Galaxy 1.9 Tdi Overheating

[Tikka]

hi iv had my mk2 Y reg galaxy 1.9 tdi for almost a year now its always had overheating problems when i go over 60pmh. where the water boilers over and the temp guage creeps to red! its genrally ok around town.

 

first i changed the thermostat with no change to the overheating.

second water pump, again no change

 

iv cleaned all pipes to the water tank.

 

when the car is cold i open the water tank and there is a increase in water (comes gushing back to normal level)

there is always alot of pressure in the fat pipe that is attached from the thermostat to the bottom of the rad, until i open the water tank.

 

i have just realised that the cooling fans over the rad have never worked! could this be the prob?

 

please help. thanks.

[chrispb123456]

Hi there

I think you can safely say you have at least a blown head gasket, as it's been left that long you may even have more problems but you wont know till the heads off.

[Mirez]

Why have you left it so long? There is indeed a high chance that significant damage may be underway now.

 

Overheating can be caused by a number of things, the fans won't be helping the situation but won't be the cause of it either, Around town you arn't stressing the engine and its not until you start going quicker that you load the engine - hence the increase in heat. It centainly would point towards a main water pump failure.

[Tikka]

Hi there

I think you can safely say you have at least a blown head gasket, as it's been left that long you may even have more problems but you wont know till the heads off.

 

hi thanks for the reply would it really be the head gasket? even though there are not signs of head gasket failure?

[chrispb123456]

If by signs of gasket failure you mean oil in water or water in the oil, that doesn't normally happen on these engines.

What does happen is the high compression pressure passes into the water jacket pumping air and combustion gases into the cooling system.

 

Problem now being because it's been left so long and the constant overheating/boiling up and I'm guessing being run on plain water will have caused corrosion and sediment deposits and possible cracks and corrosion on cylinder head.

[fredthomas]

they are right i'm afraid. had the same thing on an espace, on a diesel engine the pressure in the cylinders is so high if the gasket fails then the gas is forced into the water jacket. high pressure in the cooling system is a dead givaway, pushes all the water out of the overflow

[seatkid]

Yup, head cracked/warped or head gasket failure.

[Tikka]

Yup, head cracked/warped or head gasket failure.

 

thanks for all the relpies. sad news ... so whats the solutions, can i get the head repaired? what is the rough cost? thanks.

[chrispb123456]

Hi there

Am guessing you wont be doing the job yourself so your biggest expense will be the labour charge.

 

A rough guide to the price of;

 

Cylinder head gasket

[seatkid]

Don't forget that a significant proportion of failed heads are cracked (around the exhaust valves, I think), I don't think these can be repaired so you need find a new head (

[miikeeyuk]

I had EXACTLY the same problem with my Gal a couple of weeks ago and with advice from this forum i booked it into a garage for a likely head gasket job. fortunately the garage where I took it, did a thorough investigation and discovered that not only was the thermostat not opening fully but they also found that a 'one way' bleed valve which is in the coolant 'return to header tank' hose was blocked causing pressure to build up in the tank and causing the water to not circulate. They've now replaced the valve and so far all is well. So it seems these engines automatically bleed the air from the coolant themselves as long as these valves arent blocked. I did a lot of research on here whilst trying to identify my problem, im just wondering how many people have assumed a head gasket and the garage they've taken them to for repair weren't so honest? The garage gave me the hose with the valve inside showing it blocked, so i may take a picture and post it on here, so that people don't get misguided about bleeding the coolant system.

 

Hope this helps anyone else....

[chrispb123456]

I had EXACTLY the same problem with my Gal a couple of weeks ago and with advice from this forum i booked it into a garage for a likely head gasket job. fortunately the garage where I took it, did a thorough investigation and discovered that not only was the thermostat not opening fully but they also found that a 'one way' bleed valve which is in the coolant 'return to header tank' hose was blocked causing pressure to build up in the tank and causing the water to not circulate. They've now replaced the valve and so far all is well. So it seems these engines automatically bleed the air from the coolant themselves as long as these valves arent blocked. I did a lot of research on here whilst trying to identify my problem, im just wondering how many people have assumed a head gasket and the garage they've taken them to for repair weren't so honest? The garage gave me the hose with the valve inside showing it blocked, so i may take a picture and post it on here, so that people don't get misguided about bleeding the coolant system.

 

Hope this helps anyone else....

Hope it works for you, personally I would still be wary of any engine that's been constantly overheating, give it some hard motorway driving to make sure before the weather gets to hot.

[miikeeyuk]

fortunately, mine only got slightly warmer then normal twice before i took it off the road and booked it into the garage, but yes i agree, if its constantly overheated then the head would likely warp

[Gibbo1957]

Please can we have picture of the valve it would be a great help, gibbo1957

[Tikka]

hi thanks for all the help yes my bad!! i left it so long..So had a look at what MIIKEEYUK was saying about the small pipe that goes into the top of the header tank it has a small valve in it. he said that this could be faulty. but how can you tell? the part which is a small thin pipe with a small valve in it cost 51.67 + vat from fords. wow

 

so i just need to know how can it be tested it can be easlily taken off but testing i aint got a clue... any ideas?

 

thanks in advance