Hi, my name is Martyn and I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. My wife has a Golf 4 TDI (AHF Engine) which has done some 196,000 Kms (aprox 122,000 Miles). We use it rather than my V6 petrol engined Audi because it is so economical and a great pleasure to drive on long trips. A few days ago, the thing let me down for the first time ever - water pump failure. Symptoms were loss of water, a clattering from within the cam belt cover, and steam coming out of the cam belt cover seams. I am busy replacing the water pump and cam belt and all the tensioners at the moment. Havn't removed the old water pump yet, but the sprocket is at a crazy angle, the shaft bearings must have collapsed totally! The cam belt is looking pretty sad too, I guess as a result of the sprocket mis-alignment. I am expecting to find a wrecked impeller and bearing when I do remove the water pump - my concern is where the metal bits would end up in the water system. Does anyone know of a safe procedure to flush the radiator system, for example with the radiator hoses removed and using a hose pipe.
Martyn
Martyn