T5 Transporter Using Water

[T5 TDI]

Cylinder head gasket problems seem to be blissfully rare on our T5's so far, but there are two other problems that I'm sure will easily be wrongly diagnosed as leaking head gaskets by many garages. Your water pump is one. From what we have seen at http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/ the waterpump problem affects mostly early vans. I think it was modified sometime in '05.

For info- Water pump leaks usually lead to coolant sitting at the bottom of the sump but not necessarily mixing with the oil so look for serious coolant loss and an unexplained rise in engine oil level.

The other possibility is leaking seals on the oil cooler. It seems that VW are replacing seals/oil coolers free on vans that may be affected but only if they come in for other work or if you specifically ring up and ask. This fault is more easily mistaken for head gasket problems because the oil and coolant do get churned up leading to the classic sump full double cream. Usually the cooling system gets contaminated too and some owners have reported many visits to the dealer before the cooling system is truly clean again.

[simonfran]

I used to have a similar problem (which seems to have gone away), but now the coolant warning light intermittantly comes on for no reason. All levels are fine, and the temp is sitting at an acceptable level.

Any ideas? This is bugging me

Cheers

Si

[T5 TDI]

If you are sure it really is the coolant level light and the level is correct then it should be a faulty switch. However I did read online somewhere that if the coolant is contaminated with engine oil it can make the switch malfunction. I don't know if this is true.

If there is oil in the coolant it could be the oil cooler seals mentioned (before anyone leaps in and takes the head off). Also VW will pay for the whole oil cooler job if yours is on their list. Check with your dealer.

[roy tomlinson]

we have had an egr cooler replaced on our works t32 ,the dealer said its a common fault ,they crack . hope this helps