BillyCool
Finding my way
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Everything posted by BillyCool
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It sound like it could be, if the electronic shroud is sticking. That's what mine did. Very random and hard to diagnose. I did also have the thermostat changed but that seemed okay, whereas the pump was deffo faulty.
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I got mine replaced with a pump without the shroud/widget/actuator and it's been fine since. Could yours be thermostat related as they can fail as well? Be a real shame if your pump has failed again already.
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Seems to depend who you ask. I was told 120,000 miles or 5 years. Mine was done at 100,000 due to waterpump issues. I would have thought that yours would be good until 2024 or 180,000? Or 160,000 if being cautious? Every one seems to have a different answer.
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Won't bore you too much but it's to do with emission levels and warm up times. The car has 3 coolant circuits and the on start up (cold) the shroud limits the water flow to just the smaller circuit and ignores/omits the larger radiator circuit. This way the car warms up quicker and results in better fuel use etc so the emissions look better. Another emissions related `idea` that doesn't work so well.
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Sorry - should have been a bit clearer. The electronic pump has the widget (as I call it) that moves up and down the impeller to increase/decrease water flow. This is spring loaded in one direction (to increase water flow). When this sticks, water flow is not increased and you get an overheat. When it springs open every once in a while, all is well again (hence the inconsistency). Not that VAG would admit that the pump has issues but there is now a revised `non-widget` version that does not have the shroud. In fact, it's just like a good old-school water pump. That's what I got fitted to my car and had no issues since. Pic is the pump. Shroud is silver cover (red arrow) that moves up and down (yellow arrow) to control coolant flow. When it sticks, it can't open properly to allow coolant level to increase. New, non-widget pump doesn't have the shroud.
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My car did that. Would overheat under load but was very inconsistent, which made fault finding even harder. If it's the electronic one, it's the outer cover/shroud that sticks and not the impeller. I've seen mine up close when it was removed and it didn't inspire me with confidence. That was why I fitted a non-widget one. Dealer won't be interested and diagnostics won't show anything as it doesn't throw up any fault codes. If your cambelt has not been done before, it's certainly due anyway. £419 is a sensible price. Will you get a warranty with that? I'm 99% sure a new water pump will sort it.
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My old pump did 90,000 miles (over 5 years) before failing, so I'd like to think it would at least last a reasonable amount of time. They do tend to revise stuff, so hopefully you have one that's been tweaked or `improved`.
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Thanks for clarifying. I'm not sure TBH. I think it's always a risk to unlplug something that should be plugged in!
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Do you mean a new pump without the electronic widget?
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Thanks for the insight. I've only been guided by my mechanic and by TPS offering him the `revised` version. Hopefully it will be fine.
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Can't say I've noticed much difference with warm up times. Possibly a bit slower by 2 or 3 mins but not a lot. I still have heat in the cabin after 5 mins. The switchable pump was designed to exclude the radiator circuit and just use the smaller engine circuit to get up to temp quicker. Like you said, it was to help with emissions etc but a flawed design. That's why I didn't put another switchable one back in. Like my mechanic said, they subsequently designed a non-switchable `option` for a reason!
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I had a non-switchable fitted on my 2014 Leon TDI in March due to the electric widget on my other one sticking and having overheat issues. Had the timing belt done at the same time (99,000 miles). Also had thermostat and housing changed as a precaution and also heater matrix as that was causing separate issues. The pictures show the sticky widget (the silver `collar`) and the other one is the instructions that show how you attach the solenoid to the new pump. I've had no issues with it since.
