Mk5 Golf 2.0 FSI Thermostat - Help!

[gtec]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if changing the thermostat is straightforward as a DIY job?  Its a 2004 model 2.0 GT FSI. Looks like its got all sorts of stuff in the way, alternator etc, but just want to know if its just time-consuming, or if anything particularly difficult / special tools needed etc?

Our car seems to be losing water slowly so still need to find the leak, but it was taking a long time to heat up towards the end of last winter, so hoping this is the answer to both problems. 

Any advice appreciated!

[th3_f15t]

Get yourself a Haynes manual, those things are a bible when it comes to DIY on cars.

As for finding the coolant leak, search for the signs of white crust left behind, or wet areas in the engine bay. Check the radiator itself as I had a mk5 TDI SE and the actual radiator was leaking which was hard to spot until it went up on the ramps.

As long as there's no sludge around your oil cap you can eliminate head gasket issues.

[gtec]

Thanks, there's definitely no sign of it in the oil, so I guess that's one good thing!  I'll check the radiator though, I can see some white streaks around the front of the engine bay so you could be on to something 

[th3_f15t]

Other weak areas are seals inside the hose couplings that connect to the radiator. I had some fail on me so I just used some silicon to make new seals, job done. I could of bought new O-rings or a new coupling but I was on a super budget.