eye_flys

Thanks for the useful replies. I have a recon head and head gasket set in stock so if the worst comes to the worst it won't be too expensive. I'll look into getting a sniff tester, didn't realise they were available relatively cheaply.

I bought a Laurin and Klement 110 TDI recently and it runs great apart from this one issue. I've read a lot of threads about overheating but none match the symptoms my car is exhibiting. On the open road the temperature gauge stays at a steady 90C even up long hills and at high speed. I went home over the mountains last night, some nasty passes that required 2nd gear at some points and the coolant temperature rocketed. I've checked the water pump impeller through the thermostat hole, tested the thermostat and drained and refilled the coolant. It seems to behave better without the thermostat even though it tests ok in a hot pan. Any ideas?

Not to be cheeky, but I'm not sure I have the time to list the thousands of parts contained in the car, I've edited it to list the price of a few parts as examples.

I am breaking my old Octavia estate in brilliant silver for spares. Most parts are available apart from... Manifold/turbo Injectors Headlights Cylinder head Competitive prices and I will ship large body parts (e.g. bonnet £50 including postage) as well as little bits of trim. Price examples: Instrument panel (repaired and re-soldered recently): £20 inc. postage Nearside tail light: £15 inc. postage O/S/F window regulator: £20 inc postage.

They're cheap from the dealer. Awful design though, who said VAG cars are well engineered?

UV light is a good call. Wish I hadn't jumped the gun and taken the head off now, but I can't see any obvious coolant staining apart from the expansion pipe from the header tank.

Yeah, so there's lots of things it could be apart from the head or head gasket. Bugger!

I hope it's not a hose, because I ended up doing this. No obvious signs of damage on the head or head gasket, the head's away getting tested just now.

Balls. Seems increasingly likely now, the water pump is fine...

My Octavia has been losing progressively more coolant. I've kept it topped up and it hasn't overheated yet. It only happens on long journeys, approximately 1-2 litres every 100 miles, leaving the engine idling for an hour doesn't result in any coolant loss. There is no coolant/engine oil contamination or vice versa (phew!) I've taken the timing covers off today, and though the crank pulley was a bit wet, the water pump seems dry. There is a bit of a worn bearing noise with the engine running. There was an obvious coolant smell when I opened up the wing liner. Reckon I'm on the right path with the water pump? I've not known one to leak intermittently.

I noticed a similar problem with mine when I took the nearside hub off to get a new bearing fitted. My mechanic wouldn't helicoil it, he drilled out the old knackered thread, inserted a bigger thread, chopped the end of the slide bolt off, and welded the thread off a bigger bolt on. Floating calipers are a rubbish design...

Thanks for the advice, I'll replace both the alternator pulley and tensioner.

Probably a worthwhile project if you can do it all yourself. Expensive if you can't.

Just to clarify, the alternator pulley isn't showing any of the signs of being bust. Maybe the alternator pulley's been replaced before and the tensioner's worn out from past abuse?

I put it back together and it seems to have fixed itself, no more battery light or noises. Belt's nicely tensioned. Pretty sure it's the tensioner, I'll source a new one ASAP. Is it OK to just replace the tensioner strut? http://www.ebay.co.u...10-/14084032256

It has 171000 miles by the way. Drives really well, but I guess a few things might be borderline.

Thanks for your quick and helpful reply. The belt looks nearly new. The tensioner was chattering a bit last night. Alternator pulley tested (screwdriver wedged in the vanes, pulley goes one way (clockwise IIRC!), doesn't go the other way, no play) How do you test the aircon pump pulley?

My car started making an awful metallic rattle from the auxiliary belt area last night, accompanied by the battery light flashing. Today I took the belt off and checked the main suspect, the alternator free-wheel pulley, which seems to be fine. The tensioner and all the other pulleys seem okay too. What else could it be?