:( Help! Seems to be one thing after another with my car at the moment. It overheats really quickly causing steam to billow out from the water tank. I had to get the car home from work so I let it cool down, topped up the water and drove off. I put the heater on full to take some of the heat away but only cold air came out of it. What's the problem???? I'm guessing the thermostat is the most likely culprit; should I just buy a new one and try that first? :confused:

Guesswork from my side, but it sounds as if the coolant system is blocked or maybe the waterpump has given up completely.

The common fault with the thermostat is that it's constantly open, not closed, and even with a closed stat you should get hot coolant into the heater matrix.

I would start with a thorough flush of the whole coolant system. Check stat and stat housing, replace if signs of faults (you can drive without a stat for a short time if absolutely necessary).

Wherebouts is the thermostat located??? Should I remove it and give the car a run to see what happens? I suppose this will show whether it's just the thermostat or whether the system is blocked somewhere.

You say it's overheating

Is the cooling fan kicking in?

I had a problem last year so I changed the thermostat and sender housing plus the fan switch.

All was ok until it overheated again.

Luckily the Head Gasket is fine as water and oil are not mixing.

But I'll prob get the thermostat changed again.

120k will be a biggy as its a belt and waterpump change.

No, the fan isn't kicking in at all.

Fan won't kick in until the radiator gets hot, so with some kind of block in the system it won't happen.

It just struck me that I forgot the airlock possibility.

Keep engine idling with coolant filler cap off (put a rag over the hole to prevent splashing), squeeze all coolant hoses, top up, replace cap.

The stat housing (black plastic thingy held by two bolts) is found where the hose from radiator bottom reaches the engine.

If it's blowing steam out the header tank, it's not the thermostat, because the header is connected to the radiator, and if the stat fails closed the radiator never sees hot water!

I'd check the pressure cap, and for airlocks.

Exact same problem in the girlfriend's 106 was airlock.

Broken thermostat housing would be my guess. Within the thermostat housing there is a blind hole, on which the the thermostat pin acts. Over time the pin punches through this hole so that the pin goes all the way through. Without anything to react against the thermostat is effectively stuck shut, which would cause the engine to over heat.

Yep, Mr fordfan's verdict gets my vote too, as I've said in several other similar threads on the subject. Same thing happened on my old 1.6 Polo (same engine ).

The bits from the broken thermostat can make their way round the cooling system and damage the waterpump, make sure you get all the bits out and check the waterpump too.

Yep, new stat housing is the best way to go.

Deffo thermostat housing, same happened to my fun.Luckily i had a spare at home and managed to do the last 3 miles stop/ starting, getting up to speed , and then coasting as far as possible

Thanks for your help people; I work at Unipart and we don't sell the housing for some reason, just the 'stat itself :thumbdwn:. If you order from Jorily how long do the bits take to arrive???

Jorily is usually fast

When I bought a thermostat it came with a new sender housing

mines overheating again though.

Was chatting with a Skoda mechanic at the dealer and he says the impellors on some waterpumps are plastic.

So either thats broken or there could be a block in the system

I'll have to get the system flushed first and if that fails then its a belt and waterpump.

Oh dear....

Took the thermostat out, nothing obviously wrong with it. Ran the car without the 'stat and still overheats badly. I've been told that the water pump is a common problem on VWs & Skodas and that the impellors break; is this the the next thing to check then???

I'm starting to worry that it's the head gasket.:(

When I bought a thermostat it came with a new sender housing

mines overheating again though.

Was chatting with a Skoda mechanic at the dealer and he says the impellors on some waterpumps are plastic.

So either thats broken or there could be a block in the system

I'll have to get the system flushed first and if that fails then its a belt and waterpump.

Are you sure we're not sharing the same car? Same model & colour, and looks like I've got the same bloody problem.

With the 1.6l petrol, it could be the waterpump impellor. If you really want info overloaded, do a search!!

Seriously, if your car's ove about 80_000 miles on the original pump, it is a good candidate, at least if it's driven off the cambelt, in which case you may as well change the cambelt, idlers and tensioner too.

Sorry for a OT post but just had to say that your signature gadget, rigsby, is just:thumbup::thumbup:

Are you sure we're not sharing the same car? Same model & colour, and looks like I've got the same bloody problem.

Wheres my spare key gone.......

Currently I have a rad fan switch wired to the drivers seat as a temp fix

My Head gasket os fine as the water and oil are not mixing, that was my main worry but these Skodas are tough little cars.

My next steps are a rad flush and then prob bite the bullet and have the pump and cambelt changed

Thanks for your help people; I work at Unipart and we don't sell the housing for some reason, just the 'stat itself :thumbdwn:. If you order from Jorily how long do the bits take to arrive???

The 'stat housing I got for my wife's 1.4 MPi took just over a week to arrive -a few days longer than the other stuff I'd ordered at the same time, but given it came wrapped in a spread from Lidové noviny, I guess it's understandable! About a week, maybe 10 days IIRC...

With the 1.6l petrol, it could be the waterpump impellor. If you really want info overloaded, do a search!!

Seriously, if your car's ove about 80_000 miles on the original pump, it is a good candidate, at least if it's driven off the cambelt, in which case you may as well change the cambelt, idlers and tensioner too.

Did exactly that (or rather got the service centre at work to do it) and everythings running perfectly now:). Phew, was really worried the head gasket had gone. I wasn't expecting it to cost as much as it did but my mate says I've got a damn good deal considering I had 2 new tyres too. It set me back £277.

Good to hear it's sorted Doesn't sound as a bad price for belt+pump+two tyres, hopefully there should be a few trouble-free miles ahead. One never know with cars, though :P

I never really suspected the gasket. Hard to see how a blown gasket could cause overheating unless all the coolant had left the system and gone down the cylinders,

Think that's what I shall have replaced too.

sounds like the thermostat housing has gone this is located just under the distributer easy to change. this happened to my fun it's not expensive to buy.