TheRickestRick
New member
Hey Guys,
So I have a 2012 GTI with a suspect thermostat. The water pump itself was last replace towards the end of 2015 under warranty. It is the model that was supposed to correct all the problems, 06J-121-026-BG. The pump has less than 25k miles since it was put in.
The issue I am having is that during driving, the coolant temperature will jump above the 190 mark. When in the past, it has stayed rock steady right dead center. Monitoring the temperatures with a scan tool, I've seen temperatures get as high as 243. At which point, I get concerned and turn the heater on full blast. Running the heater and driving, the temperature will hang around 210 with the scan tool. The gauge will stay dead center at 190 as it always has.
Both of the cooling fans are running. There are no leaks, and I have been monitoring coolant levels with no noticeable changes. Given that the water pump is pretty new, and that I do get heat through the heater core, I figure the thermostat is stuck closed.
So I did quite a bit of searching around this forum, and could not find any threads where someone had replaced the thermostat alone. I know it's buried in the housing attached to the water pump. Is there sufficient access from below to remove the housing and replace the thermostat? I was planning on jacking the car this weekend and taking a look. Probably removing the charge pipe and seeing if I can get to the one housing bolt. If anyone has any insight into replacing the thermostat alone, please let me know.
Otherwise, if I'm going to have to pull the pump, it may be time to look into carbon cleaning at the same time. USP motorsports also sells an all cast aluminum water pump. I would probably install that so I never have to worry about it again.
Thanks.
So I have a 2012 GTI with a suspect thermostat. The water pump itself was last replace towards the end of 2015 under warranty. It is the model that was supposed to correct all the problems, 06J-121-026-BG. The pump has less than 25k miles since it was put in.
The issue I am having is that during driving, the coolant temperature will jump above the 190 mark. When in the past, it has stayed rock steady right dead center. Monitoring the temperatures with a scan tool, I've seen temperatures get as high as 243. At which point, I get concerned and turn the heater on full blast. Running the heater and driving, the temperature will hang around 210 with the scan tool. The gauge will stay dead center at 190 as it always has.
Both of the cooling fans are running. There are no leaks, and I have been monitoring coolant levels with no noticeable changes. Given that the water pump is pretty new, and that I do get heat through the heater core, I figure the thermostat is stuck closed.
So I did quite a bit of searching around this forum, and could not find any threads where someone had replaced the thermostat alone. I know it's buried in the housing attached to the water pump. Is there sufficient access from below to remove the housing and replace the thermostat? I was planning on jacking the car this weekend and taking a look. Probably removing the charge pipe and seeing if I can get to the one housing bolt. If anyone has any insight into replacing the thermostat alone, please let me know.
Otherwise, if I'm going to have to pull the pump, it may be time to look into carbon cleaning at the same time. USP motorsports also sells an all cast aluminum water pump. I would probably install that so I never have to worry about it again.
Thanks.