Ex-Galaxy person

Depends on the dealer and age of car. We went to a main dealer and an independent. The main dealer gave it a quick once over, offered the book price and said they would send it off to auction - and not even one in the area. The independent was more thorough as he was going to resell it. By the time we did the part-ex it was actually behaving itself, but we were actually selling it because it no longer suited our needs, not to get rid of it (well, not much!). That said, I would not have been comfortable selling it privately, in case it started to play up again, so we lost money by part-exing it, but only about the same as it would have cost to be be sure it was definitely OK. Like you (and others on this forum), the real frustration was the fact that the car performed fantastically except for that one problem. There is a moral dilemma here: I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable palming off a faulty car on a small independent who has no workshop facilities to fix it and may be trying to make a living just like me; however, I'd have no problem passing it on to a main dealer who is going to auction it off anyway, as that's part of the risk of buying at auction - and anyone who chooses to buy from an auction should be aware of that risk. In my view, if you want to minimise the risk of the problem being spotted, go for a main dealer.

As I started this thread I guess I should end it. After new water pump, timing belt, thermostat, it was still pressurising/boiling over. Sniff test was still negative even on a hot engine and there were no other symptoms. I was never convinced it was HG gasket failure or cracked cylinder head, and as the bottom hose was always cold I was sure it was an airlock. I took the radical step of running the car with the (new) expansion tank cap slackened off (so system never pressurised). Result: a lot of coolant all over the place, but you could then put the cap on properly and we had a cooling system that actually flowed - bottom hose on the rad became warm, and you could run it up to 70mph+ without it overheating, and it wasn't venting coolant any more. This is all in the past tense, as we have parted company with the Gal now; it's future was under review anyway - as it turned out nobody in the family liked it except me (wife/daughters complained of hard seats and backache), and although it was economical for such a large vehicle, I was spending more on fuel (especially with rising fuel costs) than I wanted to. We decided it was too big for our needs, so we have gone our separate ways. I liked driving it and it was generally reliable, but times change..... Thanks to everyone on this forum for their advice and good humour.

On my TDi, the 2nd fan only cuts in when the A/C is on, and I thought this was how it was supposed to work? Not sure if it's the same for a V6.

here's the latest..... Water pump has now been replaced, but it's still overheating if driven over 2K rpm or 60mph in 5th. Garage carried out another sniff test that was inconclusive - the dye didn't turn yellow, but the mechanic said it may have turned a lighter shade of blue. Their theory is that it's a crack that's opening up as the engine gets hotter. The cooling system is still pressurising, and it seems to be down to an airlock preventing coolant circulation (bottom hose is cold). This airlock is caused by either the possible crack in the cyclinder head or HG, or by a faulty expansion tank cap (cap no 2 has been abused a bit by now by oveheating). If the engine is run with the cap off, then the coolant flows normally. I've got an expansion tank cap on order (no 3!). If that doesn't fix it it must be the head or HG, despite no other indicators. Everything else has been done (cooling system flushed, new pump, thermostat). Phillip

Spot-on - it was the brake light switch!

Mike, I hope it holds. I've had to delay doing my waterpump - I carried my daughter down the stairs yesterday, as I've done hundreds of times before, but this time I did something to my back. Grrrr! and I was actually looking forward to taking it apart. Phillip

...after flashing merrily for a couple of days it's now stopped flashing. Must be aliens.

Hi All, In addition to the overheating problem, now the engine management light is flashing. I don't think the two are connected, unless one has caused the other, and I've been careful not to let it overheat. Anyway, has anyone got VAG-COM in the East Kent area (Whitstable), who would be willing to diagnose in return for favours/fees/beer etc? cheers, Phillip

Hi Mike, When I do my water pump next weekend, I'm going to take the thermostat out and put a hosepipe down the top hose to see if it flushes through OK - and reverse flush the rad. I think we have identical problems! Phillip

Mike and all, Ford had it all day yesterday - whilst they didn't take it apart their view is that it's the waterpump that would be the next thing to look at - the mechanic said that the water pump should provide enough pressure that if you squeeze a hose it forces your fingers apart - and it wasn't doing that. It turns out that the water pump isn't run off the timing belt (someone had told me it was) - and the cost from a local motor factors is

Mike, I have put something similar in my Gal (K-Seal), on the recommendation of my mechanic friend, who also has it in his BMW 528; however, the mechanic at Ford said he would never use them (not surprisingly). The Ford mechanic did comment on the "sludge" that was in the system, which I guess was down to that stuff, but could also be down to age of vehicle. I did do some searches on the web - opinion was about 75/25 in favour of it as at least a temporary fix (looked on other non-Ford forums). Coolant flush/replace was on the list of jobs for this summer anyway; Ford replaced the coolant last week - not sure if they actually flushed the system or tried to reverse flush the rad. If they say it's the rad then that's a job I can do. My bottom hose is also cold, which suggests the coolant isn't circulating - and like you, I'm not convinced that would be down to HG failure, especially with the absence of other symptoms associated with HG failure. Mine's going back in to Ford tomorrow - we'll see what they say then. Another thing I have learned - the second fan on the rad cuts in if the air con is switched on. Phillip

Here's the lastest...I hope this thread is of use to someone in the future! I replaced my bridge with the ambient air temp sensor (wiper arm area) for the booster heater - still fired up this morning, but I know it cut out once engine reached temperature. Found that keeping to a steady 60 kept the temp under control. Rang Frauds and spoke to mechanic who did my car last week - I said about the water pump, but he thought that was alright - when he had the thermostat out he could get his fingers on the impellor and it was metal, not plastic, so it's been done at some point (could still be the water pump though, if the impellor isn't tight on the bearing). I also noticed that the second radiator fan wasn't cutting in, but he said that this might be because it only cuts in when A/C is running - so will be testing this on way home tonight. Anyway, it's going back in on Friday. Will be driving steadily in the meantime. Phillip

So, due to a possible mistake on my part, I am now the proud owner of a pollen filter housing unit. I thought I'd bought and ordered a pollen filter carrier - left it several weeks before picking it up from Ford, and when I went to pick it up this morning and noticed it was wrong, and they said they couldn't take it back as it's been too long. Grrrrrr.........&**#

Hey all, And the latest.....overheated today after a few miles at 70(ish) mph. Waited about 10-15 mins for it to cool down, then continued journey home at steady 60 without any problems - temp gauge stayed in the middle. Lost about 750ml of coolant through venting. Here are the next steps: 1. I had bypassed the ambient temperature sensor for the booster heater at the beginning of the winter - otherwise it had to be near-Siberian temp for it to cut in. It occurred to me it might be firing up the booster, but never switching off, so I've replaced the bridge with the sensor, so it shouldn't fire up at all now when the engine is cold. 2. Water pump replacement will be next job if #1 doesn't work - I think Ron's comment about these engines running with the pump rotor detached makes sense considering how thermodynamically efficient these engines are. I told my wife I thought the car was simply menopausal (hot flushes ;) )- I know there are 7 dog years to a human year - I wonder about car years? Phillip

Mike, You could try running without the thermostat - on the Mk1 you have to remove the power steering pump to get at it. My mechanic friend said that even testing for HG failure doesn't always find it - he had a Supra that passed three HG tests and it was still boiling over. In the end he replaced the HG anyway, and it was fine. I'd also say that the fact it passed a HG test in December doesn't mean it hasn't started to fail in the intervening 3 months. I towed the trailer tent with mine today - reasoned that an extra 500kg would make it overheat if it was going to! It did run slightly hotter than it used to, but it didn't overheat. Coolant level has also remained constant. Fingers crossed.... I take it that there are no other symptoms? Phillip