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'89 golf cooling problem

  • 30-01-2008 10:24am
    #1
    bruki
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13 ✭


    Hi all
    I own a 1989 golf 1.3l since about november last year.
    Ever since I have it i'm struggling to get the cooling going. I fixed a broken temperature gauge in the dash and I replaced the water pump. The old water pump that came out wasnt movable by hand at all... don't know how the car was able to drive this thing with the timing belt...
    I also replaced the temperature sensor as part of the troubleshooting for the broken gauge and the thermostat. I recently took out the radiator thinking it was blocked, but I was able to flush it out and it didn't look like there was any resistance in it.
    basically what the problem is, is that in normal backroads going 50 mph the cooling can just cope, ie. the gauge is just above the middle. As soon as I hit traffic or motorway, the gauge goes up until about 3/4 or a little more. That's not normal is it?
    When I run the car in idle until the fan comes on, which takes about 10-15 min. the gauge goes up to 3/4 again. The bottom hose on the rad is then almost as hot as the top.
    any suggestions? I'm tired of draining the system and checking everything just to find not much wrong with it.
    thanks guys


Comments

  • #2
    colm_mcm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 73,522 ✭✭✭✭colm_mcm


    is the fan coming on?


  • #3
    itarumaa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 704 ✭✭✭itarumaa


    are you sure that there is no air in the system?

    Have you tried hoses, do they feel to be full of water?


  • #4
    crosstownk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,863 ✭✭✭✭crosstownk


    3/4 way up the gauge on a MkII sounds about right. Is your engine actually overheating. When the gauge reaches 3/4 way does it stay there or does it continue to rise?
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  • #5
    bruki
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13 ✭bruki


    Yes, the fan is coming on as I said after 10, 15 min. To me it just feels very late, might just be mo though...
    About the air in the system: According to haines manual, the system should be self-bleeding. There is a small hose going from the top of the radiator into the expansion tank. When I fill the system up after having it drained, the circulation in that hose is very spluttery, which means it's bringing up bubbles. So I think it really is self-bleeding.
    Once the gauge reaches 3/4, it just hovers there. Does this mean that's normal? It just feels very hot, even the heating inside the car feels quite hot. I had a renault before so I wouldn't really know if this is normal, I was just told that on the vw's the gauge should hover in the middle...


  • #6
    ziewacz
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16 ✭ziewacz


    MK II fan should have two gears. The first turns on at about 90 degrees and the second one faster turns on at about 120. You should check that first, quite often the problem is that the thermostat dose not turn on the slower fan. You can simply disable the slower gear and tell it to use the faster on using one wire.


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  • #7
    crosstownk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,863 ✭✭✭✭crosstownk


    bruki wrote: »
    Once the gauge reaches 3/4, it just hovers there. Does this mean that's normal? It just feels very hot, even the heating inside the car feels quite hot. I had a renault before so I wouldn't really know if this is normal, I was just told that on the vw's the gauge should hover in the middle...

    VWs do 'hover' in the middle - but only from MkIII on. MkI & MkII tend to 'hover' on the hot side of the middle. If you've driven the car regularly for any decent mileage with gauge in the position you indicate, then it's unlikely that it is over heating. If it was the gauge would continue to rise and the red coolant 'over temperature' light would come on.
    ziewacz wrote: »
    MK II fan should have two gears. The first turns on at about 90 degrees and the second one faster turns on at about 120.

    Not all engine variants have a two stage fan. If they do, the first stage comes on around 90C as you say. But the second speed engages around 96C/98C - not 120C. If the coolant temp in a MkII reaches 120C then it's time to call a mechanic and ask him for a head gasket :D
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  • #8
    Slidey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,811 ✭✭✭✭Slidey


    Wire the fan direct to the igniton.... bit of a botch job i know but it is an 89. Is the rad getting hot all over, any cold spots. Take out the rad, lie it on the ground and fill with some diluted caustic soda if it is. The last mk2 i had always ran below middle inless i was in heavy traffic but i dont think there was a thermostat in it. It did 80k miles like that without a bother..


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