Recovered From Motorway Today!!! Overheated Big Time!!

[RickT]

Hi,,,

Right... joined the motorway with a bit of the power down..

After about 5 mins the engine temp went upto 130'c and the coolant red symbol was displayed... (i have already done 50 miles earlier in the day)

So.. pulled over onto the hard shoulder expecting to have a coolant leak.. let her cool down for a bit.. check coolant and no loss of coolant....

I fitted a new themostat 2 weeks ago.. 1000 miles ago so i instantly thought that..

After running a few simple checks on the shoulder i found i had no hot air and the temp dropped to 90'c...also checked that no water was in the oil and there was none luckly... (didnt fancy playing with the head!!) i thought...as its now back to 90'c i will run a few more hundered yards and see what happens...

Set off again and after approx 30 sec's or so the temp started to rocket again... pulled onto the shoulder and had another look..

The coolant in bottle was bubbling ie boiling! decided at this point it would be a GREENFLAG recover job...
Called them out and they arrive within 40mins... ok I guess...

The recovery guy said as theres no leak more than likley he thinks the water pump will have gave up... i common fault on VAG, MERC, BMW is the spinal in the water pump is nylon and on tick over it manages to grip ok to pump water to keep at at running temp.. but once power is put through it it cant grip it... hence the water not going around the system... I had a think and thought this sounds like it could be the case here...

So... got home.. had a look and i think it may be water pump time..... (as well as CAM Belt if im doing the pump)


So... your thoughts please.... would you agree with the above resolve or have i missed something simple??

Cheers

RicKT

 

[GFORCE]

Hi Rick, honestly that is exactly the same as happened to me 2 weeks ago on the M4. The waterpump impeller is made from plastic that gets very hot and brittle. After time it can crack and hence waterpump can fail.

Had my waterpump and cambelt done at the same time not forgeting the cambelt tensioner. Mine went at 38k, the waterpump also went on my Mk Golf GTI 1.8T @ 115k.

Unfortunatly due to the water pump impeller being plastic and prone to failure it's like a ticking timebomb.

Tip.get one with a metal impeller this is what I did

Also worth maybe changing the oil as if you really overheated you may of thinned the oil at such high temps. Good luck
James

 

[RickT]

Cheers for that mate...

It looks like water pump... Cam belt change while its in bit and a full service...

A busy next weekend....

Cheers

RicKT

 

[GFORCE]

also, mine was a 1.8T BFB engine.

It's a bitch of a job as they had to remove the front end of the car to gain acess to the cambelt etc due to the way the engine is mounted.

I had the following done as some components were showing excessive wear.

Cambelt change, new waterpump with metal impeller, replaced idler roller, new piston damper, new platinum spark plugs, oil change and new filter, new G12 antifreeze also. (mine was due a service though)

Car is spot on now.

 

[RickT]

yeah i know... its a big job....

Luckly my mate will be doing the work.. he's at the top of his game working for MERC so hes a good mate to have!!

After thinking about... I have noticed that when i got my CAM belt changed 50K ago.. the water pump was not changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now new pump and at least i get to do the CAM belt while its in bits..

i will keep you posted...

 

[GFORCE]

I know so many people don't change the waterpump when doing the cambelt, joke really. all the best

 

[bubstar]

I know so many people don't change the waterpump when doing the cambelt, joke really. all the best

False economy and all that.......

Did the cam' belt on the wifes 1.4 16v Clio a while back. Made sure I put a pump on. Renault use a metal impeller but the seal can still fail just like any water pump. That's the trouble when the pump's behind the timing belt cover, you just can't spot any leaks untill it's too late.......

Good luck Rick T. At least you did the right thing, there are PLENTY of idiots out there who would've kept going and ****** the engine!

BUB

 

[The911SC]

Agree with all above but dont forget the oil cooler is also an archiles heel on the vag/audi engines. Any sign of contamination and get it changed quickly, i have know of many occasions where this has failed and its only about 30 quid to change and quite easy.

 

[RickT]

thanks guys for the input!

i will let you know how i get on,,

To be honest when it happened i was hoping when i lifted the bonnet I was going to find a nice simple split hose issue!! but.... no

Cheers

RicKT

 

[gaz j]

Exactly the same happened to my last 1.8T before Xmas. It was the water pump.

 

[technics100]

same thing just happened to me in my 1.8t Bora, cost £135 inc parts & labour, needed my belt done shortly anyway..

 

[A4Andy]

Slightly different background to my fault, same symptoms. Fault: Water pump.

Ho hum. Needed the belt, tensioners, pulleys etc done anyway in a few months.

I can't believe VAG have such a poorly designed pump on what is otherwise a pretty much bullet proof engine.

 

[FrankG]

Feck it, that sounds like what might be happening to mine at the minute, the coolant light has been coming on and off over the last few weeks, then last night I noticed there was no sign of coolant in the resevoir bootle, and there was no sign of a leak under the car, drove it in to the dealer this morning and left it with them to see if they get a chance to examine it today, the temp gauge never went over 90°, if they can't look at it today I'll just have to keep topping it up with coolant........

 

[golf]

Feck it, that sounds like what might be happening to mine at the minute, the coolant light has been coming on and off over the last few weeks, then last night I noticed there was no sign of coolant in the resevoir bootle, and there was no sign of a leak under the car, drove it in to the dealer this morning and left it with them to see if they get a chance to examine it today, the temp gauge never went over 90°, if they can't look at it today I'll just have to keep topping it up with coolant........

It wont be your water pump Frank, if it was on the way out the engine temp would skyrocket to 130c after reaching normal temp. If your needle stays at 90c then your pump will be fine.

 

[FrankG]

Thats good to hear, hopefully it will be something simple like a burst hose or loose conection! Cheers

 

[46TheDoctor]

If your losing coolant yet have no leak the water can only be going to one or two places, are your carpets inside dry? Ie heater matrix blown. Have you looked at your engine oil? Has it emulsified and gone all creamy, if so it could be a head gasket or knackered oil cooler which has allowed coolant and engine oil to mix, this is quite common on these engines. If its none of the above its either got a leak and you cant spot it or your head gasket has gone to compression, meaning you wont get a visible leak as its basically burning the coolant and throwing it out of the exhaust as condensation. Hope this helps good luck.

 

[FrankG]

Defo no leak, even put cardboard under the car, no wet carpets, no trace so far of water in the oil!!!!Topped it back up yesterday to max, drove 6 miles home and its nearly down to Min, drove it again this morning and no change in level. Going to book it in for the once over or I might do a search on the net see if there is anything out there that takes my fancy as a trade in, I was going to trade in another few months anyway!

 

[46TheDoctor]

Id probably trade that motor in ASAP, the only thing it can be is the head gasket gone to compression.

 

[FrankG]

How long do you think I got - How long is a piece of string? If I was to have it repaired now how much would it cost, any ideas? Could it be the water pump at all? or is it wish full thinking?
Cheers,

 

[46TheDoctor]

Your right how long is a piece of string, if it was your waterpump there would be a visible leak, i would imagine it would cost around 3-400 quid to get repaired but im only guessing, first you need it confirming that it is a head gasket by having the coolant system pressure tested, i would reccommend you have this done as if there is a leak anywhere it will lose pressure and show u where it is leaking from, if there is no visible leak it will defo be head gasket. By the way have you overheated the car? If you were planning on changing the car i would do so, but i would not consider ridding of it just cos of this problem.

 

[A4Andy]

Just had my water pump replaced, along with the rest of kit under that cover. Sorted me right out. 380 from Bedrock in Motherwell.

As a side note, how much of a pain in the **** are the 1.8Ts to bleed?!

 

[FrankG]

Good to hear yours is sorted, I have mine booked in for Thursday week, they suspect its the water pump too, its only done 28000 miles so its to early for the timing belt etc. hopefully this will sort it, just have to keep topping it up with coolant, figured out there is no leak its actually evaporating with the heat, the coolant is boiling hot after my 12 mile round trip, the hose at the top of the rad is roasting hot while the bottom hose is lukewarm so its seems as if the water pump is not doing its job!