Water pump or head gasket broke?

Nazlfc

Active Member
Sep 28, 2009
65
0
got price on both jobs... belt/pump was £255 and HG £1500 plus so being a tight ass i went for the cheaper. but i was told that if HG has gone then the engine would run rough/miss fire. but mine drive spot on

Yes mine seems to have been running fine to date aside from these problems. So you could be right. Although this morning (and only this morning) the car didn't turn over for the first few attempts which freaked me out. I dont' think it's related to these problems though.

£1500+ vat versus £255 I know what I would choose (can't fault you for taking the cheaper option and the right option)
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
My coolant level is dropping.....though i don't know if that's just it settling. Going for a m/way drive today so i'll see if it drops more. If it does then i'm going to be pretty annoyed as it's going to mean taking the head off.

About 400 I was quoted for HG change from a normal garage, then obvo more if it's a cracked head and not just the HG.
 

m0rk

sarcasm comes free
Staff member
May 19, 2001
27,787
33
Clanfield, UK
£400 is a bit cheap given that it's about £350 for a cambelt swap, which is mostly labour... then you need an HG set (£60) and new head bolts (£???) and the labour to get the head off.

I'd check what they think is involved in doing it.

Have a nosey at the condition of the radiator... check it's not oozing coolant, or rusty
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
Just done the m/way trip and i've dropped below the min mark now so nothing's solved. Hate this car, it's the high speed motorway trips that are drinking coolant. Though it still happens round town.

No white smoke, no loss of power, coolant and oil isn't mixing. Really don't know what to do now, whether it's just a leak somewhere or a HG is past me. :(
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
No, those bubbles were just from the returned coolant hitting the coolant in the bottle - like running a tap into a bath.

If I block that hose off there are no bubbles coming into the reservoir at all.

Might try a bottle of k-seal as i'm sure the coolant is being lost as vapour but there are a hundred places this could be. Even if it was the HG I wish it would make itself obvious lol
 

meltonlad

Active Member
Mar 21, 2009
391
0
huntingdon
mate didnt you have the sniffer test done before you had pump done and all come back ok ?? have you got any stains on your driveway ?? also have you checked your front carpet as it could be a leaking matrix.
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
Yeah, no sign of headgasket letting gas through but been told it's not 100% guaranteed to pick up gas if it's not major.

No stains as it only really uses loads of coolant at high speed so i'll be taking the undertray off and starting to check every coolant pipe on the car lol
 

meltonlad

Active Member
Mar 21, 2009
391
0
huntingdon
what i did with mine was to put it under load was to use a length of wood and wedge it from the seat to gas pedel.... had mine revving at 2500 rpm then i checked all pipes, rad, joints and so on. left mine running for 30 mins but with no wetness on floor or on/around pipes. its just like motorway speed but standing still... worth a go mate plus you spent cash on it and it be a shame to just give up now....
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
Right, took the undertray off and the drivers side is very wet and soiled, so is the inner arch with the vents.

Had a look and there's obviously a leak there. Just need to look at my elsawin to see what's what down there as it looks like some pipes and air pipes? There's this right angled big pipe with weird clips that don't even look like they're holding the pipe and joint together well.
 

Nazlfc

Active Member
Sep 28, 2009
65
0
Bad News

Hi All,

Well I had a sniffer test and compression test done my tolly and I recieved the dreaded news that the head gasket needs doing as there is a lot of combustion in the engine, waterpump seemed OK. Been told that it will cost 500 (a bit down really). I was going to get rid of it if it was the HG. But does anyone think this is worth doing? if I do I'm going to get the cambelt and waterpump changed as well.

Really dissapointed with this.
 

Nazlfc

Active Member
Sep 28, 2009
65
0
Total cost of work including parts and labour: HG, Cambelt and Water Pump comes to around £635. Does this sound resonable for 2001 Y TDI with 107,000 on the clock?

Not happy with the garage who sold this to me. Only gave me 1 months warranty back in September :(
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
Think i'm in the same boat as you.

I found my leak, it's the expansion tank pising out coolant when the revs rise and it's coming out the overflow. Might try 'seal up' but i think a hg change is the only real option here.

At least if it's done you know you have a sound engine.
 

Nazlfc

Active Member
Sep 28, 2009
65
0
Think i'm in the same boat as you.

I found my leak, it's the expansion tank pising out coolant when the revs rise and it's coming out the overflow. Might try 'seal up' but i think a hg change is the only real option here.

At least if it's done you know you have a sound engine.

Yes mate, sounds like it. I've been reading your thread from the beginning since I had my problems and the problems we are experiencing are identical. What makes this worse is that this is a rare thing to happen to TDI VAG engines and if HG work needs doing on these then they cost a lot more that other makes of vehicle.

Suprised though that your sniffer and coolant test did't reveal the problem. Did the tests include a check to see if the level of compression within the engine?
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
It's a 53 plate ibiza sport.

How much are you paying if you don't mind me asking, and what are you going to do if they find warped it and pieces? Obviously, hope hopefully they won't. :)
 

Nazlfc

Active Member
Sep 28, 2009
65
0
It's a 53 plate ibiza sport.

How much are you paying if you don't mind me asking, and what are you going to do if they find warped it and pieces? Obviously, hope hopefully they won't. :)

Mate mine looked like it was at the early stage of the HG going. I spoke to the mechanic he told me the head was fine and he could see gasket was on its way. Hopefully I should have the job finished later today. I need to pass him the new cambelt and water pump which will arrive today.

So for everything it going to be £635. I've only had the car 2 and half months. So not happy that I am hving to shell this much on getting this back on the road. I had considered selling but it is a very good car and ecnomical to run so I decided to get the work done.

I would strongly advise that you do not drive your car any further it may warp the head the longer you drive. BTW, I hadn't really got to the stage where it was overheating thnakfully.
 

platofan

Active Member
Oct 12, 2009
218
0
Had mine a month and half. :(

Not happy but it needs to be driven daily for a few miles, doesn't overheat though unless all the coolant is spat out (after about 130 miles on the m/way then i have to pull over). It's done that once.

Not really sure what to do with it as taking the head off just to look at it is even more money. :( Just got £1k of work done on it too.
 
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