GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: slowgti on 11 March 2008, 04:49
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Here i am right, out for a rather lengthy drive in the 1984 golf gti k-jet 8v 1800cc, fresh out of my garage after stater motor/front engine mount replacment. I was driving up the road that goes to the bombing range where i saw a sign advising me that the airforce were bombing sh!t (i dont know what with, since the new zealand air force dosnt have any jets..) so i stopped to read it. I was just idling for about a minute when i happened to see my old friend appear, the flashing coolant light. In the space of about a minute the water temp went from just over 1/4 (i think the thermostats not in, i saw it floating around the boot when i brought it..) to just below max (this is with the fan ON). i turned off the engine for about 5 min and filled it back up with fresh water and coolant and drove off. Normally when i start driving at open road speeds the water temp is constantly at just over 1/4 of the gauge, and if it goes a little bit over it always settles back down fairly quickly, but this time the water temp wouldnt go down, and it spilled its guts twice more. I had to fill up my spare water bottles with water from this lake i found, but there was an electric fence between the road and the lake.. yea.. anyway after about an hour of just letting it cool right down i headed home where i encountered no problems. it ran at a constant temp of just over 1/4. id actually go as fas as calling it 3/8ths.
LONG STORY short i know nothing about the cooling system of a golf gti, where the hell is the thermostat on this thing? why is that metal pipe that winds its way from the heater to the water pump so thin? is the fan temp sensor set at 70degrees as standard? do those rubber flaps on the fan cowling actually help with cooling efficiency? what is the direction of flow? why does my car give me a mild panic attack when i come up to a red light?
any help/explanations would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Evan.
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Sounds like a tired water pump and possibly radiator.
The stat goes at the front of the engine, on the bottom of the water pump. It may be obscured by your power steering pump. Get the stat back in (or even better a genuine new one).
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mine seems to do similar i will be drivin along and the temp will be at a quater and as soon as i stop and let it idle for a little bit the temp is right up! but i dont think my fan is cuttin in properly.
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, has your radiator ever been replaced?
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, has your radiator ever been replaced?
i dont think its ever been replaced.. it might have because it has no rust or any sort of corrosion on it. but one thing that has obviously been replaced is that reservoir up by the firewall. its all clean and clear.
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check for cold spots on the rad and water pump for being snized
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yea na with the fan cowling off (just for testing) the radiator warmed up evenly all over. water pump is fine and pumps a steady flow throughout the rev range. i have recently observed water coming out of the reservoir cap just after ive been driving it, so maybe the head gasket has packed a sad for some reason..
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Buy a decent reservoir cap. If its leaking the system won't pressurise (causing overheating etc.) and will also allow coolant to escape. If this doesn't solve it look VERY CAREFULLY for leaks.
Unless you've got other symptoms it won't be a head gasket issue. Sounds like its going to be a cheap fix to me.