VW Golf Mk2 Owners Club

Cooling queries

June 22, 2026, 09:29:13 PM

Forgive if this has been answered before but I have an issue with the cooling on my '89 GL (1781 carb).  In normal use it warms up fine & the gauge sits dead centre. However the minute I stop & sit in traffic the gauge climbs fairly quickly getting very close to the hot mark. The cooling fan does cut in so that's not the issue. It has never actually overheated, the coolant is fine & isn't even discoloured but it always smells very hot so I wonder what the issue may be? I did think it might need a new radiator (or a good  flush) but struggling to see what the issue is. This has been the case for months, not just since the weather got better.
One other question, anyone know of a decent garage in the Leeds/York area that understands Mk2's? I've tried a couple of garages but they don't want to know preferring to stick with post 2000 stuff that they can plug in!
Thanks in advance

Re: Cooling queries

Reply #1 – June 23, 2026, 06:32:08 AM

My guess is you'll either have an airlock somewhere, or your thermostat is seized (at least slightly) closed, not allowing full cooling.

First thing I'd do is swap out the thermostat, doing so will force you to drop your coolant and putting it back in will cure a potential airlock.

Re: Cooling queries

Reply #2 – June 23, 2026, 12:32:52 PM

Thanks for that, sounds like a sensible place to start.

Re: Cooling queries

Reply #3 – June 23, 2026, 06:25:44 PM

You could try running it up to temp with the expansion cap off, any air should escape and it shouldn't bubble over.

Re: Cooling queries

Reply #4 – June 23, 2026, 08:28:38 PM

Thanks, I always thought you shouldn't run it without the cap but if its a way of illiminating that from the list thats easy enough to try.

Re: Cooling queries

Reply #5 – June 23, 2026, 09:38:58 PM

It's fine to run without a cap, if it boils over then you know it's overheating and the stat is stuck, obviously don't run it up to temp and then take the cap off lol.