MK5 Golf 1.9 tdi - Overheating

[Crasher]

If you do come to the conclusion the head gasket is at fault (your symptoms don’t convince me) then just doing the gasket won’t work, these heads should not be skimmed but replaced and that is going to cost more than the car is worth so you have to think hard.

[Adam95]

The only reason I’m wanting to repair is because the engine has only got 68,000 miles and the car has a spotless interior. It looks brand new from inside with no wear on the seats, door handles, carpets etc the only place there’s slight wear is the steering wheel, apart from that there’s none also it’s a match spec so it’s got quite a few extras and will be a good spare car even in the future.

[Crasher]

The problem with the heads is not just injector bore wear but you should not skim the head or cut the valve seats which is correct and standard practice when dealing with a head gasket. The reason for this is in machining you remove the Stellite anti wear coating from the valve seats (and the valves if they are refaced) and the HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) treatment from the gasket surface which seals the pours in the metal, both of these treatments are difficult to get reapplied so the easiest method is a new KS or AMC head, even some of the cheap Chinese ones are OK but we prefer AMC.

[Adam95]

UPDATE: Issue resolved. New water pump was faulty, removed and replaced, coolant is now circulating as it should.

[Crasher]

It is what it looked like but unusual, could you see any obvious problem with the impeller and what make was the pump?

[Adam95]

It was a eurocarparts water pump, the impeller was metal and in brand new condition. After removing the nut for the water pump it, the pulley (if that’s what it’s called) just fell off whilst the impeller was still on the engine. It literally broke in half which is unusual for a 5 day old water pump, the mechanic said it’s the first time he’s ever saw that happen so I will be asking for a labour refund but I doubt that’s going to happen.

[Crasher]

You are lucky (well ECP are lucky) that you aren't putting a claim in for consequential damage to the engine, the belt could have come off.

[Adam95]

Yes it was literally held on by that one nut. If that snapped I would’ve needed a new engine. The mechanic has said they hardly ever refund labour costs and will find any reason not to refund. If they refund me it’ll be great if not at least my cars running perfect and it wasn’t the head.

[Crasher]

If they didn't honour the labour for me they would lose many thousands of pounds a month in turnover.