I knew it was runnig to well.

[Matt GTi 0]

I was on the way to work yesterday, and after sitting in traffic for a few minutes I noticed that the water temp on my car was showing nearly 120c, thought it was a bit strange, but not to bizzare as it was quite hot, and no air flow through the engine for five mins. I noticed on the way home that it climbed up to over 110c, that's with motorway driving as well, so plenty of air flow. It normally sits between 90 and 100c.

My mate has had a quick look this morning, and he suspects it's the head gasket or a cracked head. Does that sound reasonable? He has checked the water pump which he say seems to be working fine.

If it is head gasket or cracked head, how much money are we talking? Or any other ideas what it may be?

 

Cheers

[dazzyvr6 0]

thermostat maybe stuck closed??

[Roger Blassberg 0]

If (BIG if) it's a head gasket and nothing more, about 8 hours labour, plus parts (gasket, bolts, all the other stuff that gets done at the same time). £400-500.

 

If it's the head, my advice would be to exchange it with VAG. To repair a pitted or cracked head, it needs to be stripped down and then rebuilt. You would want to replace the valve guides and seals, springs, re-cut the seats and clean everything up, so a new one is the logical solution. If I remember correctly, mine was around £780 + VAT exchange, including absolutely everything brand spanking new above the gasket. The total was about £1600 :shock:

 

Don't rush into it though; there are so many other things to check first. Thermostat, temp sender to the gauge, fan operation, blocked radiator etc. Are both fans running? - one is driven by a belt from the other one. Let's hope it's not too serious.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Matt GTi 0]

Both fans are running fine, the rad is under 1 year old as well.

Thanks for the replies, I am taking to a friend of mine who works for VW tonight. He knows everything about all VW engines, so I'm sure he'll sus it out.

[Ice White Socks 0]

Thermostat is my guess- They are prone to failure. get it sorted before it sticks shut for good otherwise you will be left stranded. Just the same happened to mine :(

 

Mike

[vr6storm 0]

thermostat by the sounds of it.........mine did the same a couple of years ago..........temp guage went rocketting up.............bottom hose will be stone cold while the top one will be roasting

[Matt GTi 0]

That is what happened, but the bottom hose did eventually heat up. The guy I know said it probably is the thermostat, but he is not 100%. He's going to change it and see what happens. The top hose also has a shed load of pressure build up when it's hot, it's like a metal bar, it can't be compressed at all.

Thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated.