Mk2 16v Thermostat straight swap with mk3 16v?

[Neo Badness]

Just wondered if anyone knew whether or not mk3 16v thermostat is interchangeable with the mk2 one?

My fan works etc but I'm getting no hot air. Is there a fuse that might have gone stopping the heater working?

This ice on the inside of the car is getting old...

Any help/suggestions advice would be appreciated

Cheers

NB

[rubjonny]

yeah its the same, but they arnt expensive new from VW
dont forget a new seal for it as well.  What temp does the dash gauge show?

[Neo Badness]

Hmmn, I'll bear that in mind, I'll check it out re pricing.

By dashboard temp you mean the one between the clocks rather than oil temp in the trip computer?

The one between the clocks seems to stay in the cold ie to the left of the gauge most of the time rarely getting into the centre.
Heater blows air on all the speeds but doesn't blow hot air.
Coincidently this the only mk2 I've ever had where ther rear screen heater works and wiper, just not the actual heater.

[rubjonny]

ok it does sound like a thermostat issue to me then!  If you feel the bottom radiator hose it shopuld stay stone cold till the temp gets to about half way, if its getting warm almost straight away then its missing or stuck open.  Before you start the job though check the waterpump, if you run it from cold with the cap off, rev the engine to around 2k or so and you should see a spurt of coolant come out of the upper thin hose to the header tank.  If not the pump is weak or the thin hose is blocked

Also worth checkign the wiring to the temp sensor, in case thats bust.  If you take the red/yellow wire of the single pin sensor on the side of the head and earth it somewhere, the temp gauge should shoot to max

[Neo Badness]

Excellent info there RJ, cheers, I've checked the coolant spurt trick Alternator belt was replaced after snapping driving down M74 in rain you could waterski in, so did it then. Water pump is working fine by looks of it
Will check the other bits of wiring before I bite the bullet and buy a new thermostat(and seal/ housing etc) This not having heat in the car when temp is never above 3oC is murder...

Slightly unrelated but I know you've got the knowledge,  I've got to change my wheel bearings on the front, would it be worthwhile/necessary to change the hubs at the same time? I'm leaning toward if I have the wheels off anyway I might as well but is there anything I should look out for?

Cheers NB

[rubjonny]

weeeeell since they gotta come off either way, it would be a good time to upgrade to bigger front brakes, if say you have 239mm fronts (assuming its a pre-89 16v you have)

If not either way I'd think about sourcing some hubs as then its just an afternoons work swappign them over rather than having to either drop the car off at a garage (expense) or take them off and leave your car on stands while you troddle off to put some beer tokens in your local mechanics back pocket while the VAT man isnt looking

If you have or want 256+ front brakes there are a wide range of newer VAG models you can get the hubs from, basically anything 4stud with 256+ discs will do, SEAT models are a good source of very new hubs

[Neo Badness]

Interesting, I didn't know the hubs were interchangeable across the range. It's a 91 H reg with the 256 discs. SEAT you say? hmmn, May hit my local motor factor up for a pair, but is this the thing I'm after?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-GOLF-MK2-MK3-FRONT-WHEEL-HUB-C232_W0QQitemZ200267492476QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item200267492476&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[rubjonny]

ah thats what the 'hub' actually is, technically
that part is what the actual wheel bolts onto, and is pressed into the bearing fitted to the wheel bearing housing.
What you need is the wheel bearing housing, bearing & hub, which is what most people refer to as just the hubs.  Then its just calipers n carriers + new flexi lines

Ebay seems to be a bit bare of them right now, theres a couple passat items:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/volkswagen-passat-1-9-turbo-diesel-n-s-hub-assy_W0QQitemZ310118506915
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/volkswagen-passat-1-9-turbo-diesel-o-s-hub-assy_W0QQitemZ310118507231

Quite expensive but if they're low milage it could be worth it! To put it into perspective I got a pair of passat hubs like above for £20, though they needed bearings and a caliper rebuild.

[Neo Badness]

Cheers RJ for making that clear, the penny has dropped with a deafening clang
Might have a hunt around the scrappies @ wknd, however, they're a bunch of dodgey p!key b@stards, tried to charge me 60.00 for standard mk3 lights that i removed myself.... !? So on reflection might price brand new vs ebay.
You've probs heard of this before but I have had pretty good results when using the auto network looking for parts. Might leave them a message see what they can turn up. Will need to get it sorted soon as I have this fear of one of my wheels overtaking me on the way to work...

[rubjonny]

aye there are bargains to be had from various sources, if you have the luxury of time! the hubs i mentioned above just kinda fell into my lap as I wasnt even looking for them,.  for £20 i thought it was rude not to buy them.  then later on, brand new vag 22mm master cylinder for under £20 delivered, like it was meant to be