8v serp conversion and overheating question

[ds1919]

84 rabbit gti, 1.8l 8v motor.

I'm wondering if the serpentine setup changes the original direction of the water pump, thus making it go backwards, and causing the engine to overheat. Does anyone know the answer to this?

Am I on glue, and the direction of the pump does not change from the original Vbelt direction?

thanks

[sandrunner]

The pump should be turning in the original clockwise direction.

I'd start looking for: air bubbles in the system, make sure the fan is operating, and see if the thermostat is opening.

[Glegor]

you are on glue.. lmfao.

the pump no change direction!

i know personally, because my 86 GTI has a serp setup.

does the return line to the expansion tank flow? if the return line is not flowing while the engine is running, the car will overheat because all the air can not be bled out of the cooling system..

also, like was mentioned, check to see if your t-stat is actually opening..

[ds1919]

well I musta picked a bad day to switch glue brands!

My car is running fine, the one with the serp setup. I did notice a rise in temp when I drove to my buddy's house (from 2800ft to 4000ft) so I started thinking that it was some serp issue. Might be a timing or water level issue. I read that the 16v might have to get a reverse impeller, dont know enough about it, but it got me thinking, that I never gave it a thought that I could have added the serp setup without considering any reverse flow.

So, yes, glue is GOOD. But switching glue brands during test runs/breakins/modifications is BAD.

[Glegor]

lol, no, 16v engines DO NOT have a reverse impeller..

my 86 8v GTI has a 16v water pump, and serpentine setup..

nothing reverses anything..

should have checked your coolant before even posting

yea dude, you should switch back to your original brand of glue!

[ds1919]

I switched back lol

yeah it all started when I was searching on the Tex for some spare serp parts to do my rocco. I came across one or two threads that mentioned something in the order of the 16v motor requiring a reverse impeller, yada yada yada. That was new to me, and I never gave it a thought that perhaps the serp setup could change the direction of the water pump. It was late at night when I came across this, and so I couldnt go out and see if the direction changed. So I posted the question.

My car runs cool until I go up steep mountains for a long time (I live in the mountains in norcal - grass valley, nevada city, Allegheny). My thinking is that the timing is set to pass CA smog, so its much more retarded than usual (i think 6* advanced). An additional mystery cam prolly adds to the combustion chamber heat too. So now that I can rule out any impeller direction issue, and that all my sensors/fan switch/coolant level etc etc are good and perfect, I may try to advance the timing and see what that does to the temps.

thanks all!!

[ziddey]

advancing will make it worse.

prolonged heavy load causes it to overheat? or high altitude?

is your system able to maintain proper pressure?

[ds1919]

advancing makes it hotter? I hadnt had the issue until I had to put the timing back in order to smog it. I have noticed in the past when I experimented with adv/ret, that retarding it would get the motor hot, real hot.
And yeah, its when I'm driving on this one road, its super long and uphill, takes about 1hr to get to Allegheny. The car gets hotter and hotter. Didnt have that issue when the timing was advanced. Water level stays full, pressure is good, new pump/tstat/fan switch/radiator/hoses etc. Clean car.

[Glegor]

my car runs hotter with RETARDED timing..

i would advance it and see if it gets better.

[ds1919]

yeah thats been my experience too. I'll advance it back and do some test drives in the next few weeks.

my car runs hotter with RETARDED timing..

i would advance it and see if it gets better.