Cooling system gone bang - Please help!

I am trying to get my 1980 Golf GLi ready for an mot (see my topic in Restoration), and last night I was looking at the car to prepare for the test on Sat.

I had the engine ticking over for about twenty minutes, but unforunately the cooling fan was not connected?  There was a loud bang followed by a release of steam and water. The water was coming from the back of the engine.  I found a small rubber plug on the floor about 12mm (1/2 inch) diameter, and was cone shaped on the side that is inserted.

Could anyone tell me where this come from? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm guessing a core plug? Check haynes manual for location of them if you have one

stroller said

I found a small rubber plug on the floor about 12mm (1/2 inch) diameter,

Rubber? A core plug wouldnt be rubber though, would it Hairyarse?!??

I think the rubber plug you found might have been there already and it is something else that went bang  :dontknow:

If you fill it back up with water, it shoudl leak out showing you where/what is broken!?!?

Yes those cone shaped bungs can be found on the inner wings to blank off holes, nothing to do with cooling system.

Cheers
Rajan

AL_Mk1 said

stroller said

I found a small rubber plug on the floor about 12mm (1/2 inch) diameter,

Rubber? A core plug wouldnt be rubber though, would it Hairyarse?!??quote]

You're right!! - missed that bit ops:

It was not that plug, as suggested, but a u-shaped rubber hose. The hose comes out the side of the head from the same point that the heater takes water. I am a bit confused here, as the haynes manual talks of heated inlet manifolds??  I think someone may have changed my car, as this hose came from a metal pipe and did a u-turn back into the metal casting on the side of the head. Should an EG 1.6 injection engine have an heated manifold?  I may struggle to find this u-shaped (more J shaped) hose, it did have a vw part no, but it is now deleted.

Please could someone tell me if this is the correct pipe, I really would prefer to replace the pipe I found as I am taking the car for a mot tomorrow and will have to cancel for 4 weeks if I can not make it!!

Ah right - So it is a pipe!

That sounds more like it! Sounds like the pipe that connects the metal water pipe to the side of the head…
Has it burst or did it just blow off its mounting point?

It burst big time, it is split all the way from jubilee clip to jubilee clip.  I think GSF stock this pipe, so I can pick one up in the morning.

I love a happy ending.

I think the pressure should have bleed off somewhere before building up to this extent.  On my old radiator (with the expansion tank built in) there was an overflow pipe but it had a self tapper screw in the hole so the pressure wouldn't be released (it did one morning coming up the A19 though!).

Anyway - there is a lesson here.  Don't run a car with no airflow across the radiator and with the fan disconnected.  I'm pretty sure if you'd checked the gauge in the dash, it would have been well into the red.

As an alternative you can run it with the heater on fully hot with the heating fan on full and the roof down to shift some of the heat but really you need to fan connected.

Be sure to be very careful once it is though - it will start without notice (even if the keys aren't in) and if you get yourself or your clothing caught up in it - it will hurt!