BrianH

Cheers Paul - Ouch!!! Going to flush the system through tomorrow, have taken a couple of hours off work/duty (on-call firefighter) so hopefully can get it done undisturbed. Having a watch of a few YouTube videos on flushing the system, most show cleaning with radiator flush/cleaner (I'll pick up later) and then flushing the radiator through by removing the radiator drain plug and flushing with a garden hose from the expansion bottle. As there is no drain plug on the Galaxy, would you recommend just removing the 1 1/2 inch hose entering the radiator around 4 inches up from the bottom. Alternatively, do you have any suggestions on how best to rinse/flush the "entire" system. I have been trying to make sense of the pipework, trying to figure the best route to flush as much of the system as I can. I can just see me setting up the garden hose and just flushing 3 or 4 rubber pipes that bypass the whole engine. :( Oh and thanks for the Haynes pic - I did get it right! :D I really wouldn't use any flushing agent if you suspect a dodgy matrix - you will probably make it worse (your description does sound like a leaking matrix, you'd usally be able to smell coolant, as long as theres some in there anyway!) The rear washer is capable of flooding the footwell as well and is in the same area, so could be more than one possibility. The scuttle drains also can become blocked with leaves causing the scuttle area to fill with water, this can also flood the footwells so its possible one of those is causing the water and you have a leak somewhere else. The washer and drains are easy to fix if its them so worth checking both first if your not sure. If i find the photos taken when mine was swapped i will post them up. When i was flushing the liquid rust out of mine i used the garden hose - the matrix was fairly easy to do as i've got access to both sides of it (or had whilst it still had its engine in place). I just flushed it till the water ran clear every way i could do. I also ended up replacing the radiator as it was rotten at both ends and started leaking. You might find the t piece in the front (underneath the radiator area) is your easiest place to drain out of - its big, and at about the lowest point you can get to (I'd assume the 2.3 and 2.0 are the same here, but there is a long run under the lower edge of the radiator, with a t in the middle of it).

Gulp! Not so bad on LPG, softens the blow a bit. The back boxes will all fit the same. The 2.0 and 2.3 are different, there's a lot of restriction on the 2.3 back box, but I bet the 2.0 is near enough. I had a diesel one with the two tailpipes on mine for a couple of years, was sent by mistake and I didn't realise the difference at the time. Car went like the clappers, but MPG suffered. Its a bit of a shock when you realise the tax on the v8 4l Discovery I've got is £245 though, and a 2.3 is more expensive due to being newer! Anyway that ones gone (so saves the trip to southampton on the plus side), and it looks like all the suitable cars are around the same on petrol, so its not going to make much difference (Need something with a decently big boot) Got sidetracked with work so not been able to look at anything since

I'd suspect you may have a blockage in the small breather hose on the pipe that comes up from the fan switch to the expansion tank - Though in itself that shouldn't cause overheating as such, it may be enough to trap air somewhere else as its a breather. Given you've put radweld in it (not recommended - I've never known it to work personally, it seems to block up what wasn't leaking rather than do anything useful) I'd be tempted to remove the thermostat housing, clean it, fit a new thermostat and flush through that small pipe to see if you can get a flow through it. Changing the heater matrix isn't actually as major a job as it appears. getting the dash out is the challenge due to it being rather bulky (you need 2 people really to do so successfully). It could also be that the temp sender is reaching the end of its life - Mine when it went started shooting from one end of the gauge to the other, reading hot when the engine had just been started in the morning etc. Theres a second sensor you can monitor via obd, it may be worth looking at what thats showing as the other one isn't dampened like most modern ones are (it won't just sit at the middle of the range, it alters depending on what the temp is, and a couple of degrees change can make it move enough to notice). Also with the fans is the air con switched on when your checking?

sort of the plan - It won't be using that gas conversion kit though, as the tank is needing replacement, and i'm not too sure the front end is working as well as it should (was fitted by a previous owner at 70k 10 years ago, its now done 167k on that front end so don't think its fit for much anymore!) I've got another front end that will be going on it in time (once any other issues have been sorted out) and just need a suitable tank then. Been to look at one today - looks ok (wants the locking issues sorting, and needs a backbox as the one currently fitted to the car is not connected to the rest of the exhaust - though might be able to use the one on the broken one in place of it). Just waiting on confirmation of if someone else has taken it tonight, as phoned them back when I got home and had spoken to the insurance company to check how much more it would be, to find someone else was on their way to look at it (but had been on their way for an hour and a half, so may have changed their mind). Sadly its 2002 so its £305 for tax!

I think the block would hone but it looks like it probabbly needs 4 new pistons as the rings don't seem to be held as well as i'd expect. Given that it also wants a hole welding up on the sill (not major, but more to do) and the last set of piston rings i brought were the best part of £100 (different vehicle) plus it needs full gasket set, various bolts need attention/replacing as they wouldn't come undone etc (the usual grief you get with old cars) Plus new timing chain, both guides (as the longer one is broken and has a wear groove up it) and the hose from the coolant pump to the t piece under the bumper i think its a non-starter to fix it. It also wants a new set of tappets, and thats without anything you'd want to replace whilst your there like the oil pump/water pump etc. I've pretty much given up on it for now. It would need new valve seats/valves as they are recessed, which is hardly a surprise (and what I'd expected to find somewhat, though the compression that was noticeable when you removed the oil filler cap should have been more alarming than it first appeared!). And to round it off the clutch is nearly worn out, so whilst its out that would have to be changed as well!

Well this piston has definitely had it - The oil control ring is mostly intact, but the other two rings (or whats left of them) seem to have caused most of the damage up to the top. Not sure what happened but the slots are too wide it seems (though that may have happened because its broken up). I suspect it may be oil related as when i first got the car it had what looked to be very old oil in the sump - Grey in colour, got changed asap once i discovered that, but maybe it had started the damage and its just taken time to show. Or maybe that level of wear is expected i don't know.

It had only been on there for about 4000 miles to get in that state. Thats oil on the prefilter. Which was changed around the same time as the filter. Its actually held most of the oil on the prefilter - theres not much on the paper part. But its coated everything around the air filter box!

Yes its the air filter. It had oil running down the towing eye over the bumper towards its last few trips. Its done well, but i think the 237k miles it managed have taken their toll on it somewhat.

Or alternatively something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sivitec-323423-24-Inch-Flexible-Lifting/dp/B00439FN06

I'd have a look for any damage to the front wheels as a starting point, if nothing visible there then it may be worn bushes on the suspension, or a tracking issue. It might be worth running it into somewhere that does wheel alignment checks to get a look at it. Can also be worth lifting the front wheels off the ground and having a check for any unexpected movement - track rod ends might cause this if theres play, as the track rods themselves.

Check the drain holes on the passenger side sill aren't blocked (stick something up inside them to clear them - a piece of stiff wire or a small screwdriver). Be prepared to get a load of water coming out when you start poking.

Give a clue - what version is it as the headlights differ? Ebay can be a good source for headlights, as can breakers yards/scrapyards.

Getting the engine out to that point took a lot of effort - It appeared we couldn't get the head off the engine without removing the engine first (as we needed the sump off anyway). At any rate - I'm looking round to see if a newer better spec model is available as its an excuse to upgrade. The head and piston looks worse when you can see it than the photos make clear - I'm surprised it was running at all, it seems one of the coil packs might have begun to fail as well (casing has split apart on the back where you can't see it when installed). Its no wonder the oil didn't want to stay inside the sump given the holes present though. It helps having somewhere under cover to work on it - Make some stuff a lot easier (as you can shut the doors when you've had enough and leave it there!)

I would suspect you would either need to carry over the key (use the key off donor vehicle) or clone it that being the case. If they are both remote keys then you should be able to transfer the chip over and keep your existing key. Some vw bases use the speedo to store the key on, but I don't believe the Galaxy/Sharan does this as far as im aware. It would help others confirm this if you could give an idea of the years of vehicles involved as it may differ from earlier to later ones.

Oh Dear It really isn't well - I now know why its losing compression. Cylinder 4 appears to have 2 holes in it. Looks like unless a replacement engine can be found that its days are now numbered!

Assuming this is the diesel, if you keep the same ecu then no it shouldn't make any difference, needs to be the same engine type though.

best way to tell if the sensor is working is to look at live data - Not sure of the best way of doing that on the mk3, I've used Torque on an android phone and a bluetooth dongle. Though with that its hard to tell a good sensor from bad if its working but not reading as high as it should do. The MAF isn't likely to be the cause - its the turbo not working for some reason, example reasons for the code (not an exact match for yours) can be seen here http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/16683/P0299/000665 The only thing I can think of on the air intake side would be a clogged up air filter - which would be easy to check at least. The maf making no change suggests its probably fine (if it improved then it might be misreading, but it will default to a basic map without it being connected - it should also have a code logged for the maf sensor not working having been disconnected now).

the mk2 and mk3 get confused by everyone - not helped by the 2006 VW Sharan/Seat Alhambrara being very similar to the ones before, whilst the Ford Galaxy from then onwards is a completely different vehicle.

2009 model would be a mk3 you might get better luck in that section of the forum. I think there may be a pulley that can cause issues like this, but you really need someone who has a mk3 to help - your post will have been missed by most of the people who might be able to help you.

Cable > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Cable-Car-Diagnostic-Scanner-with-CD-VAG-COM-409-1-for-VW-Audi-Seat-VCDS-/380980597400 Vcds > http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds-lite/download/index.php You need a computer of some sort (laptop ideally) to connect the cable/car to as well. Doesn't need to be anything too fancy as long as it runs windows.

yes use VCDS - your u840 only looks at the engine nothing more, the other systems on the car need VCDS to look at them. Free version of VCDS and a suitable cable off ebay should only cost around £10. It may not be the rings it could be broken wires/sensor dislodged etc. You will find the vcds lead will be useful for some other stuff as well in time.

Yes thats a mk3 - the mk2 vs the mk3 is a completely different car (designed by Ford alone with a Ford engine etc in the mk3, the mk2 was mostly VW based in the diesel versions)

There will be rings on the rear and front so should be 4 in total. it may be a sensor causing the issue. Best bet rather than randomly guessing is to use vcds and a compatible lead to read the codes from the abs and then you will know which wheel you should be looking at etc rather than guessing and possibly introducing more faults in the process.

probably mk3 - can you completely remove the rear seats from the car leaving a flat floor? if so its a mk2, if not its a mk3

It wouldn't be the best of ideas, you might get away with it you might not. Given that the fluid would keep the pump cool and lubricated it isn't ideal to run it without fluid. Also bear in mind if the pump seizes due to getting too hot you will lose your alternator belt and anything driven off it (the petrol models this includes the water pump, not sure on the diesel ones)