JamieH86

Not sure; I had two new ABS pumps in the past two years. The first failed due to age (being original, 19 years old) and its replacement was badly threaded in (such that the aluminium was damaged and leaked brake fluid) but I got both "new" pumps second-hand from eBay (about £100) and they went in fine (well, bar the bad threading by a garage I now do not use!).

The top, 1KD 514 118 S (or similar, it's a little blurry).

I always think of general weirdness, especially random dash lights, as being a battery issue.

In that case I'd definitely recommend GL Autos in Cwmbran. Proper family garage, good workmanship and decent prices.

You mentioned going to Bath to visit a good garage; whereabouts are you? If you're on the Bristol/Newport side I can recommend a very good garage. Might be too far if you're on the other side towards Reading, though.

Yeah wear and tear aside, great car. My 1.9 TDI from 2005 just passed the MOT with just a rusty coil spring and drives like new.

Easiest option for Bluetooth is an adapter that goes in the fag lighter. It picks up your Bluetooth (from a phone say) and broadcasts it via radio, so you just tune the radio to the right frequency.

My first question would be, do you know why it's gone down? Are there signs of any leaks or smoke etc? If nothing major, and I've had this on my own 1.9 TDI, I used a coolant sealant liquid (straight into the reservoir) and topped up and that worked a charm.

I've got a 55 plate 1.9 TDI and apart from tyres, brake discs, pads, calipers, cables, bushes, shocks, boots, wiper linkage, fuel injector, 2 x cam belts and pumps, boot switch, driver's belt socket, ABS pump, battery and starter motor I haven't had an issue in seven years! Still goes like stink when you put your foot down mind.

When we imported our car to France I just bought some European headlights off eBay. Swapped them over and job done.

"Don't go to Halfords" is always good advice.

If it does need an injector I recommend buying it here: https://wtdiesel.com/ £69 mine was and find a good garage that fits customer supplied parts. Think it was about £140 labour I paid.

I had periodic black smoke under load (say, a hill start and four passengers) last year and periodic vibration starting on acceleration. Restarting cured that... for a bit. No errors/dash lights. They were signs of a failing injector, which went just before Christmas. There was finally a dash light once the injector actually died. Diagnosed by a Skoda/VW specialist swapping the injector (one) with injector two and seeing if the error followed, which it did. ONe new injector later, good as new.

Well you've come here for advice; if you're worried about the quality of local mechanics (but are happy to give them money) and have a VW specialist nearby, then the advice I would give is to take it to the specialist. They may well perform manual and other physical inspections rather than rely on a scanner. I know this as I had an issue last year with rough idling, engine vibrations and black smoke the local mechanics with their scanners were a black hole of cash but I took it to a local VW specialist who confirmed it was a fuel injector (swapping the suspect injector to another position and vice versa, the problem followed the injector) and since replacing it, no issues. But if YOU are happy to go to local mechanics and check things that way then it is YOUR car.

You refused to pay $150 for a diagnosis but paid twice as much for guesswork that didn't fix it? I would take it the 5k to the specialist and get it diagnosed properly. I would have the fuel injectors checked; if one is failing the ECU might cut it out and this could cause vibrations if you're on three cylinders.

Nice. I am always trying to chase my personal best of 400 miles at the halfway point (from August 2019; hot weather, recent service, unladen) and finally did it again last week! It's the European (German in this case) diesel; I swear it goes further.

Well it absorbed the shock, I suppose, and died doing what it loved.

One new thermostat and 800 miles later and all is well. Very much improved performance and even after a long and heavy drive (some big hills, five people in the car, full boot etc) no change from 90° on the dial and in fact so well managed now, the fan didn't even need to run after turning off the engine. It would have been a cheap and easy month had I not also broken a shock absorber on a particularly "cheeky" bit of Polish road...

For those following this, the issue seems to have been an elderly thermostat. The coolant level (no internal or external leaks) would vary as and when the thermostat stuck closed, and the heater started blowing cold in the cabin. The coolant was well "burped" and the temperature changes were not consistent with an air lock, but rather improper circulation of coolant at higher speeds. I guess this could have been going on gradually for a while, hence the much more minor things I initially noticed and mentioned here. New thermostat going in today!

Sorry no 100% right above... I did have to top off the coolant (it was at the halfway point when hot as opposed to over the max line) and there has been since the new pump was fitted (*POSSIBLE* coincidence alert) a squealing from the front offside of the car, particularly on slowing/moving off. I Have read this could be the pump belt or pulley?

Well this went quiet when the weather cooled and I thought I could put it down to that. However we drove to Poland this weekend and the temperature behaviour got increasingly odd. Our trip was essentially three drives of five hours apiece (Wales to Harwich, Hook of Holland to Hanover, Hanover to Poland). DRive 1 - normal. Temp stayed at 90. Drive 2 - temperature went up on hilly stretches (there was one very big hill at one point, about five miles at 30-40 degree incline), as high as 100, then back down to 90 on flat/downhill. DRive 3 - stayed at 90 if at 40mph or below but above that seemed to stay over temperature with the speed. Ie. 50 mph, engine at 92°. 60mph, 95°. 70mph, 95-100°. Sometimes that would go down to 90, sometimes it would stick. Hills not really a factor. Any acceleration (for instance, going from 50mph to 80mph on leaving roadworks) seemed to accompany a rise in temp. No warning lights and no temps outside the "safe" zone... but this is not usual for this car. The water pump was replaced a few weeks ago (from the Quinton Hazell kit QBPK6250 Timing Kit & Water Pump). Coolant seems steady, no gak in the oil.

I echo this thread's sentiments! Just gone from south Wales to Essex (Harwich) in our 1.9 TDI and will be going to Poland next week. 240 miles on first quarter of the tank. MPG around 77 according to "the internet" and that is laden with kids, bags, wife and full boot.

Well having got to understand my dial better, the specific reading earlier was 92. However, on driving to Bristol from South Wales... no issues. Got up to 90 and stayed there. On the return trip, the same (mostly M4). But right at the end, to get to our road is a steep hill and a sharp right. At that point, it went to 92, then by the time I was home and level it was 90 again. So... I can't be arsed to worry about that. The fuel guage does similar of course, going up and down slightly if I am going down or up hill, and maybe for some weird reason this hill and corner does similar for the temperature. Not that I can think how! A sensor somewhere maybe? I know the engine isn't actually overheated as when you turn it off and on again, immediately it is bang on 90 (and the fan hasn't even stayed on).

Well for the last few days things have been normal. The temperature has dropped to around 20 which has helped I guess. Fan still on after long drives but stops fairly quickly so all normal. However today I did notice the temperature needle was around 95/100 degree area (hard to tell as not all numbered) which is unusual. On the other hand sometimes my dials (fuel, revs and temp) sometimes start at the "wrong" point so they always read too high or low. I only noticed the temperature literally as I pulled onto the driveway so I turned the engine off, then turned the key one click back on to engage the dials, and the temperature went to and stopped bang on 90. So maybe it had been over-reading before. Will keep an eye on it, anyway!

True. Mind you we will be in Yate this weekend, but I certainly don't expect you to have to help!