Hi wonder if people can help, just bought a Skoda Felicia 1.3 MPI GLXi on 1999 plate. It was previously owned by a classic car restorer/mech.

 

I noticed not that long after buying it the temperature gauge does seem to move. The day i bought it, it took a very long time for it to rise and only after about 10 miles of driving and the car seem to driving fine. The radiator, Fan, Thermostat, is new and was replaced in the last few months. I plan to drive the car 400+ miles in a few months time and a little concerned that the gauge isnt working. I drove the car fairly briskly for about 3-5 miles and the engine wasn't that hot(warm) i.e i could touch it no problem, i have owned other small engine cars and normally after this short distance the engine is a lot hotter. Can you tell me if i have anything to worry about or is this normal? and what issue i am likely facing with the gauge?

 

 

and one other problem i have is the brakes dont seem to be that responsive and the pedal has to pushed quite far down for the brakes to be effective, the front brakes apparently have just been done, could the back brakes need adjusting? 

Edited 6 March, 201610 yr by dtaddei2

Unfortunately your description about how you 'feel' the temperature of the engine is very subjective. An infrared thermometer is more useful. Anyway, the most common reasons for wrong cooling temperature indications are:

1. Faulty thermostat. The plastic tags crack causing a large circulation permanently. The engine temperature then stays at approx. 70 C. Third party thermostats are often leaky and fail rapidly. Check if the thermostat is good by starting the engine from cold and letting it idle. After about 7 minutes, the temperature gauge should indicate 70 C. Touch the upper radiator hose near thermostat. If it is warm the thermostat is leaky or open and has to be replaced. At 12 minutes after starting the engine, on a good cooling system the temperature gauge should indicate 90 C.
2. Faulty coolant temperature sensor. Compare the values indicated by the temperature gauge with the values read with VAG-COM or by starting the engine and waiting until the radiator fan switches on (usually at approx. 95 C). If the fan switches on at let's say 80 C or lower, the sensor sends wrong values and needs to be replaced. Third party sensors are generally not accurate so it's worth buying an original sensor
3. Damaged temperature gauge. Very rare. Unless you are a car technician, you need a new PCB for the instrument cluster.

The brakes inefficiency: Forget (for now) about adjusting rear brakes.

Your description on how the pedal feels is not too relevant either. But I guess the pedal feels spongy and you need to press harder to brake well. I would start by replacing the brake fluid and bleeding all the air. If the pedal sinks or sticks then brakes, it's more critical and I will tell you then what is about.

 

PS

It would be useful to tell us the mileage of the car and previous recorded repairs (if any) related to engine and brakes.

Hi thanks for the advice i will check what you mentioned. The mechanic who sold the car said the fan kicks in around 110c.

 

A bit about the car, its has done 116,500 miles, it has full service history, it was done by Skoda dealership up to 114,000, then by the classic car mechanic recently,

 

in the past 5 months it has had the following done, full service, timing belt changed, new rear section exhaust, new radiator, new thermostat, new fan, new starter motor, new front shock, new front brakes, new clutch kit, and the hoses all look new, and the car passed an MOT last month, this was all done by the classic car mechanic who owned the car before me. I just bought the car a week ago.

 

 

I will let you know what i find. 

The mechanic who sold the car said the fan kicks in around 110c

Really... That is sad. Because at that temperature the head gasket has usually the bad habit of blowing up... Or at least steam and coolant pouring out of the header tank. I would be worried about his (lack of) knowledge. By the way, the car has not a timing belt but a timing chain. I get bad vibes from this car...

hey sorry for the delay, been mega busy.

 

I did as above mentioned, i left the car to run for 7 mins and still the gauge didnt move, but the other day i took it for a longer drive say 8-10miles and the temperature gauge did rise to 70. but today i decided to check things over and to my horror i removed the oil cap and found this . The car has had loads done to it, by previous owner and i dont really want to spend much money on it, the coolant hasn't really dropped, and no white smoke, is it worth using the steel seal or K seal on this ?

 

I wouldn't worry about that little an amount of gunk. That is quite normal. If the cap was thick with gunk and you had noticeably lost coolant, then you should worry.

It sounds like you're thermostat has broken free of its fixings. Of course you'll be worth testing your temperature sender too, checking for corrosion in the connectors at the same time.

Clean thoroughly the oil cap and check it again after 20-30 miles. Look inside header tank to check for oily residues. As I said before, this car might have many hidden parts failed, the thermostat / temp gauge being your least worries. Something tells me this car might have no thermostat at all. Rogue mechanics take it out to hide an overheating problem from a bad head gasket or worse. I don't know what kind of deal you did for this car, but my gut tells me you had been duped. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

One more thing. Forget about any BS 'liquid seals'. That will make a total mess inside cooling system (radiator, heater matrix, sensors, etc) You'll end up repairing the head gasket AND all clogged cooling parts.

Clean thoroughly the oil cap and check it again after 20-30 miles. Look inside header tank to check for oily residues. As I said before, this car might have many hidden parts failed, the thermostat / temp gauge being your least worries. Something tells me this car might have no thermostat at all. Rogue mechanics take it out to hide an overheating problem from a bad head gasket or worse. I don't know what kind of deal you did for this car, but my gut tells me you had been duped. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

hi thanks all for the info i will check the coolant and the cap in another 20-30miles, and let you know what i find, there is a thermostat and it looks pretty new, but ive heard that cheap ones can fail. All the hoses look new and new radiator. the day the temp gauge went up to 70 all hoses seemed to be at the same temperature. I will keep you posted really hope it isn't anything serious, changing a thermostat i can live with and do myself.

the day the temp gauge went up to 70 all hoses seemed to be at the same temperature.

That is not good.

Up to 82 C the coolant flows only through the engine block, cylinder head, and heater matrix in what is called 'the small circuit'. The upper radiator hose should be cold. At 82 C the thermostat starts to open. The coolant flows through the radiator in what is called 'the large circuit'. Only then all hoses should have the same temperature.

 

The oil cap looks bad. We'll see what happens. Try driving out of the city too having the engine well warmed up.

With the engine running cool and the cold ambient temp outside i would expect to see some white emulsified oil on the cap as the cap is part of the breather system. It sounds like the thermostat is not working properly and stopping the engine getting up to temperature

Have you checked the coolant temperature sensor? It can cause erratic readings if bad

ok deciding to try and replace the thermostat just wanted to know with so many on ebay and hearing about cheap ones just breaking quickly does anyone recommend a good thermostat. seen ones for around £10-15, also the small amount of sludge again on oil cap after about 20-25 miles, car still seems to be running fine but temp gauge still very slow to rise, still no visible sign of oil in coolant, oil and coolant level seem ok. 

Did you drive only in the city? No high speeds on a motorway? Failing to do that is not a relevant test.

To me it looks like you are having the exact same problem Christian (criiser) had in this topic (see photos linked in his first post)

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/383080-felicia-13-mpi-oil-in-coolant-tank-white-gue-in-oil-cap/

Edited 24 March, 201610 yr by RicardoM

hi thanks again for replying.

 

I used a digital thermometer on the hoses the other day and the when the gauge stated 70c the hoses were reading between 48-60c but the digital thermometer was a cheap one (£8) so i will allow for some inaccuracies. The gunk still appears but like i said no visible signs of oil in coolant tank and no loss of oil, could this just be a dodgy thermostat sticking in the open position? i think i should at least try new thermostat, but like i said on ebay it seems they are the cheap ones.where is best to get a genuine one? 

Keep an eye on the coolant level. I still think there is a tiny crack in the head gasket. I know you refuse to think that and I fully understand why. So change the thermostat because most probably it is leaking. As for where to buy from, I would search for good brands. If the sellers on eBay 'forget' to specify the manufacturer... it's made in China. By good manufacturers I mean CALORSTAT (Vernet), FEBI BILSTEIN, GATES, VEMO.

sorry for the long reply, ok after buying a thermostat thinking it was broken, i first thought i try changing the thermostat sensor from the new thermostat first to see if this was the problem, turns out the gauge has started to work and after 7mins the temp gauge stated 70C, which i think is normal. Now just need to tackle the brakes which dont seem to that great when braking i think some adjusting needs done, any tips on brakes?

 

i would also like to thank everyone for taking the time to give me info. This forum seems to be very helpful compared to other car make forums

Now just need to tackle the brakes which dont seem to that great when braking i think some adjusting needs done, any tips on brakes?

I think this issue requires a new topic titled accordingly. Let's think for a moment to other people that will have brake problems. Will they search for help in a topic titled Felicia 1.3 MPI temperature gauge not working ?

 

How about the sludge in the oil cap? Any resolution to that?

hi here is an update on the old cap. Still no oil in the coolant tank/expansion tank, and no loss of coolant either.

 

Check if those two ventilation hoses are clogged. The nipples at both ends of the thinner hose should be unobstructed too.