Thread: Fixing P-Gasket leads to bigger drama's?

You may well be correct but do a couple of other basic checks first:

* Properly bleed the system and make sure you're not just shifting air pockets around.
* Get an external (laser) thermometer to just make sure the temp gauge is correct.

Assuming they're all good, looks like your 'P' gasket might have been a sympton of HG failure. FWIW - A HG change is actually fairly simple on the TDi.

M

Erratic high temp symptoms can be a sign of a poorly bled cooling system.
Not sure about your motor, but it helps to 'burp' it by filling the system the getting the thermostat to open followed by getting the bleed point higher than the cooling galleries in the head.

You can get Head gasket testing kits which can analyze the bubbles in your coolant for traces of exhaust gas.
Hopefully it just wasn't bled properly.

Thanks Guys,

As far as testing the temp gauge, she was definitely hot,

I will try to re-bleed the cooling system and see what happens,

Is it best to bleed at the top of the heater hoses?

Thanks

make sure your purge valve is operating correctly and try the coke bottle method first.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-t...stem-fill.html

As Dave says, make sure the bleed hose to the plastic tee piece thingy is flowing freely. There's a restrictor jet in the branch from the top of the thermostat housing that is well known to block up. It acts as a jet pump to remove bubbles from the top of the radiator and carrying then to the header tank. Half the ones I meet have blocked up. When working they get rid of the need to do fancy bleeding as they self bleed quite happily.

Just get rid of it and fit a simple T piece,I did that years ago and no issue bleeding it since. Pat

Sounds like air in the system possibly, did you allow the air out by running the engine whilst adding the rest of the coolant?

Originally Posted by PAT303

Just get rid of it and fit a simple T piece,I did that years ago and no issue bleeding it since. Pat

make sure you install the T piece the right way, it will cause issues if you put it in with the single leg pointing to the thermostat housing. Ideally if you can get one you want the type that is a straight through with a piece drilled and tapped to the center. These seem to encourage the radiator drawing process the most.

The best thing I've ever seen done was someone a lot more paranoid than me fitted 2 check valves before the t piece so that nothing could flow back into the radiator or the thermostat housing.