So, where were all the Manchester '8s while I was stranded on the M60 today?
 

I stood stranded on the hard shoulder for an hour in the rain, with nothing to do but watch the traffic go by, and I still didn't see any of you!





http://i.imgur.com/vhTtvB1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7umIDEN.jpg

Well, it was a pretty dramatic breakdown, but thankfully all sorted now.

I was overtaking (fairly enthusiastically, admittedly) in the outside lane, when it happened. Do you remember what the shuttle looked like taking off? ... well it was like that. Suddenly, all I could see in my rear view mirror was my own personal cloud, and I don't mean Dropbox. There were huge plumes of steam, engulfing the entire carriageway. Drivers behind me must've thought they'd hit dense fog.

I got across the three lanes as quickly as I could, pulled over and switched the engine off, just as the coolant level warning light illuminated. For a moment I thought the worst (head gasket), but as I started to rationalise and think about it I realised it couldn't be anything serious since there was no loss of power and the engine was still running perfectly smoothly until the moment I switched it off.

To cut a long story short, once it was back at the garage, the culprit was soon identified. The crappy little plastic clip that holds the coolant temperature sensor in place had worked loose and the coolant temp sensor had popped out, resulting in 3 or 4 litres of coolant gushing out and instantly vaporising as it hit the red hot exhaust.

Thankfully, there was still plenty of coolant in the block, so no harm done. Temp sensor was refitted, coolant refilled and I was back on the road in less than half an hour after arriving at the garage. :)


Has anybody found a good method of securing the plastic retaining clip? I was thinking tape, but space is tight down there and it's very difficult to access it sufficiently to wrap tape around the clip completely.

Sorry Mark, I was around, but not on the M60 today, though I would've stopped (of course) if I had been.

Glad it was nothing serious, not sure how to stop it happening again tho', other than what you've suggested.

Thanks, but I'm only joking :) I really wouldn't have expected anyone to stop.

There was nothing that could be done 'cept wait for the RAC, which of course was a long wait because I'd requested a flatbed.

It was just interesting to note, that after an hour of standing there, watching thousands of cars go by, I didn't see a single '8.


I think I may try to get some tape around the sensor/clip. Thinking about it, I have some large diameter heatshrink tubing .... may see if I get some of that around it.

Is this the green sensor on top of the engine that appears quite accessible but is actually a pig to get in and out because there's other stuff in the way of the retaining clip?
If so, I've had mine in and out a few times and made a little tool from a strong drinking straw and some string through it to hold the clip at the right angle for insertion (or stop it disappearing during extraction) while a chunky flat-blade screwdriver applied the force.

Without that I imagine it would be quite easy to not get it fully home, but if properly seated I struggle to see how it would come out, other than if broken. :Confused:

A replacement clip is cheap as chips from any VAG parts department. ;) I probably have one or two spare.

Thanks HP :)

The clip wasn't broken, but for some reason managed to wriggle loose (it's not an OEM part, so perhaps not a perfect fit?).

The garage refitted it and the mechanic was confident afterwards that it was correctly fitted this time and that the clip was properly and tightly in place. And yet, I checked it again this morning and the clip had already slid out slightly again.

Figured I'd try my heatshrink tubing idea ....



Before shrinking:

http://i.imgur.com/wvRroRP.jpg


After shrinking:

http://i.imgur.com/zTkbnbD.jpg



I reckon that should do the trick! :)

Sorry Mark,
I have to report that I was in bed +++
You are right, we have to order a flatbed for these cars and that means we have to wait a bit longer. Though when mine let me down it was RAC that were slipshod. They waited nearly two hours before booking the flatbed, after their "man in a van" decided he was not good enough to fix the problem. I knew the chap that carried the car to the garage, he lives twenty minutes away near Chorley. I was outside Seven Stars Macdonalds/Currys. Five minutes walk from home. So $£"£$%$ frustrating. Breakdown to garage 4 hours, only took 20 minutes to carry it there.
Just glad that it was an easy/cheap fix.
Best to Lyn.

That looks effective, and yes it's the parts I was thinking of. :Confused:
Maybe, as you say, the clip is damaged or the wrong shape/size. Or it could be that the metal collar/slot it fits onto is misshapen.
Mine was rock solid and needed some pressure to get out (and back in).

My only other thought is that the sensor isn't fully seated, so the clip isn't in the slot in the sensor. I had to put a cushion (block of wood) on top of mine and tap it with a mallet to get it fully seated. The rubber sealing ring is very tight.

When I bought a new one for my Passat, the plastic clip was replaced by a plastic-coated wire clip that came with the new sensor.

That seemed better.

The sensor seemed to seat properly and the clip fits tightly into place. It seemed to be in as far as it can go and is difficult to pull back out, yet somehow seems to wriggle loose. But, like you say, maybe it's slightly damaged (although I couldn't see any signs of damage), or just a bad fit.

The plastic retainer clip shouldn't be able to work loose now though, with the heatshrink tubing over it.


Thanks Ray :)

In bed? ... It was the middle of the afternoon! ;)

Yeah, I've had one or two flatbed kerfuffles with the RAC over the years, not just with the '8s I've owned but also with several Hydropneumatic Citroens I've owned (BXs, XMs), which also can't be towed. Despite asking specifically for a flatbed in the past, they've repeatedly sent an RAC patrol van.

I made a point of reiterating to RAC telephone operator this time that I didn't want to wait half an hour for an RAC patrol van to turn up, just to have him agree with me that a flatbed is needed and then leave me waiting another hour or so for one to arrive. Unbelievably, they still despatched a van driver, but he had the sense to phone me before he set off. They'd passed on my message to him and he was phoning because he was concerned I'd be angry to see him arrive! lol

Thankfully, after speaking to the patrol van driver and explaining the issue, he decided not to attend himself and just arranged a flatbed for me.

That does sound a better solution. The plastic clips are somewhat feeble.