So I fixed it! Well kind of. After many more adjustments and dismantling I noticed I had put one of the venturis the wrong way up (I know, idiot). I managed to put it all back together and tune it to get the idle just right. I then took it for a spin. Seemed to respond really well, better than before, until suddenly huge amounts of steam start coming out from under the bonnet. After letting it cool down and limping home once again I found the problem. One of the coolant hoses had split and sprayed coolant over the exhaust manifold. As all the hoses look old I think it would be worth changing them all. Does anyone know if there is a kit available to swap them all? Probably need new clips as well. Thanks for all your help guys. Almost there!
Well done for finding the problem. With coolant hoses, I'd be cautious about replacing all, you could end up with a worse set than what you have now. Original VW hoses are pretty damn good, I'd try to find a genuine replacement for the one that's split and leave everything else alone. You'll also pay a lot of money for a decent set of aftermarket replacements. Definitely don't buy cheap ones. It's alarming when that steam cloud comes out from under the bonnet isn't it? Especially during the seconds before you realise it is steam, not smoke.
Thanks Pete, good info. I wasn't sure whether to mention it incase of getting the chronic p*ss taken out of me, but oh well. When it happened I did actually call the fire brigade because I thought the car was about to burst into flames. Slightly embarrassing in the middle of Clapham on a busy crossroads. I was having so much fun driving it again, the revs were high for a while. I kept an eye on the temperature but it was only in the middle of the gauge. Do you think the sensor could be broken? Is there a replacement?
I've got a spare known-good gauge sender somewhere if you want to try it, but I don't think you can conclude that there's anything wrong without independently measuring your coolant temperature with something like one of those infra-red thermometers or a standalone temp gauge. The steam out of bonnet thing happened to me about two months back. Came up to a roundabout and there was suddenly a cloud of 'smoke' in front of the car, thought "Hmm, was that me, or the car that just went round?" Next time I stopped was at the office, and plumes of 'smoke' came out from all around the bonnet edges. "Oh, gosh!" or words to that effect. Delved in the boot for the fire extinguisher while the 'smoke' continued to get worse. Thinking, if the car goes up, will the whole building?... Then as I was ever so tentatively lifting the bonnet a touch to try to get a look, I recognised the smell of VW coolant and suddenly knew it would all be OK. Pinhole in one of the coolant hoses that attaches to the carb, near enough one end so I could just cut 10mm off the hose and all was well again. lol
That would be great Pete, Nothing to lose really. If you PM your email I can do a Paypal payment. The pipe that has broken has obviously been bodged as it has a join it it. It is the one with a red line in the picture below. http://tinypic.com/r/30k5c88/8 Does any have a part number or a link for a replacement?
OK mate, just gotta find it now. lol The pipes you're looking at are the remnants of two of three pipes that used to go to the original Pierburg carb. So there would have been one from inlet mani up to the autochoke, another from autochoke to waxstat, and a third from waxstat back to metal water pipe. You have the first and last pipes connected together. I don't know of a hose that's actually pre-formed to go directly from inlet mani to metal water pipe, so it's either a case of getting a bit of suitable ID pipe and looping it around, or blocking off both pipes somehow as people say you don't really need the coolant flow through the manifold with the Weber carb.
Thanks Pete, Ordered a length of hose I'll cut to size. I noticed that the rocker cover seems to be leaking a lot of oil. I have a breather filter fitted at the moment (see picture below) and a lot is leaking out through that. http://tinypic.com/r/30k5c88/8 I was just wondering if it is necessary. If I plugged that hole would it cause issues? Cheers guys,
Found it. Before we go any further though, your gauge sender is a 2-pin black one 20mm diameter at the business end, 25.5mm where the part number's stamped, yeah? Part number 251 919 501D? If it is, PM me a best delivery address and I'll get it on its way Monday. If you were to block off where that breather filter is, the crankcase pressure would soon find another way out. Cam cover seal, crank seal, something would give... A catch tank would be the better solution if don't want so much mess.
Hi Pete, Really have no idea if I have got the right part. I had a look in the Haynes Manual and hopefully it's right. I took it out from just under the rocker cover on the right hand side. When I removed it oil started coming out so I plugged the hole. Here's a picture. Is this it? http://tinypic.com/r/z7jon/8 Much appreciated.
No mate, that's not the one. That's your 0.3 Bar oil pressure switch. The temperature guage sender is on the underside of the coolant flange on the front of the head. Coolant will come out when you remove it. Best not to until you have a replacement ready to bung in there. I was getting confused about which engine you have (somehow got it into my head that yours was a 1.3, which I'm not too familiar with), I'm pretty sure yours will have the same sender as I have the spare of.
I knew I was in the wrong place when oil came out. Yeah, mines a 1991 mk2 1.6 Driver. I have drained the coolant because I am replacing the pipe that split. I will have another look tomorrow after work.
Hello again Guys, Can any one give me an indication of when (how many minutes after starting the engine) the fan should switch on if I just leave the car running? I am worried that the sensor isn't working and the fan isn't being switched. I checked the fan fuse and it is fine. To me the engine seemed very hot and the fan was still off but I have no way of checking this. Many thanks,
Very much depends on the ambient temperature and whether the engine is running well/correctly at idle. If all is good with the engine, and it's about 12C like today, quite a long time, like 15+ minutes (maybe more if the bonnet is open). When you say 'the sensor' do you mean the one that works the gauge in the clocks? Cos that doesn't have any influence on the radiator fan. It's the dual thermoswitch low down on the radiator that controls the fan. You can check whether or not the fan works by unplugging the loom from this thermoswitch, and bridging from the pin that the red wire goes to, to the one next to it (use a thick bit of wire) for the first fan speed, and bridging to the far end contact for the high speed. Another thing to definitely look at is a two-way connection in the same area, clipped onto the side of the fan cowling a bit above the thermoswitch. This is not waterproofed and very likely has corroded connections inside it. On my 'new' car when I went to unplug this connector pair, it was so messed-up inside that the whole thing disintegrated. The fan was still working, but I've no idea how!
Many a thank you Pete, This is really turning into a labour of love now. Too far to turn back. Good news is the fan and temperature gauge both work fine (as far as I can tell). Bad news is it seems the heater element for the carb does not. When I dismantled the Carb the Pierburg heater element fell apart in my hands. I thought I had managed to resolder and assemble it again but it feels cold to the touch when the car is running. Had a huge loss of power when I accelerated suddenly, pulled over and waited then it seemed fine again. Is it possible to get a replacement or an after market part that would fit?
Still available from VW as far as I know, but it may make you wince price-wise: No. 19 here 026 906 333
I phoned the VW and they said it has been discontinued. Anyone have a spare sitting about or know of anywhere online where I can get one? Very much appreciated.
jm310, any joy with finding a new heater element 026 906 333? ive noticed that mine is buggered as well, local vag dealer says discontinued and hasn't a clue where I'd get one.. the 'plate' insert thingy is cracked in 2, fell in bits once I took the weber off.. this thread has been a good read, curious to know how you got on as im having difficulty with my own 1.6 Driver
I've never tried buying from this company, but this lot seem to be offering what you want, albeit not cheaply. Dunno if they ship internationally either, but good chance I should think, at a price.
