Newbie Jetta syncro owner

[skattrd]

Hi,
I recently (yesterday) got a Jetta off ebay.
As far as i know its completely standard – 1990, 1.8, 90bhp with 99k miles on it.

I bought it completely blind and hope to hell it isn’t a conmplete dog. I drove it 100 miles back from Huddersfield last night and theres a few issues I noticed all ready that aren’t too major to fix but most are a pain …

Heater blows hot when the engine is cold and cold when the engine is hot, could be a simple fix but the switches and connectors are missing so this will prob involve removing the dash.
Gear linkage needs re-doing (spring for reverse is bust so can be v. easily selected instead of 1st).
Engine runs v. hot and fan cuts in way too late .. dodgy thermostat me thinks .. could poss be linked with dodgy heater.
Brakes are POO … and a Scirocco is my daily driver so I know poo brakes
Paintwork is shabby and there are a few dings here and there…. but we’ll ignore those for now.

Anyhoo, it handles great and pulls better than I was expecting for 1 17y.o 1.8 carb. so hopefully no major issues with engine/drivetrain.

Chris
Who is currently looking forward to regular syncro driving.

[Chris S]

Welcome on board, btw if you drove your new car 100 miles home and didnt notice any grumblings or other expensive sounding noises from the transmission? to me that says that its ok.
The heater/overheating problem sounds to me like its short of water for some reason.

[skattrd]

quote:

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Originally posted by Chris S

The heater/overheating problem sounds to me like its short of water for some reason.

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I wish it was that simple …. the water level is at max. It is filthy though, so that’ll be getting a flush through it @ the weekend which I’m sure will help

[Chris S]

Engine runs v. hot and fan cuts in way too late .. dodgy thermostat me thinks

or maybe pump drive belt or even waterpump

[ld50]

is the coolant squirting back into the header tank when it’s warmed up? (it should be)

[Slateford]

My syncro started to blow cold air as the engine warmed up. Was the same as my old Gti. The heater matrix bypass valve in the engine bay was old and faulty. Replaced it and hot air again. £25 for the kit from VW.

[skattrd]

quote:

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Originally posted by Slateford

My syncro started to blow cold air as the engine warmed up. Was the same as my old Gti. The heater matrix bypass valve in the engine bay was old and faulty. Replaced it and hot air again. £25 for the kit from VW.

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The bypass valve was what a mate of mine said as well … Thx for the tip, I think I’ll give that a shot.

As for the radiator fan coming on late I had a look at that earlier it looks like the rad+fan have been replaced and one wire is not connected, 2 speed fan working only on 1 speed?

[Author]

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