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

Hey bondhigh and all, Apologies for delay in replying, but here's the latest, in case it's of any use to anyone. New coolant tank cap solved problem for about month, then started to lose it again - then, last week, it started to run hot - intermittently! Typically would be OK for a run of say 20 miles, then stop car - leave a while, then use again...and it overheats. Mechanic friend is currently unavailable, so it went to local Frauds today for diagnosis. In the run over to garage (6 miles) - didn't overheat, but mechanic took it out almost immediately and it started to overheat almost immediately. They eventually diagnosed a faulty thermostat; as they had the cooling system in bits by that point it made sense to let them finish the job, although I was slightly irritated by having them do a job I could do myself. That said, they did also check for head gasket failure - they did a block test/cooling system pressure test (are these the same thing?) and a sniffer test, and it all came back negative, which I'm pleased about and I couldn't do that stuff, so I guess that is money well spent. So I'm hoping that's sorted it out; however, I'm surprised a faulty thermostat could have only caused pressurising of the system for 3 months. Temperature-wise, it has been normal, up to about a week ago, and I would normally associate thermostat failure with overheating or running too cool. So for me, the jury is still out, at least for a month. Other HG failure indicators remain negative: fuel economy/performance still good, no vapour in exhaust, no cream in oil. Watch this space...... Phillip

Just to give an update.... In the week leading up to replacing the coolant cap (between ordering and collecting!), I placed a piece of paper under the vent - it was blue by the end of the week with vented coolant. The new cap has been on a week - and the new piece of paper is clean. I really need to wait a month to confirm, but I think that's solved it. Two things I learned whilst investigating this problem: 1. The cooling system is pressurised even when cold. 2. There is no run-on pump on the Mk1 (non PD engine). I also use a funnel when topping up virtually everything on this car!

I've also thought of this - I've currently bridged the sensor so the booster heater always comes on if the engine temp is cool (i.e. regardless of outside ambient temp) - others have posted on here about that as well. I've got a Mk1 with a couple of blanking panels where switches might be (just above the cig lighter) - I might put one there; but then again, I might put a mount for the SatNav there instead, where my wife can get at it........

Ditto. I used Kwik-Fit last year (about 6K miles ago) and I'll use them again in the next month. I only paid

On tyre pressures - I noticed that the pressures given in the handbook were lower than those given on the label on the driver's door pillar. I stick to the higher value as the handling/steering felt better. Anyone else noticed this difference? BTW - Currently running Dunlops as recommended, but not sure I'll use them again as they were quite pricey.

Just thought I'd give an update on this in case it's helpful to anyone now or in the future. I took the battery out in in daylight at the weekend so I could see what was going on around the expansion tank area - and the battery tray was wet with coolant. I inspected the cooling system and could find no trace of a leak anywhere else. The conclusion is that it's venting from the expansion tank cap area (there looks to be a hole on the underside of the neck where it can do this). I asked my mechanic mate round (he's got 30+ years experience in the trade) and told him about my head gasket worry. We ran the engine up to temperature until the cooling fans cut in. All the coolant pipes were still soft (he said they'd be hard if exhaust gas was pressurising the system - no bubbling up of gas through the expansion tank, and no smell of diesel exhaust fumes coming from the expansion tank. He also advised that, in his experience, sniffers weren't particularly sensitive, especially in cases like this when there are no other symptoms presenting themselves (no overheating, economy/performance still excellent, no cream in oil, no steamy exhaust). So, what I'm going to do is: 1. Replace the expansion tank cap (on order from Frauds). if this doesn't work, 2. try some K-Seal - http://www.k-seal.co.uk/ Two other things I've learned this weekend: the Mk1 TDi (non-PD engine) does not have a run-on pump, and it's normal for the cooling system to be slightly pressurised even when cold. hope this helps someone, and if/when I find the cause/solution I'll post it here.

Folks - just thought I'd confirm that there is no run-on pump on the Mk1 TDi (non-PD diesel engine). I had a good poke around in that area at the weekend, followed all the pipes around with my hand and it's not there on mine. Haynes Manual and TIS makes no mention of it either, so I'm 99% sure it's a Mk2 component. Thought I'd share this.

and you're definitely not losing coolant? Just asking as this is a topic close to my heart (and possibly wallet) at the moment!

This post is related to my current posting about gradual coolant loss, http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=15419, but is a separate question. Whilst searching the forum today, I came across mention of the coolant run-on pump that is supposed to keep running for a few minutes after the ignition is switched off. I have never heard this running on my Gal. Whilst investigating the other problem (in the dark, with a torch) I looked for this run-on pump and couldn't be sure I could see it, although I could see two smaller pump type devices on a bracket behind the fuel filter. The pipes going in to these components were only about 10mm wide - didn't look man enough for the coolant system - neither did these components. I didn't have the light to be able to trace the pipes and see where they went either. So, I dug out my 2004 copy of TIS and looked up the cooling system - which makes no mention (at least where I looked) of a run-on pump (I don't think TIS is that easy to navigate IMHO). All the posts I've read on this forum where run-on pumps are mentioned came from people with Mk2 Gals (PD engine). I've got a Mk1 with the earlier 110BHP engine. My question is this: are the Mk1 diesel Gals supposed to have a run-on pump, or this this just the Mk2s? Sorry to ask the dumb question - when I get to Saturday I'll take it apart in daylight and I'll probably see it - even if it is there, the engine bay is as silent as a grave once the ignition is off - even after a run, so it must be n/s. One diagnosis of the coolant leak is a failing head gasket - which in itself may be caused by the run-on pump not working (if it's supposed to have one) - hence this post! TIA Phillip

Head gasket failure was something someone else said as well. What I'm surprised about is that there are no other symptoms such as: overheating steamy exhaust poor performance/fuel economy creamy substance in oil If it is the head gasket, then it's been like that for at least a month and about 1000 miles - it was about a month ago I first topped up the coolant and that's the only symptom. I ran it up to temperature this evening with the cap off the header tank and the coolant just sat there, getting warmer - no bubbling up, which is what I'd expect from a gas being forced through a liquid. A mechanic friend of mine thinks it's unlikely to be the head gasket, so opinion seems to be divided. What do others think?