Broke down, engine overheated

[voteforpedro]

The past couple of days the water temp had been hitting 100 degrees on my drive to work. So today I try and drive it to Kidderminster, driving it a bit hard as I've just fixed the other problems and felt like it.

Didn't get very far before the temp hit nearly 120 degrees and I had to pull over. The expansion tank looked like it was going to explode and the entire tank eventually flowed out through the overflow hole.

I am guessing my water pump is ******? The AA man did a pressure test and it was holding pressure OK. He filled it up with water and followed us home, driving at 20 mph. Luckily the temp stayed at 90 degrees.

 

[Matt82]

id have thought water pump is either dead or alive

blocked rad?

 

[mwarrey]

Overheating with no water loss sounds exactly like waterpump gone to me.

 

[aragorn]

Ye the plastic impellers often come away from the shaft. The pump tends to work a little bit but because the shaft slips it doesnt work all that well, so low load low speed stuff you'll find it can work ok, but as soon as the RPM's climb and the load increases the temperature will rise.

 

[Matt82]

one way to tell is see if coolant is being returned back to the expansion tank when you rev it.

 

[voteforpedro]

Just checked my docs and timing belt was done only 20k ago. Can I swap the water pump without removing the timing belt?

 

[voteforpedro]

Also can I change swap the water pump without removing the lock carrier? Just realised my T45 is snapped and I'll have to walk to Halfrauds (~25 mins each way) if I need it.

 

[jcb]

it is not on the timing belt, should be able to do it without but replace the pump belt
make sure you get a metal impellered pump to replace it

 

[voteforpedro]

The answer is actually no, because Audi craftily hid some bolts behind the oil pump pulley. Grrr.

 

[Broken Byzan]

you can but have to drop the whole housing out after dropping the alternator out of the way, it's a pain.

 

[audinary]

I'd probably do the stat too, while you're there.

And does anybody have any tips for getting the front bumper back on properly? Mine has been loose on the n/s mount since I did the belts

 

[voteforpedro]

Can't get the timing belt back on as I am reusing the old tensioner and can't push the piston in far enough to relieve the tension. The new one comes with a pin to keep the piston in when installing. Don't really want to use that one as it means I can't get a refund...

Any tips?

 

[voteforpedro]

Btw, the plastic impeller was in one piece and turned as it should do...

Not sure if it was faulty at all then and will be fairly ****** if it was fine.

 

[voteforpedro]

Got the belt back on. Basically if you put an 8mm hex bit in the hole in the pulley and turn counter-clockwise, keeping pressure on it for a few minutes, it will start to go back in giving enough slack to get the belt back on.

Now I have a problem... I cranked the engine by hand one revolution and the markings all lined up perfectly. However, the "force" required to turn it isn't consistent throughout the revolution. At some point it moves easily then it gets a little harder. During this point the belt and sprocket "bounce back" slightly, presumably under the tension of the belt.

Is this normal? There are no weird noises and I am confident I marked it correctly and didn't move anything but I'm not sure if it's normal for it it to "bounce" under the tension when cranking by hand?

 

[aragorn]

The tight spots are the valves opening. The valves have big springs to keep them closed and thats what your probably feeling.

If you've left the plugs in you'll also have a big tight spot for each compression stroke. ie two per revolution.

When you say the belt bounces back, do you mean the tensioner moves? Its probably normal to have some deflection in the tensioner as the belt tension increases and drops, this will even out with the engine running.

The usual pump fault is the impeller detaches from the shaft. Hold the impeller still and turn the pulley and see if they're still connected. If they are, then your looking at either a thermostat fault, or possible head gasket failure.

 

[voteforpedro]

Nevermind.

 

[voteforpedro]

Also I grabbed the impeller and turned the pulley like you said and the impeller moved fairly freely. Thank God for that.

 

[voteforpedro]

How the hell do you get the radiator hoses on? I broke the quick release clip on both removing them because they were rusted badly but I can't get the hoses to "bite" even slightly. No matter how hard I push, they won't go on.

 

[aragorn]

Clean the O-Ring inside the fitting, and apply a thin smear of something slippy like washing up liquid to help it on. They should just push on, but the o ring gets grotted up.

 

[tazzy baby]

if your stuck butty im only down the road il come up and give you a hand

 

[voteforpedro]

Cheers mate.

So I took her for a test drive... Power steering/water pump belt is squealing on full lock (didn't replace ) but it drives OK.

I noticed after the run, in the dark, that the turbo was glowing red slightly. Normal?

 

[Broken Byzan]

If you were driving hard then yes, or it can be signs that the oil pressure isnt quite right.

 

[voteforpedro]

If you were driving hard then yes, or it can be signs that the oil pressure isnt quite right.

I was "ragging it". Also the oil light occasionally comes on. Time for another oil change methinks.

 

[tazzy baby]

I change my oil every other week or so,,,, it leaks that much