TDI Golf using coolant!

Saab Ed

Calling all TDI experts. The mother in laws 2000 TDI Golf is using a bit of coolant. The cars not heating up , theres no mix of oil and water in the header tank and I cant see any sign of a leak anywhere. Are there any obvious known diesel Golf bugs or is it just my first instinct that its a water pump.

Thanks in advance.

Anan1

My first instinct would be HG. That said, the last time I had a car losing coolant, it was the water pump. Is there any sign of leakage around the reservoir lid? Failing that, I suppose a pressure test is the next step?

Max Power1

Anan1 wrote: »

My first instinct would be HG. That said, the last time I had a car losing coolant, it was the water pump. Is there any sign of leakage around the reservoir lid? Failing that, I suppose a pressure test is the next step?

+1
(although with my current car being a 1.8K rover, i would be somewhat biased)

mathepac

Saab Ed wrote: »

... Are there any obvious known diesel Golf bugs or is it just my first instinct that its a water pump..

Is this the 115 bhp 1.9 PD TDI? If so the timing belt /water-pump / auxiliary belts / tensioners are due every 100,000kms or 5 years if memory serves me right. VW do a kit I believe.

Is there any mayonnaise inside the oil filler cap? If you drop the under-tray are there any obvious leaks over-night?

Saab Ed

Thanks lads. A bit of a sniff in behind covers has given up the answer. Water pump seeping down on to the tray.

The car is in Austria so im of no use to her here. Just another question, what kinda cost should she expect for a T-Belt , water pump and all the bits to go with it for the Golf, I said about 400 quid all in. The same question for front discs and pads....

keithclancy

Saab Ed wrote: »

Thanks lads. A bit of a sniff in behind covers has given up the answer. Water pump seeping down on to the tray.

The car is in Austria so im of no use to her here. Just another question, what kinda cost should she expect for a T-Belt , water pump and all the bits to go with it for the Golf, I said about 400 quid all in. The same question for front discs and pads....

I paid 380 all in from an Indy in Cork.

That was for TB, Pump, Pulleys + a service (Oil/Air filters etc)

MagicSean

Its probably a leak. Happened to my golf last year. Took ages to find the leak and it was incredibly hard to fix.

mathepac

OK, I've found some stuff from a daughter's TDI from 2006.

Materials (all VW original main-dealer parts inc VAT)

T-belt kit (t-belt, tensioner & roller) €175
W-pump ( €50 refund on old one) €100
Auxiliary belt €25
Auxiliary belt tensioner €55
2 x 1.5 litres VW G12++ coolant (purple) €20
top engine-mount bolts, tensioner bolts, etc €10

Total €385 - €50 rebate = €335 total materials inc. VAT

It'll take a half-day at least and I'd guess it'll be closer to €600 than €400, any cheaper and I'd worry what's being left out.

GTE

This may be of help to cure any future problems.

Has the car had a coolant change using non VW coolant or been serviced at a non VW garage?

From my own research and according to the manual if VW coolant (known as G12 coolant) isnt used then the car has to be flushed every year. The various seals can be messed up if something other g12 is used for too long.

The local Citroen garage didnt use it even though I asked them to even if it meant a while for the stuff to come in. It was for a coolant temp sensor change which Id say your mother in laws car has had. Must have. Next service Ill have to ask for a full flush and fill it up with G12.

EDIT: I noticed G12++ and I think thats for PD's or newer only. I dont know if its backwards compatible if you get me.

mathepac

bbk wrote: »

... EDIT: I noticed G12++ and I think thats for PD's or newer only. I dont know if its backwards compatible if you get me.

Sorry, my bad above. I checked with my local VAG guy and they seem to have standardised the various pink / red / purple versions of G12/G12+/G12++ on stuff labelled "G12 Plus", VW part no G012 A8F M1 for 1.5 litre bottles used across the range. This stuff is purple in the bottle and turns pink when mixed properly with water (1:1 dilution give protection down to -36C apparently ).

Using non-VAG coolant (like the blue generic stuff from Halfords) can cause leaks and other expensive problems like corrosion.

GTE

mathepac wrote: »

Sorry, my bad above. I checked with my local VAG guy and they seem to have standardised the various pink / red / purple versions of G12/G12+/G12++ on stuff labelled "G12 Plus", VW part no G012 A8F M1 for 1.5 litre bottles used across the range. This stuff is purple in the bottle and turns pink when mixed properly with water (1:1 dilution give protection down to -36C apparently ).

There was no bad committed. I wouldn't be surprised if you can use it in older engines. Sure you can do that with the oil if you felt like it.

Saab Ed

Good stuff guys, my thanks to all. Local man has been contacted and we're getting the T-Belt , kit , coolant and discs/pads for 650 quid ish all in. I'll mention the G12 coolant to be used . Thanks again .

nogoodnamesleft

The G12++ coolant is backwards compatible and its the only stuff the main dealers supply now i.e. the dont supply G12 or G12+ as G12++ covers previous versions of the stuff.

Mabey ask your mechanic to do a pressure test to see where the leak is comming from. TDIs with air con have a fault in that there are two radiators mounted on the front one for cooling the engine and the second for the aircon. The vibration from the diesel unit can weaken the coupling where the two radiators meet causing a slight leak.