1.6L Thermostat help

[Hallzie]

hey everyone,

ive just bought myself a 02 mk4 in white and so far so good, exept that my engine is always cold, if not on the cold bars, well below 90 all the time.
i did some research and thought i found where the thermostat should be, at the base of a pipe underneath the altenator, after undoing the 2 bolts holding the pipe on i had a look inside and there was nothing there, maybe the previous owner pulled out the faulty thermostat and didnt replace it? or maybe its somewhere else?

i found a piccy of my engine bay 1.6L 8v AVU motor, i think the thermostat is just left of number 23 in this diagram:

http://volkscity.com/Files/VW%20GOLF...01998-2006.pdf

i found a thermostat for $13, but vw wants $316 for the part not including labour.. so naturally i want to do it myself any help would be greatly appreciated!

[craig_the_german]

Hi
What is probably the problem is the temperature sensor rather than the thermostat.

Mine did the same thing, never reached temp. I replaced the sensor and bingo, instant temp on the gauge.

If i remember right, it is worth about $70 from VW, maybe cheaper elsewhere.

[Hallzie]

the temp does go up when im stuck in traffic (no air going through the radiator) do you know where the temp sensor is or how i can work out if its busted?

[Jmac]

Hate to say mate but that 1.6 motor has a map controlled thermostat which you will have to buy the complete housing which is dear. Mate its not the best thing for it to be running faulty, cooler engine will be overfueling and it wont be running the way it should. This item is on the side of the head just above the gearbox bellhousing and looks like a human heart with all the pipes and stuff. I replaced one for a customer about a month ago with the same symtoms. You will loose a fair amount of coolant doing this one and will need to get yourself some G12+. Wouldnt hurt to change the temp sensor too which is green and fits in around the same area. Im sure you stat is a gonna mate. The thermostat you mention is for the 1.8 and above so that explains why there was nothing there.

CHeers
JMac

[Hallzie]

thanks a million Jmac, i couldnt work out why VW was asking so much for such a simple part. looks like i'm gonna have to bite the bullet and spend big. i'll do it myself still i guess, i bought some red coolant from repco, its ethylene glycol which is what g12+ is, i assume its all the same?

my car has heaps lower fuel economy than what i expected it to have, hopefully this should fix it.
thanks again mate

[Jmac]

Yes it will Halzie its running too cool and over fuelling. Good luck and yeah is the coolant Nulon????????
JMac

[Hallzie]

so i went back to VW and talked the the exact same people, but this time the thermostat was $160 instead of $316 which was nice. I also got a bottle of G++ coolant because it was the same price as the no-name red coolant from repco.

took me about half an hour to change it, the old one has 2 plastic arms that had snapped off and was keeping the valve open. what is it with VW making cheap plastic parts?

car's running perfectly now, the car warmed up almost by the time i got out of my street and seems to be a lot smoother, hopefully a bit better on the fuel as well.

thanks for your help! dont think i would of been able to do it otherwise, im glad i joined the forum