engine water leak, please help

[adam_mk2]

i wonder if you guys can help me, my car (1989 golf gti 1.8 8v, pb engine code) is leaking water from tjhe temperature sender unit on the cylinder head, has this happened to anyone before? is there a gasket behind it? its leaking so much i have to top up the coolant after every journey, can someone please help me, if there is a gasket behind it can i buy just a gasket or do i have to replace the unit? and wheres best to buy these bits from??


thanks

[MarkS]

Do the senders look just like this mate?
Is this what you mean in the bottom left of the pic?



If so they have a little rubber ring that they sit in that you may need to replace?
Just pull the clip out with some long nose pliers and the sender will come out then fish the o-ring out and examine?
I got my replacement one free from vw with a new temperature sender so it might be worth asking as they'll be cheapy cheap
If you were to buy a new replacement sender, its gotta be a genuine one! But I don't see why you'd have to.

 

Also, before you pop the clips out, its an idea to relieve the pressure in the system before as a bit of coolant can shoot out
So undo the lid of the coolant tank thing 
And make sure you do this when the engine is cool!

[JimR]

I think he means the whole flange is leaking, not just where the senders plug into it. Its a common problem, may have cracked or just the o-ring behind it may have perished. Its an easy fix, two 10mm bolts and its off. May have to drain the coolant slightly first (although if its leaked out, maybe not), have a look at the condition of the o-ring (small rubber circle) and the condition of the flange itself.

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=83378.0

^ may be of some use to you also ^

[Mew]

flange

[JimR]

flange

ha, great word if nothing else.

[kittie]

I bought a new one from Euro, it came with an O ring and has been perfectly fine. Was very cheap also.

I hadn't spotted at first that the flange was cracked, and tried to fix it with a new ring, wish I'd just bought the flange to start with 

[sharpie]

I bought a new one from Euro, it came with an O ring and has been perfectly fine. Was very cheap also.

I hadn't spotted at first that the flange was cracked, and tried to fix it with a new ring, wish I'd just bought the flange to start with 

part number for euro flange? i looked for ages on both ecp and gsf, not being able to find one. i eventually went to the scrappies and lifted one of a mk3 which needed a bit of trimming to fit correctly.

it's a 2 minute job tho

[richard s]

while flange is off check the mating surface on the head for pitting 

[Mook]

^^^ what he said.

Make sure you get some wire wool onto the exposed surface once you've removed it to clear off any deposits and then sand it well with wet and dry.

[rubjonny]

gsf parts, looks like they think its an audi engine!  'side' one is the front flange and 'end' is the side flange

17952 WATER FLANGE ON HEAD-SIDE  G2 1.8 8v F.Inj (Not G60) 8/88 >10/91  6.45
17953H WATER FLANGE ON HEAD-END  G2 1.6 / 1.8 / GTI 8V / D / TD 84>91  3.85