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Thermostat and Water Pump Replacement recommendations

cornfed

New member
Location
Iowa
Car(s)
2016 Golf R
Took car into dealership for AC issues and they found I had a leaky water pump as well. After getting the quote decided my time was worth less and I'd do it myself; but had two questions first.

1. What recommendation do people have for thermostat kits?

I was looking at these two, was considering the cheaper one but willing to pay more if one is actually better quality.
https://www.shopdap.com/mk7-thermostat-and-water-pump-w-install-kit-ina.html
https://www.shopdap.com/make-model-...-2-0t-golf-r-s3-tt-and-tts-w-install-kit.html

2. Anything else I should do while I have the Intake Manifold off of my Golf with 102k miles?

I am already planning to media blast the carbon buildup on the values. Should I consider cleaning or replacing injectors or anything else while I'm in there?
 

mk6'12gti

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Cleveland
Car(s)
2018 Mk7.5 Gti
I have a brand new oem thermostat waterpump union and waterpump belt cover for 280 shipped if interested. Will save you a good chunk of change rather buying them from the dealer or somewhere else. I work for a Vw dealer which is where these came from.
 

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Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
Took car into dealership for AC issues and they found I had a leaky water pump as well. After getting the quote decided my time was worth less and I'd do it myself; but had two questions first.

1. What recommendation do people have for thermostat kits?

I was looking at these two, was considering the cheaper one but willing to pay more if one is actually better quality.
https://www.shopdap.com/mk7-thermostat-and-water-pump-w-install-kit-ina.html
https://www.shopdap.com/make-model-...-2-0t-golf-r-s3-tt-and-tts-w-install-kit.html

2. Anything else I should do while I have the Intake Manifold off of my Golf with 102k miles?

I am already planning to media blast the carbon buildup on the values. Should I consider cleaning or replacing injectors or anything else while I'm in there?
I did my injectors when replacing the pump.
 

Acadia18

Autocross Champion
Location
The Greater Boston Metropolitan Area
Car(s)
2019 Golf R
Took car into dealership for AC issues and they found I had a leaky water pump as well. After getting the quote decided my time was worth less and I'd do it myself; but had two questions first.

1. What recommendation do people have for thermostat kits?

I was looking at these two, was considering the cheaper one but willing to pay more if one is actually better quality.
https://www.shopdap.com/mk7-thermostat-and-water-pump-w-install-kit-ina.html
https://www.shopdap.com/make-model-...-2-0t-golf-r-s3-tt-and-tts-w-install-kit.html

2. Anything else I should do while I have the Intake Manifold off of my Golf with 102k miles?

I am already planning to media blast the carbon buildup on the values. Should I consider cleaning or replacing injectors or anything else while I'm in there?

If you're not in a super super hurry, the INA water pump XW0360 (which is the one that comes in all those non-OEM kits), is $210 at RockAuto vs $290 at ShopDap or $320 at FCP.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=11191109&jsn=3

Currently out of stock, but comes back fairly often.
 

YamR1rider

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Tampa, FL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport DSG
Yep, recently did one with the INA waterpump/tstat unit, it's the way forward as it is exactly an OEM part with the VW/Audi logo machined off. Buy from where ever you can get best deal. I bought from FCP Euro, so paid a bit over the odds but hey ho never mind if it goes out again I'll be able to replace. Also get a new manifold seal while you are at it.

As Daks above, I also replaced all injectors... and did some rudimentary carbon cleaning with a handful of zipties and carb cleaner
....much better than they were but I'm sure your walnut blasting will do a better job. I've got a thread on it all with some pics in the Golf Engine section if interested. Also replaced leaky oil cooler seals.
 
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evilhomura89

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
SEA
I DIY mine recently as it was leaking. This will be my third water pump, first was what came from the factory, second was an INA OEM back in 2018, now I'm trying another brand known as Vika.

Vika claimed to have solved some of the common issue of the EA888 3rd generation electronic thermostat waterpump assembly according to their promo video but we'll see.


My first waterpump from the factory had an electronic thermostat failure which caused it to stuck closed. Second one (INA OEM) had some seepage in the seals between the waterpump and thermostat housing which I believe was caused by improper coolant filling procedure (ie, not using vacuum filling). The complicated design of the housing is a good air bubble trap and these air pockets trapped there will be an issue during high temperature which caused the seal to fail prematurely. This is why vacuum filling procedure is important for our cars.

Also do take remember to do basic settings adaptation for your engine thermal management actuator using VCDS or Obdeleven after installation before starting the engine.

IDE05231 -- Engine temperature management actuator

While you're at it, do consider changing the oil cooler gasket (06L117070) since you only need to remove an additional 4 bolts to access that.
If you're having intermittent temperature issue before this (eg, high oil temp, weird coolant temp), do have a look at replacing the g62 coolant temperature sensor (079919523) as well.
 
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