Possible Water Pump Failure?

[steveyd]

Hi All,

 

I'm a newby here and have just picked up my latest galaxy 2004 1.9 tdi 130.  I've had it a week now and I've noticed it never gets to 90 even after 30-40 mins driving (50-60mph).  I know they take a while to warm up - I had one of these before last year and no issues, dash gauge reached 90 and stayed there).  However, I've looked further into this after looking up the forum (very useful stuff here!) and I suspect I have a duff waterpump.  

 

I notice there isn't much heat coming from the heater, and when I do turn the heater up full the temperature comes down quickly.  I haven't seen any evidence of overheating at all.  I noticed yesterday though, even though the dash gauge was reading 70-80^C the engine fan was on. I have tried driving the engine under load.  But this morning even after driving 30 mins I checked the expansion tank - level was fine, but only warmish to the touch.  The radiator didn't feel too hot either.

 

I'm just looking for some reassurance that this is the case - the car is still under a 30 day engine and gearbox warranty from the garage I bought it from.  My concern is the engine cooling fan coming on - could the engine be overheating despite the dash gauge (separate thermo switch for the fan)?  Then again, the coolant def. felt coolish this morning.  I'm also concerned there may be a missing thermostat masking any other problem - had that before, hence my suspicions.  

 

The expansion tank wasn't overly pressurised and there seems to be dodgy stuff in the coolant itself (which was suspiciously clear though..).  I can hear a whirring noise when I turn on the ignition, which I assume is the aux pump - probably running just enough to mask any coolant flow issues.  Is this a reasonable prognosis?  I'm just worried about any hidden horrors that share similar symptoms!

 

cheers,

 

Steve

[steveyd]

I have checked the flow of water returning to the expansion tank - just a tiny dribble (if that) at tickover - should it be more forceful than that?  Maybe this low flow is just due to the auxillary pump?

[Az2102]

Hi All,

 

I'm a newby here and have just picked up my latest galaxy 2004 1.9 tdi 130. I've had it a week now and I've noticed it never gets to 90 even after 30-40 mins driving (50-60mph). I know they take a while to warm up - I had one of these before last year and no issues, dash gauge reached 90 and stayed there). However, I've looked further into this after looking up the forum (very useful stuff here!) and I suspect I have a duff waterpump.

 

I notice there isn't much heat coming from the heater, and when I do turn the heater up full the temperature comes down quickly. I haven't seen any evidence of overheating at all. I noticed yesterday though, even though the dash gauge was reading 70-80^C the engine fan was on. I have tried driving the engine under load. But this morning even after driving 30 mins I checked the expansion tank - level was fine, but only warmish to the touch. The radiator didn't feel too hot either.

 

I'm just looking for some reassurance that this is the case - the car is still under a 30 day engine and gearbox warranty from the garage I bought it from. My concern is the engine cooling fan coming on - could the engine be overheating despite the dash gauge (separate thermo switch for the fan)? Then again, the coolant def. felt coolish this morning. I'm also concerned there may be a missing thermostat masking any other problem - had that before, hence my suspicions.

 

The expansion tank wasn't overly pressurised and there seems to be dodgy stuff in the coolant itself (which was suspiciously clear though..). I can hear a whirring noise when I turn on the ignition, which I assume is the aux pump - probably running just enough to mask any coolant flow issues. Is this a reasonable prognosis? I'm just worried about any hidden horrors that share similar symptoms!

 

cheers,

 

Steve

[Az2102]

Sounds like the thermostat is stuck open. The fan should always be on if the ac is on. Turn the ac off and check the fan again. I had this problem before on a Vauxhall.

[steveyd]

Hi,

 

Thanks - I did in fact have the AC off (I think) yesterday when the fan was going.  I'll check again tonight as doing the same journey.  I'll try the thermostat - there is a fair bit of dismantling required though I think to get at it - then again I can get it up on the ramps.

 

cheers,

 

Steve

[gregers]

also check to see if the return pipe is blocked.

[steveyd]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for your replies - replaced the thermostat and all seems to be fine as far as I can tell now.  I couldn't quite see or feel the water pump impeller from the thermostat so couldn't check it - maybe its slightly different on the 130?  I also couldn't find any valve in the return pipe - but as it all seems to have settled down with a steady 90^ I'm assuming both pump and valve are ok.  Took it for a good long test drive, and although it initially blew cold air from the heaters, this gradually resolved itself as the system bled and heaters now toasty.

 

One thing that did make changing the thermostat easier was removing the vacuum reservoir - just one 8mm allen key on an extension had it off, and that made getting at the bottom bolt on the thermostat housing a whole lot easier!.  I didn't disconnect the reservoir, just moved it out of the way.

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[steveyd]

Hi All,

 

Spoke to soon - it's still failing to warm up properly.  When I thought I'd fixed it I'd been running the engine stationary for 30 mins to bleed the system and it did indeed staty at 90^C for the subsequent journey.  But now in normal use it still takes too long to get upto temperature- and even then temperature will come right down if the heaters are turned on (warm but not too hot even at "Hi").  This is even after driving for an hour!  So I'll try harder to look for that blocked pipe, and in the meantime I'm going to ask the dealer to check/change the water pump under warranty.

 

cheers,

 

Steve

[BrianH]

Do you have a booster heater in the back, and does it work?

[gregers]

also is the run on pump working as it should?

[xavier]

The engine doesn't kick out much heat, if you stick the heaters on full on a cold day, the temp guage will drop. I found mine was better when I fixed the aux heater pump (even though my aux heater was broken). But a working aux heater really kicks out the heat, and you can pretend to be a jet fighter pilot at the same time!

[steveyd]

Hi,

 

Sorry forgot to check back in - no the rear booster heater doesnt work (didnt in last galaxy, come the summer I'll change the glowplug).  However, Garage has had it back and put another thermostat in and replaced the temperature sender - 200 miles later it all seems fine now.  It may be they did a better job of bleeding the coolant than I did.  In any case I'm happy now.  The curious thing is, the aircon now seems to be working!  before I had the flashing display, but now doesnt flash on startup and I get cold air.  Maybe I should try and fix something unrelated to the parking sensors to get them to work!  Headlight bulbs here I come!

 

cheers,

 

Steve