish here

 

actually scratch that, ive got a copy on this PC.......arrrgh but i cant attach it to this post as the file is too large

 

drop me a PM with your email & i will send it over

Edited May 14, 2015 by g0ldf1ng3r

[thamouse1981 0]

Well i now think the heater matrix is ok it is kicking out heat in relation to engine temp on max it is hot...ish, so its just the coolant temp drove home 70+mph 10 mins to reach 70, holds around 70 reachs 80 at low speed and 95 when sat for 5 mins fans kick in and holds at 90, not sure if its a problem or a quirk...low water temp is good as long as oil temp is ok...riiiiigggghhhttt?

[Jim 2]

Aren't there some bypass valves that were fitted in line to the heater matrix pipes on some Corrado's, to help prevent a cabin full of scalding coolant? Wondering if perhaps they've got stuck / jammed and are preventing your matrix from working properly.

[thamouse1981 0]

Not sure my friend had a 95 plate vr6 and he got his legs çovered in scolding hot coolant when his matrix went!

[thamouse1981 0]

One more question the advert stated mk4 brake upgrade...what disk/pad combo do i now need in order to change them??

[Jim Bowen 1]

If its the rear calipers then just get standard corrado discs and corrado pads, but use the thinner pads not the 17mm ones.(I'm led to believe)

 

I've just ordered all it of from Eurocarparts, pagid stuff, but not fitted yet.

[Dox 23]

If its the rear calipers then just get standard corrado discs and corrado pads, but use the thinner pads not the 17mm ones.(I'm led to believe)

 

I've just ordered all it of from Eurocarparts, pagid stuff, but not fitted yet.

 

Front or rear he'll need conversion hoses too.

 

I'm just fitting some rear Ferrodo pads I bought from you a few years ago Jim together with Bradi disks I bought from VagHag.

[thamouse1981 0]

The conversion has already been carried out...brembo 4 pot with 323mm disc front and mk4 rear calipers just want to replace rear disc and pads due to wear

[Jim Bowen 1]

Might be worth looking to replace the rear bearings. You can buy discs with the ABS ring already installed as well.

[thamouse1981 0]

That might stretch my ability too far!! Discs and pads i may be able to manage!...

[Jim Bowen 1]

Part of the bearing is pressed into the disc so you will need to either carefully get it out or replace. Either way you need to get the bearing race into the new disc. A Local garage could probably do it in a few mins if you can get the parts there.

[thamouse1981 0]

Do you know what size the standard rear discs are in mm so i can measure them up?