Sharpy64

The reason I am considering a replacement is the oil consumption, its not horrendous on it compared to some but its more than I would like. So a low mileage engine seems an option, also considering just getting mine fully rebuilt, but it does all hinge on the head, if its cracked then the cost of a new head and rebuild would probably be too much, if the heads warped / not cracked then a rebuild is a very real option. Its becoming a "while im in there" sort of situation!

I have been doing some searching and have come across a replacement complete engine from a car with 47k on it, seriously considering it as an option, might be easier to just throw a new lump in it at this point.

So been over to my mates shed, bypassed the new egr cooler and the issue remains, so it’s off with its head! There’s a place not far from me that a mate uses for his racing car heads and they’ll pressure test it for cracks and if it passes will check it for warps and if needed skim it. So onwards. The thought of having to pay a garage to do all of this is terrifying, might take me a bit longer but at least it’s a whole lot cheaper.

Droning noises are often wheel bearing or tyre issues. That is where I would start, are the tyres okay, any odd wear patterns / feathering on the inner edges, if they are okay then id be checking the wheel bearings.

If it has LED the pattern is usually flat and no action is needed, if bi-xenon then there is often an option that allows you to change the drive pattern, if its Halogen lights then deflectors will be needed.

Im not hopeful! Ha!

Just been chatting to my mate and we are going to bypass the egr cooler first, this is because the condition got a lot worse after we fitted that so there is a chance that its a bad new part, so to avoid taking the head off without proper diag this seems like a sensible approach. If its still doing it then we have confirmed its not the egr cooler and can move on to the HG.

Thats what I reckon, so back to my mates shed to take the head off and see whats going on. Worst case a new engine, if the blocks cracked, best case just a new HG! Based on how its gone so far I feel like it'll be a new engine... so might just throw a Golf R engine it it.

This was a pretty big clue. 😂 IMG_8936.mov I suspect all the parts I replaced had issues and that has made this condition worse as it was relatively okay with the leaky egr cooler and leaky charge cooler.

Well…. Nuts… So it’s time to take the head off then.

So, here we are back to square one. Didnt even need to do a long drive and the wheel arch and area around the coolant bottle is soaking wet with coolant. Going to start with diag again and do a sniff test. It ahs to be combustion gasses in the coolant.

Been a little while as I’ve been out of the country. I’ve replaced the thermostat with an original VAG one and I now have coolant flow through the main radiator, also replaced the charge cooler as it was off to do the thermostat anyway. My mates been driving it about while I’ve been away and so far so good, although no long journeys to really test it. Next up is a long drive (90mins) and see if the coolant now stays inside the coolant system. Should also add the expansion tank I got from NAPA leaked anyway so not sure that was a valuable diagnostic asset.

Thanks, does seem like a common failure point! I’ve not been able to get back to the car last few days but hopefully will sort it next week!

Just didn’t sniff test, up to full temp and on power for 3 mins, liquid stayed blue. So hoping that’s a positive sign.

What is annoying is that I cannot replicate the condition when stationary, but I did have the temperature showing on the infotainment screen on one of the trips and it never waivered from 90degs.

The biggest saving grace for me is I do all the work myself, I cannot imagine the cost of doing all of this at a garage, spent 3 hrs diagnosing alone yesterday. I intend to document the process I went through and hopefully the solution once its resolved to hopefully help others, although there seems to be so many similar issues around cooling systems!

Thats a fair shout, its is sounding a little "gritty". Thanks.

Its got 3 pumps, one mechanical (but with the electric shroud), that one is brand new and appears to be functioning as expected, there is an electric one that feeds the egr cooler I think and you can hear that one running and the final electric one is under the oil filter housing and that one makes no noise at all, so leaning towards that one being an issue.

So I spent some time at my mates tonight and got it on the lift, no leaks externally. However the main radiator is not getting hot and the pipes for that also remain cool. There is coolant in the pipes but it’s not getting circulated. We’re going to test the front electric water pumps but I melted my code reader in two and my mates is form 1960 I think, so he’s going to bring one back form his work (he’s a mechanic) so we can see if that’s working. Also suspect a possible issue with the thermostat, so making progress but more questions than answers. Going to replace the charge air cooler and thermostat anyway and then see where we get to. I’m not driving it anymore until I get a resolution though. At this rate I might as well replace the engine and be done with it lol.

Hi All, I know this is a topic that seems to have been covered a million times but my vRS has become a problem child. It was losing a small amount of coolant and I would get the odd whisp of steam from the back, I diagnosed a leaking EGR Cooler (confirmed with off car pressure test) and a small water pump leak. I replaced both and thought my work here was done. However it now seems to have made losses worse, this time from the reservoir, so yesterday I did a 90 min motorway drive and by the time I got to my destination the coolant warning light was on and there was no coolant in the tank. I had concerns the tank was on its way out and popped out and bought a pattern part from NAPA (I have already ordered an OEM one but I am waiting for it to arrive), fitted the NAPA part with new cap and thought my work was complete (again). On the way home, despite topping it up before I left, I only made it about 75mins before the warning light came on and, you guessed it, no coolant in the tank. I have been doing some diag work at home before I get it to my mates where we can get it on a lift and so far this is what I have noted, No smell of combustion gasses in the coolant tank No Milky residue in the oil No oil in the coolant No steam from the exhaust Lots of coolant around the expansion tank, wheel arch liner, subframe and pooling on the ground. Checked for hot air in the cabin and can confirm its really very hot I am going to pressure test the system and isolate the charge air cooler and pressure test that, but wondering if the hive mind has any other ideas about what might be going on, I have searched and read what feels like most of the forums around this topic and I struggling to get my head around what it might be. Thanks.

From what I understand it is all linked to the fuelling and the EGR system, so DPF as well as noted above. Not entirely sure how it all ties in but helping with regen of the DPF makes sense.

Its probably the back pressure control valve, I just found mine has one (2015 vRS TDi) and it wasn't plugged in, since plugged it in and the cars running much better now... which is probably not a surprise.

Appreciate this is a slightly aged thread but this fix has worked a treat for me, I resoldered the dry joints added a jumper and hey presto interior lights that work as expected. 👍

Came that way, they need doing again as there’s quite a few scuffs so will like get them done a darker colour. Funnily enough I check the oil weekly, force of habit, and had top it up. That said it’s not gone done much since then to wondering if it was a shade low after it was served pre sale. Will continue to monitor. Not used the VAG system but used my Icarsoft system to check and it seems okay, I’m going to plug it in to another system this week so can check again.

Thanks! I had spotted it, hoping it doesn’t become a project but then again I know it probably will…