AndyBWales

Thanks for the replies ... will have to investigate when it warms up a bit ...

A very cold morning in South Wales .... No surprise to find a few bits of frozen Galaxy waiting on the road outside for me then ... Doors frozen into door frames .... drivers mirror frozen in the 'pushed in' position ... and acres of glass to scrape (obviously made easier by the heated front and rear screens) .... But ... the handbrake? Noticed a squeek as I pulled away .... as if the brakes binding slightly ... and the handbrake lever just didnt go up and down properly ... dont think it was working 100% ... but not easy to test on frozen roads .... Anyway ... lunchtime ... all back to normal ... so I can only assume something was frozen? But what? The cables? the lever? the levers on the rear calipers? Interested to hear of any similar issues? how to stop it happening again? Hoping for above zero temperatures tomorrow ..... (MK11 TDi btw ... though I suspect the brakes are pretty similar in this repect on all of them)

Just replaced the resitor pack on my 2001 TDI to solve just the same problem,

I would suggest looking towards a turbo that needs 'de-clogging' is the right approach. I did it ... and it made all the difference. However ... in my case anyway ... it wasnt the vanes themselves that were stuck, but the mechaism that actuates the vanes, inside the turbo ... and I doubt a 'turbo cleaner' would get into the places I had to clean out with a wire brush! Anyway ... its a big job ... but well worth it ... Ive not had a limp home since, Andy

Did mine while the head was off ... so cant comment on the how to get it off issue .... but its not easy to get at ... certainly getting the turbo was easier with the right hand drive shaft carrier removed and working from underneath. As for the cleaning (once its off) ... just dig out the gunge! ... dremell type drill with a small wire brush on the end was useful ... and lots of engine cleaner ....

Andy so did you get the head pressure tested or just take the chance it wasnt, im pretty sure thats why it recomends to take the pulley off? Didnt get the head tested ... actually seemed in pretty good condition ... very light pitting in a couple of places ... but Ive seen alot worse on other engines .... so just took a chance and put it all back together. Im sure if you need to strip the head you will need to remove the pulley.

Had a good look at the head gasket, the cylinder block and the cyclinder head to try and see what was going on, not helped by a coating of oil coming down through the head bolt holes, but think I could make out evidence of leakage between the edge of the cylinder and the water ways on number 4 cylinder at least. Car has done 125k, not remapped / tuned .... and other than the usual ... not abused ... maybe it was just time for it to go?

Starting having problems with my TDi a few weeks back .... overheating (you will have heard this many time before!) ... intially water loss ... then lots of steam / pressure etc etc .... But ... Ill start with the good news .... Ive fixed it! .... eventually! However after reading many of the posts on here, and finding alot of them very useful I thought it was worth putting something back, and hopefully adding a few helpful hints along the way. So .... overheating .... :huh: changed the water pump .... still overheats :( changed the thermostat ... still overheats :angry: found a small leak in the hose from the EGR to the auxilliary water pump so fixed that ... still over heats :D changed the expansion tank cap .... still over heats ..... :( tried bleeding uphill / downhill / over the hill etc .... still over heats .... :blink: So ... the big one ... the head gasket .... off comes the head ... new gasket .... new bolts .... cleaned the EGR and turbo while they were off .... goes back together .... starts first time (phew) .... no overheating! .... just pulled the caravan to Dorset and back ..... still no overheating. :D So ... full of self satisfaction .... and happy that the neighbours wont have to wonder why 'that car' is on axle stands again ... a few helpful pointers along the way : 1 - Get a proper hose clamp tool .... ~

Not seen any evidence of a chain before ... my 2001 1.9TDI Zetec definately has a belt ..... I know because I fitted it ... think they have it wrong

Glad I havent taken the van out yet ... would be no fun for the kids and the dog sleeping in the awning .... :P

Interesting reading .... decided not to take the risk with my PD engine ... think the more friendly and cheaper option is just to leave the car on the drive more often and walk!

Thought Id add my air con lack of life to the list ... not worked since I got the car ... thought it did once ... but no ... must have just been cold day! ... investigation required in time for summer .....

Strangely ... not long after the post I found one on Ebay which should be here later today ... and roughly the same as the VW price ... ta anyway. Will keep the full unit in mind just incase (but hopefully not)! Ta.

Over run pump ... was wondering what that whirring noise was ... any chance you have a reasonable cost supplier for the glow plugs? Need one ... ta