Yet another cooling problem - radiator - erm..... Head Gasket

[SBMIII]

Hi, the continuing saga of my 1.6's cooling system continues.  When I first got the car (just to get to work etc. cheap and cheerful blah blah), I had a service and cambelt change, I also had the water pump done at the same time.  My temperature gauge always appears to be running hot and the fan kicks in at between 100 and 110C I've spoken to two mechanics now and they both say that the pipes don't feel too hot, but to keep an eye on it. I'm going to swap the temp sender when the weather allows me to get the bonnet open!

Anyway, last week I noticed a leak coming from the thermostat housing, so paid out to have this fixed too.  I thought that was the end of it, but no, I noticed leaks from the lower edge of the radiator on both sides.  It looks pretty rusty and similar to a photo of a dead radiator someone has put on this forum. 

Can I do this job myself ? (I'm a girl, I don't have many tools and I'm skint) I've found prices from Euro Car Parts (EIS and Nissen) and GSF for around £40-£50, has anyone got an opinion on the quality of these rads?

Thanks again for any help

[Paul86S2]

I had an aftermarket radiator and it looked the same quality as the original one.

Not too difficult a job, you will need to remove the front bumper first. Link below on how to do it.

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=57399.0

Once this is off, there are 4 bolts holding the radiator on, two hoses, and the electrical connectors for the temp fan switch.

The haynes manual guides you through the whole operation, and is a worthwhile purchase if you plan to work on your own car.

If you don't feel capable of the job the whole job should only involve a couple of hours labour from a garage, and you should get some kind of warranty on the work.


Good luck

Paul

[SBMIII]

Thanks for that Paul, Haynes is on it's way as we speak! If I have instructions to follow, I'm normally quite good at fixing stuff so I think I'm going to attempt it (I guess I can always call out a mobile mechanic if I get totally stuck ).

[SBMIII]

Oh B****cks, I've just gone out to top up the water and when I opened the cap on the expansion tank, it kind of spurted out of the seams too.  Should a coldish engine have that much pressure in the cooling system? Does this mean I'll need a new expansion tank too? I knew when I bought the car I'd have to shell out a fair bit, but I'm feeling like this isn't going to end!! Oh well c'est la vie 

[Paul86S2]

The cap has a pressure release in it and will spray out water if your system is still pressurised or hot when you undo it. I guess it was still too early to take the cap off.
If your system was over pressurising the release would go without undoing the cap.
Change your radiator and you should be fine.

Paul

[SBMIII]

Thanks Paul, the radiator should arrive tomorrow, I'm hoping for another sunny day so I can get on with it. It's all good practice for when I get my GTI I suppose 

[bow]

also have you had a block test done this tests for head gasket. when the temp is reading hot,how hot? and what is the oil temp if the oil is hot you do have a prob but nothing that cant be fixed. scott

[nelds]

did mine last month, u need to remove the grill, the bumper and the bumber support bar, mine was a bit tricky cos the bolts were fecked. then it's like he said, remove the 4 bolts and remove hoses, you might wanna remove hose from block too so that all old fluid drains, not just the rad. you''ll need to retain the old thermostat thingy and the copper washer unless u ordered a new one and make sure u loctite it in or else it'll leak. when u put the new rad in dont overtighten the 4 screw or u'll crack the plastic casing. it'll take a while to re-pressure the system, fil system and then run engine, squeeze top and bottm hose to release air locks. it'll take about half an hour to re-presure properly. your now ready to slide bumper back on and refix the 8 bolts

[SBMIII]

Too late  The sodding head gaskets gone.  I had my suspicions, but this morning I gave in and took it to my local garage.  He did a gas test and I saw the dreaded green for the 3rd bloody time in my life.  How I would love to have enough cash to buy a newer car.  The thing that pisses me off is that I'd just had the cam belt done (at a different place) and asked them to do a head gasket check. Also I haven't had the classic symptoms either, I've had some white smoke in the mornings, but I do a lot of short journey's so put it down to condensation.  This is the 3rd time I've had this happen, first to a mark I, which was pretty spectacular and also to a fiat Panda which needed a new cylinder head.  So I'm going to be £450 out of pocket, that's me eating beans on toast for a while then.  Thanks for all of the advice 

[Pete Taylor]

£450 :O

Take it somewhere else...