Hi

Im asking this on behalf of a mate who doesnt have internet access at the moment! Just after a quick bit of advice.

He owns a 1999/V reg S3 with about 90k on the clock. Today it started overheating on the way to work (rose to 110 degrees as he got to the work car park). I had a quick look at lunchtime and we started it from cold (there was still enough coolant in the reservoir). It ran fine but the temperature steadily rose. It kept rising to 100 degress+. During this time the heaters in the car remained cold until they hit near the red. The rest of the time it was cold air coming out.

I suspect the thermostat to be knackered but does the S3 suffer from problems with the water pump and also if it is the thermostat, while they change it is there anything else that would benefit from changing (like on my car it was recommended to change the plastic water pump to metal while changing the thermostat).

Thanks for any answers.

 

Sounds like a t-stat to me, or a big air pocket. If there is enough air the coolant wont open the t-stat until the air superheats and pops it open. Now if you have an air pocket suddenly though I'd be fairly concerned as to why.