Help regarding coolant temperature and thermostat

I took my Golf on its first proper drive yesterday to experiance the Tour De France here in West Yorkshire since I bought it a few months ago. It drove very well and the temperature gauge mostly stayed in the middle when I was driving at speed. However I did notice it increase when I was doing slow speeds or when in traffic, although I was never in a traffic jam. The needle never went into the red 'danger zone' but was close! Is this normal? The cooling system was properly flushed out prior to the drive and the right coolant was added. I also put in a new water-pump. When I got home, I did notice the coolant level was still at the max level in the expansion bottle, which is good news.I took the cap off the bottle when it cooled down, and then started the engine. I noticed I am getting coolant coming out of the thin pipe.
So is everything as it should be? What should be the temperature of the thermostat and should I put in one that runs a little cooler as I have heard there is one that runs at 71 degrees as opposed to 87 degrees. I should have looked to see which one I have before I put it incf_emoticons__BangHead: however I did check it in boiling water to see if it was in working order. I also noticed I was not getting good heat from the heater inside the car. It was a hot day, but I am certain it was not the way it should be. Perhaps the thermostat is stuck open? By the way, the heater motor was also replaced for a new one recently.
Many thanks in advance

jaz please try to post your questions in the revent section of the forum

not everything in general chat

thanks you

Ok. Will do next time

Anyone?

The needle should stay close to the middle and when stopped in traffic mine goes to no more that 3/4 no a hot day then the fan kicks in and it goes back to 1/2.
Is your fan coming on? Try bridging the 2 wire from the sensor attached to the radiator and see if it runs.
Water flowing into the water tank is fine, does the flow increase if you rev the car? There should be no need to fit a lower temputure thermostate for a road car.
Are all the water hose getting hot?
Sometimes if the timing is out it can also lead to the car running at a high temputure.

The temp goes up no more than 3/4 on a hot day and when in traffic as you say.I was just worried if it would go into danger zone if I was in long traffic queues! The fan kicks in as it should. The water flows in the tank more when I rev the engine. The timing should be spot on as this is what I paid to get done a few weeks ago among other things. I am getting very weak heat from the fan motor. What could this be? Could my thermostat be stuck open, even though I checked it in boiling water on a month ago.

if the gauge is steady at aroudn half when drivign abnout stat is fine, check the heater matrix valve in the engien bay to be sure its fully open when heters are on hot. you do know that the large vents only blow cold air right? its the wee ones that are hot

The heater in the car is controlled by a valve which stops or lets the water past, its by the brake servo and look like the one in the link, check that the arm moves when you put the heater on hot then cold from inside the car sometimes the cable come off as it's only bent around the arm at the end. As rubjonny says it's only the vents on top and below the dash and the 2 small vents at the side which blow hot air the bigger side vents you can open and close yourself only blow the air in from outside.

You can check the thermostat by starting the car and feeling the rubber water pipes, the one on the right had side of the engine going to the heater should get hot first then the heat should move to the other hoses, the hose going from the head to the water pump (middle connection) should get hot before the big bottom hose from the water pump to the bottom of the radiator should be the last to heat up as water should only run through it once the thermostat has opened.
If the thermostat is stuck open it wont be much of a problem at this time of year as it's warm, you really need to be be working in the winter when it's cold or then engine runs cool.

Don't worry about the temp guage going to 3/4 it's normal for it to be that high if the car is in traffic on a hot day and as long as it goes back down once the fan kicks in you'll be fine, just worry if it continues to rise after the fan is running.

Heater valve.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK1-2-SCIROCCO-Heater-valve-T25-Golf-Mk1-Cabrio-Scirocco-/390805494399?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5afdd29a7f

rubjonny said

if the gauge is steady at aroudn half when drivign abnout stat is fine, check the heater matrix valve in the engien bay to be sure its fully open when heters are on hot. you do know that the large vents only blow cold air right? its the wee ones that are hot

I will check that. I did not know it was only the small vents for hot air so thanks

mark1gls said

The heater in the car is controlled by a valve which stops or lets the water past, its by the brake servo and look like the one in the link, check that the arm moves when you put the heater on hot then cold from inside the car sometimes the cable come off as it's only bent around the arm at the end. As rubjonny says it's only the vents on top and below the dash and the 2 small vents at the side which blow hot air the bigger side vents you can open and close yourself only blow the air in from outside

You can check the thermostat by starting the car and feeling the rubber water pipes, the one on the right had side of the engine going to the heater should get hot first then the heat should move to the other hoses, the hose going from the head to the water pump (middle connection) should get hot before the big bottom hose from the water pump to the bottom of the radiator should be the last to heat up as water should only run through it once the thermostat has opened.
If the thermostat is stuck open it wont be much of a problem at this time of year as it's warm, you really need to be be working in the winter when it's cold or then engine runs cool.

Don't worry about the temp guage going to 3/4 it's normal for it to be that high if the car is in traffic on a hot day and as long as it goes back down once the fan kicks in you'll be fine, just worry if it continues to rise after the fan is running.

Heater valve.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MK1-2-SCIROCCO-Heater-valve-T25-Golf-Mk1-Cabrio-Scirocco-/390805494399?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5afdd29a7f

Thanks mate for this! My I will check the pipes and the valve today. The temperature guage stays in the middle on a continuous ride.

What is the max mark on the expansion tank you are refering to? The little diamond or the seam?
Ensure its filled to the seam as it is quite sensitive to low fluid. Mine was like this…