Letting the female side down here with my limited knowledge lol help!! Ok so this is going to sound long and complicated but I just need help before I go kick ass with my mechanic! Basically my Golfs thermostat kept pinging about 3 months ago, wasn't over heating to the extreme but yes, slight over heating, coolant draining from it within 6-7 days but no leaks noticed underneath and when I opened the cap to replace coolant it would hiss like there was a massive build up of air, also noted that every now and again when I accelerated it seemed to lack power so took it to my mechanic, explained my issues. They looked briefly while I was there, said they couldn't see any leaks but was told to come back in a week and they'd replace the water pump, went home and then realised my water pump was already replaced a while back so back I went to mechanics and they said o no, it'll be the electric pump? No idea so I just thought I'd let them fire away! Over 200 later, got car back and mechanic said 'that should be it fixed' he didn't sound convinced and I told him that but he said to see how it went, well 3 weeks later, coolant light appears on again, replaced coolant and drove about 20miles down the motorway and the light came back on! This time overheating massively! Let it cool down and tried to take off again and like previously there was very little power. Phoned mechanic, gave off that problem hadn't been solved, he told me to let it cool and continue to drive it to his garage because it was a Friday night and he wasn't sending a recovery lorry out...nice! So in it went and this was 6 weeks ago and it's still not back!!!! I am losing the will! So far I have been told this is a new problem and not the original problem that I paid over 200 for, been toldit's the EGR valve, then it's not it, then they're 'sending it to a guy that used to work for Volkswagen and he has all the computer systems needed to test for the problem' he then comes back and says he's '99% sure it's the head gasket' told them not good enough, I want a definite answer but no, they've gone off and apparently done the whole head gasket job and when I've rung for another update today I've been told the air coming into the car was too cold and they've since noticed there's a blockage in the radiator system! So if you've made it this far and are willing to help a poor girl out please please do because I am gunning for these mechanics this week and I don't want to be shouting the odds without having some clarity on things. Does this all sound like the initial problem was actually a blockage in the radiator and these mechanics have taken the **** and replaced this 'electric pump' and head gasket and are going to charge me an arm and A leg when it wasn't necessary in the first place?? Or does this actually sound like a realistic problem and I need to suck it up and pay the bill?
Hi Rebecca One rule for mechanics is if they can't fix it first time, it's unlikey they will fix it second time round! I would suggest taking it to another mechanic or even the main dealer if possible, They are not as expensive as everyone thinks these days! It's hard to diagnose this sort of fault without seeing the car or knowing the history of it. It's a MK6, petrol or diesel? How many miles has the engine done? There are two water pumps on some MK6's, my GTI for example has the normal one that runs off the aux belt and also an after-run pump that runs for approx 10 minutes after you turn the car off to keep the coolant flowing. The electric one shouldnt really cause a problem if it was broken, it would just leak out everywhere. The main pump however could mix the coolant into the oil if it broke. I had a van that did this (VW recalled them) and the oil cap was full of mayonnaise. I have not heard of a blockage in the cooling system before, however if i was to guess at the fault, due to how quickly you lose coolant i would suggest either a head gasket or a cracked engine block. You should be able to take the oil cap off and see if it has any mayonnaise on it, this would suggest the head gasket (if they have already changed the water pump) and the mechanic should be able to see water escaping if the block was cracked. All that water is going somewhere!
What car and how old/ miliage? When I initially started reading the thread head gasket popped in my mind straight away. 1st of all the coolant system should be pressurised as this raises the boiling point of water. That'll explain the pressure in there. Secondly you ecu will cut power to save damage to the vehicle if it is overheating which will explain the power loss. The head gasket can deteriorate in such away that water i.e coolant can be expelled through the exhaust. That's why there was no visible sign of a leak. I afraid it was probably head gasket all along. I would ask the question why they changed the waterpump? Was it just a stab in the dark. Did you get the old one back?
Mark 6 golf, about 100,000 miles on it. I just don't have a clue lol all I know is I like Volkswagen and have never had any issues before so this has just annoyed me! Especially because when I initially brought the car to the mechanic they tried taking the **** and made a joke that I'd probably put coolant in the wrong place (I hadn't lol) I do think the waterpump was a stab in the dark. When they brought it back his words were 'that should be it fixed' so I told him he didn't sound convinced and he said he told me to just see how I got on so I don't think they bothered investigating properly first time round and now god knows what damage I've done continuing to drive it and it was the head gasket that was the problem ???? It's been gone 6 weeks so I'm worrying I'm going to have a massive bill! I know a head gasket is a lot of money but how much roughly are we talking here lol?
And no! I didn't get the old pump back! I don't like this mechanic anymore, everyone's been telling me I should be shown the parts he takes out but he's never done that!
Thank you! I'm just awful at all this and they know it lol cars are just not my thing! I've just always drove Volkswagen because that's what I like haha. It's a diesel and there's about 100,000 miles on it, it's been so long since I've had it I actually forget but definitely about 100,000. There's never been any problems with the car before. I didn't know about checking the oil cap lid until after I'd given the car to my mechanic so I've no idea what inside that looks like but surely they should have known it was the head gasket initially before they took a stab in the dark and replaced a water pump? I never did get an explanation about where my coolant was disappearing to first time round and I highly doubt I'll get proper explanations this time round. I told my usual mechanic not to touch the car so he had sent it to some other mechanic so I'm hoping this one will fix the problem but it's going to cost me an arm and a leg here. How much roughly is a head gasket lol? I'm giving them until Friday and whether or not the cars back, I'm going to the mechanics and there's going to be words ???? It's taking the **** keeping the car 6 weeks now and they're always fixing something and finding a new problem!
Some of TDI's of a serten age are prone to cracked heads and can be similar to a blown head gasket Water tends to get pushed down by the combustion pressure and overheats the coolant level may return if the cap is removed or it may get blown out the header tank They can be driving at low speed and not overheat But as soon as you give it boost it will overheat Blown head gasket is much the same well mine was it had no oil in the water or water in the oil just the coolant getting pressurised
sounds like the mechanic cant be trusted , post up what area and maybe someone can suggest a better place that can diagnose it propelrly
Thank you! I'm in Northern Ireland, antrim direction so god knows if anyone can help with that lol. It's just proving the mechanics messed up that's the problem! Didn't hear anything from him today so I'll have to pay him a visit tomorrow
I used http://belfastservicecentre.co.uk/ when I was over last year, excellent people. If it`s not yet repaired give them call ... Unit 5 7 Prince Regent Road Belfast County Antrim BT5 6QR 028 9079 7777
The later Cr tdi's have 3 water pumps! 1 for the engine, 1 for the Egr system and 1 for the heater. The pump for the engine is electronically control which engages and disengages when requested, but this later system is prone to blocked heater matrix's and head gaskets aren't uncommon either. 1.6 or 2.0 Tdi? Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
