Head Gasket on VAG 1.9TDi 130.

[tjdixon911]

This is a long on so appologise but appreciate any help.....

I've had a few problems with my car lately (Fabia VRS) which all seemed to start when I had the cam belt changed which at the same time the water pump was replaced.

Series of events are pretty much as follows;

Approx 62k (April 08) New Cambelt and Water Pump fitted.

It seems that since then the car started to loose water, which seemed to be on average every 4 days, this was enough to set the sensor off.

The car went back to the garage several times, I thought it would be a faulty pump as that seemed logical to me. I was told other wise and a new resivour cap was fitted after a few return visits, a test was also carried out on the Head Gasket and it turned out to be fine. (car done around 65k)

Got made redundant and lost the conveinience of the garage that carried out the work.

Now with the problem on going and upto 67k I got the car serviced for a trip to Italy and to have the problem investigated further - no problem found at service but still loosing water, I asked about the pump and was told it was very unlikely.

At around 67.5k the water level was dropping every 1-2days, I noticed a build up of pressure in the system when releasing the cap after 8hrs of the car being stood, this isn't normal.... this then cracked the resivour bottle so a new one of these was fitted (thinking this may fix the problem) but it didn't.

Anyway the Italy trip didn't happen for this car and it was left with the garage (the second mentioned garage being a freind of the Family) who found the head gasket had gone (quite badly it seemed) anyway it has cost a fair bit to get done and I picked up the car today!

Its still in the back of my mind that the Pump has caused the problem and I am worried that the problem may re-occour but with no mechanical knowledge I may be worrying unecessary??

Any way I suppose the real answer I am looking for is could this have been caused by a faulty pump and could it happen again? Also if it does and the pump has been the cause is it just tough luck for me and the (almost) £1k I have spent on the car since? The part (pump) would be under warranty but would that cover other problems caused by it being faulty?

Hope that makes sense.

Thanks

Tom

[andyquantum]

I dont want to comment on fingerpointing, but what I would say is for £25 get a compression tester and a block tester kit, then keep an eye on both oil and water levels

[tjdixon911]

andyquantum said:

I dont want to comment on fingerpointing, but what I would say is for £25 get a compression tester and a block tester kit, then keep an eye on both oil and water levels

I'm not trying to point the finger of blame to anyone as I trust both garages completly (the first one being linked by director to my previous company and the later being a freind of the family!)

I'm trying to establish if a faulty pump (as I have thought all along) could cause this to have happened or is it just pure coincidence?

also if it is a faulty pump would there be a claim against the manufacturer for the replacement pump and legally would there be a claim for the problems/costs resulting from that? as said above it may just be coincidence!

[gmtech]

Hi there

Do a compression test on the engine and a leak test on you cooling system.
If both are OK it is highly likely it is the pump.

It is good practice to replace the coolant pump while the belt is changed, however, to assume the new pump is better than the old one is flawed.
Manufacture fault or wrong fitting is highly likely if the above tests are done and possible causes eliminated.

I hope this information will help you

GMTECH

[tjdixon911]

gmtech said:

Hi there

Do a compression test on the engine and a leak test on you cooling system.
If both are OK it is highly likely it is the pump.

It is good practice to replace the coolant pump while the belt is changed, however, to assume the new pump is better than the old one is flawed.
Manufacture fault or wrong fitting is highly likely if the above tests are done and possible causes eliminated.

I hope this information will help you

GMTECH

They were both done early on which came back as ok, would a faulty pump have caused a hed gasket to go ovr a period of time (6k miles?)

As my other thread I have had the Head Gasket replaced now and my biggest worry (although it hasn't lost water yet), is that it will do so again and get worse over time!

Now the HG is done and paid for I am hoping that was the problem and thats the end of it but I am thinking only time will tell!

[andyquantum]

Yes it could happen again and no I dont think you can claim against a faulty pump on the fly, unless you can prove there was a manufacturing fault, which I'd say would cost more than the h/g repair. Too many other variables, oil pump, oil grade, water level, temperature, pipework, engine condition, fuel levels, boost, radiator etc - they're all connected in one way or another and you'd just get lots of people saying it's someone else's fault

The only thing you can do is regular maintenance, presumably the heads been skimmed if it needed it and a new gasket put on, torqued up correctly?

Keep an eye on the levels and buy a compression tester and a block tester to satisfy yourself about the health of your engine, and take regular measurements, say once every other month for compression, and fluid levels every weekend