UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

I have a few niggles on my 16V and was wondering if anyone can help.
Firstly it overheats slightly, the temp rises to aroung 20 degrees higher than normal and sits there but wont go any higher. The coolant level is ok and the thermostat was changed 6 months ago. Im wondering if its a dodgy thermostat and have a new one but dont know which pipe its in. Id like to sort it rather than drive around with the hot air blowing to keep the engine cool.

Second fault is the boot lock wont open on the central locking anymore, any ideas?

Lastly, anyone know whether I can get the rubber cords that lift the parcel shelf up with the boot lid.

Please help lads

mikerd4 wrote:I have a few niggles on my 16V and was wondering if anyone can help.

I have a 8V 1.4 but I'll put my 2p worth in

mikerd4 wrote:Firstly it overheats slightly, the temp rises to aroung 20 degrees higher than normal and sits there but wont go any higher. The coolant level is ok and the thermostat was changed 6 months ago. Im wondering if its a dodgy thermostat and have a new one but dont know which pipe its in. Id like to sort it rather than drive around with the hot air blowing to keep the engine cool.

My 1.4 8V sits at 90 deg all day long - 20 Deg higher than 90 deg if thats normal for a 16V is 110 deg - I would have expected coolant all over the show if that was the case and a rough running engine to boot.....

Is the electric fan coming on - mine comes on very shortly after the car is left ticking over for any length of time so if it's not working I'd start there first.....

If it is working

Stick a temperature probe or thermometer in the header tank and check that actual water temp is close to display temperature - it should be within a few deg....

If it is much higher then possibly you might have a circulation problem or a heat transfer issue so.....

Common problem is radiator cores blocked up with road dirt/debris so a back flush with a low pressure hose to clean the core might help.

Air locks can cause high temp readings so give all the hoses a squeeze to check there isn't a pocket of air trapped near the temp sensor.

If the temperature is much lower than the display I'd suspect the sensor i faulty - fairly cheap and easy to replace so I'd start there.....

mikerd4 wrote:Second fault is the boot lock wont open on the central locking anymore, any ideas?

Take the inside cover of the tailgate (one screw at the back of the handle hold and a gentle prise along the edge hould see it off) and you will see the boot locking servo (Yellow pipe should be on it - if it's off putting it back would be a start) - I assume that the 16V is vacuum operated like the 8V - so check out whats happening when you work the drivers door lock (helps to have a friend handy for this) - advice after this depends on whats going on in there......

mikerd4 wrote:Lastly, anyone know whether I can get the rubber cords that lift the parcel shelf up with the boot lid. Please help lads

Martin at Vag parts will do a set mail order to your door - I've just ordered a set myself.....

I hope that helps - I'm sure others with better knowledge than I will chip in.....

Any idea which pipe the thermostat is in for me to change?
It normally sits at 90 degrees but rides up to 110, the engine runs fine and the engine overtemp light has only come on once. If I put the heaters on in the car the engine temp drops back down to normal but thats a pain in the summer

I'd try bleeding the cooling system of air. that would cause it to go high.

not sure where the thermostat is.... sorry

Hey

Regarding the parcel shelf straps

If you donate £5 to UK-Polos (see in the main forum for the section) ill send u 2 free straps off my old parcel shelf

Hows that sound? i know it aint much but every little helps!

If you can tell me how to make the donation, as Im living in Ireland at the mo.
Regarding bleeding the air out, whats the best way to do this?

mikerd4 wrote:Regarding bleeding the air out, whats the best way to do this?

Quote "Air locks can cause high temp readings so give all the hoses a squeeze to check there isn't a pocket of air trapped near the temp sensor."

Trick with bleeding air out of the system is to assist the natural water circulation by squeezing hoses to work the air to the header tank.

Sometimes you can bleed it out from cold by running the car with the expansion tank lid off and at a fast idle but most times it needs a bit of help hence hose squeezing........

IHTH