overheating engine crisis HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP

Hi all
I have a 1.8 GTI 8 valve E reg cabby. Now iv'e just changed the head gasket and had the head skimmed and new valve stem seals and guides put in. The water pump has also been replaced a little while ago, a cheap item from GSF I don't know y i bought it but yea. now im not using the car at the moment but hope to get it goin g in the next couple of weeks it was my daily car for about 3 years and i stopped using it and one winter terriable things happened i say no more!

As it stands, their is a few problems which i think are highly unlikely to cause the preoblem of overheating.

1. the reserviour bottle has a sensor in the top which is leaking water once pressure builds up this needs to be replaced
2. one of the small vacuam pipes is broken

other than these i cannot find any other faults. the temperature gets to 3/4 of the way up and the light starts to flash on the instrument cluster. i dont remember it ever reaching this high. heres the thing the fan kicks in but only for a very short time period, about 20 seconds. then goes off. i have changed the thermostatic switch in my radiator for a new one also from GSF and same thing happens. i have tried changing the radiator with a mates spare second hand one same problem i have changed the sensors on the water manifold coming out of the engine block well the little one i understand the big one with the brown socket is the cold start switch.

This is another thing that is puzzling me when i have the thermostat in the pump the pipe feeding the rad does not get warm at all!! so o thought it would be the wrong thermostat tried another one from GSF and same problem!! tried thermostats in both directions same problem of pipe not getting hot. so i have removed thermostat completely for now and now pipe is getting hot.

i also tried taking the pump off and letting water run through pipework. i blocked the water coming out of the engine block and noticed very little water coming out of the middle pipe is this supposed to be like this??

Can anyone help   my heads stating to hurt now thinking about it. i got a feeling it s the pump but when i took it off the vanes inside the pump were spinning as i turned the flywheel. im now wondering if wrong oil could be at fault? i just thought of that now and will double check what i have in the engine damn. any help will be well appreciated. i have shorted the fan thermostatic switch and fan kicks in!! all of radiator seems to be getting hot too im puzzled HELP

Simple stuff 1st:
You wouldn't be the first to have more than 1 dodgy thermostat. Test one on a pan of water on the cooker.

There could be a build up of grot in the water passages/pipes which a good flush with a hosepipe may sort out. (I've used a pressure washer through the water system on a couple of cars with no ill effects… Seems a bit brutal though, so wouldn't recommend it - "at your own risk" and all that!)
You'll want a few pipes off for flushing though, as it's easy to flush only part of the system!

If the water pump is running/pumping (which you'll see the flow in the return to the expansion tank with the cap off) then assume all's well with that.

Final silly thought from me is that you're SURE it's the right head gasket, and that water ways aren't obstructed by it?

thats the thing the silly bit lol. i remember putting the head gasket on the first time i placed it, it was upside down as holes would not line up so turned it over and it was correct. im about 90% sure it was correct or i wouldnt of put it on. if their was issues with it i would of remembered i want to keep this as a last check up for obvious reasons. the overhang of the gasket should be at the front of the engine correct? yes their is water returning to the expansion tank. so that means pump is okay i suppose. one of the pipes feeding the pump doesnt seem to have much flow through it now i cant really describe the flow rate is it meant to b like this? im gna heat up the thermostat in a pan and check resistance in 20 min or so thanks for help so far mate

yep thermostat kicks in at abt 60 degrees centigrade

will try nd flush block out need to do this asap now as freezing weather is upon us

stat should open at about 87 degrees, basically when gauge gets to about 1/2. the fan should kick in at around 3/4

well even if it opens at 60 for the moment the fan should still kick in earlier but it ant im going to try and blast out the water inlet and outlet passages on the cylinder head i think thats were the problem is. its definately to do with lack of circulation. the water going to the heater matrix is not as hot as it should be hence air is only just warm

fan is kicking in at 3/4, which is the correct temp. not for long though which makes me think poor coolant flow round the rad, maybe its blocked or the stat isnt opening properly.

does the rad get nice n hot at the end of the rad where the sensor is? if not and bottom hose still cold then something is up with the coolant flow. could just be an air lock, if the system cant pressurise then it will boil so sort that leak out and work from there.

if the tank is new try the old one, i had brand new febi and it leaked from the same place, tried old n new sensors with no help. eventually put the old tank back on and problem solved

edit: when you say middle pipe, do you mean the one on the pump? thats the return from the heater matrix. the pump output is direct into the block. coolant flows thru the block and out of the 2 outlets in the head, then back down into the pump from the outlet on the side of the front flange, and also thru the heater matrix and back round the metal pipe to the pump. when the stat opens watyer also flows thru the radiator and back into the bottom of the pump thru the thermostat

very useful info i had all the pipes related to the coolant system off today. all clear no blockages! exception to the ones going into the bulkhead for the heater matrix. could this be the problem, heater matrix? john i have no thermostat fitted at the moment. when i do fit the stat the bottom pipe to the rad stays cold as hell. iv'e tried stat both way. bought one from a local parts guy didn't solve it bought one from gsf, no luck, bought one from euro car parts guess what no luck!! and their all different shapes. so decided to run without it for the moment.  i connected a garden tap/ house to the pipe going to the heater matrix and hey presto i had flow coming out from the pipe that goes into the side of the block. my head gasket is definitely on the right way round as the contours on the block follow that of the gasket. my fuse box is faulty at the moment were i mean it is leaking ground somewhere i know this because my lights are playing up but could this be the cause of it does the fan kick in with a re-lay?? its either that or my pump ant pumping enough? i am completely and utterly ba dazzled. but john ill try and get that reservoir sensor sorted asap and try again its a dealer only part from what iv'e been told at gsf.

oh even if it was meant to kick in at 3/4 the light shouldn't flash definitely a problem somewhere

the light could be a red herring, the level sender, control relay or temp sender itself could be playing up. or it could be dowen to the fusebox fault you mentioned, the dash gets power from the fusebox so if there is a fault odd things might happen.

what you really need to do is get the other problems fixes and check that your coolant temp system is all working 100%, before you start worrying that the engine is overheating.

to test the pump run it from cold with the cap off, and rev the engien a bit. you should see a stream of coolant and bubbles spray out of the thin hose to the tank. if not pump is weak or the thin hose or rad is blocked. this thin hose is required for the system to bleed properly, so a blocked one will give you no end of coolant issues

okay ill need a fuse box anyone got one? i know the fuse box is leaking earth and its a closed unit so i cant even open it and clean it.

ordered fuse board from crazy quiffs should be here soon hopefully tomm!! c what happens?

ordered fuse board from crazy quiffs should be here soon hopefully tomm!! c what happens?

tried a 2nd hand fuse box from crazy quiffs, still no joy. i by passed the heater matrix yesterday and still overheating. although i put another fuse box in i used the same relays what number relay is used for the fan?? iv'e run out of ideas on how to solve this problem. the only other thing i can do is buy another water pump to eliminate that out the question and then may b if that don't fix it which i don't think it will then take the head back off!!!!!!! it is a brand new pump so i dont c why i should take it off but id rather do that then take the head off! it is circulating water as the reservoir return pipe is flowing when just over idle revs. but it seems as if it ant moving enough water and it is a very cheaply made water pump from gsf!!! HELP????

no relay for the fan, it just has 12v from the fusebox and a switch in the rad. its running so dont worry about it for now, look elsewhere.

as i say ifthe fan isnt running for long im leaning towards a radiator problem, you can buy a new hella one for £24:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280765578815

john it cant b the rad i tried a 2nd hand rad from elsewere i have a clipper carbby can i try the rad of that? same operationalt temps??

hmm ok, running out of ideas now! have you tried another temp sender in case yours is over-reading. its the black single pin one in the front or side coolant flange on the head

john tried the fan from my clipper today worked how it should which means two rads played up on me wat a B***h!!!!! thats sorted now i got the wire to put around the hood and just sought the electrics out and my babies back on road wrong season but wat the heck jhon your a star mate thanks for all your help so far

mines on the front john the temp sender but i thin k its the rad sorry didnt see this reply im gona try the new rad. yes temp sender is new anyhow.

cool! bad luck on getting 2 knackered rads but at least you got to the bottom of it now