UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi all

I have a new to us Polo GTi, its in fair condition but has been left standing for sometime after an overheating episode, fans didn't work so the thing boiled over whilst it was left running.

I bought it as a spares/repairs type of thing and wouldn't mind getting it back on the road.

So questions I have are, the cooling fan/a/c compressor and gear stick

Been told the compressor isn't working, haven't checked yet but is this a pain the change?

I'm going to replace whatever I can on the Polo, so I'll change the fan and associated odds and ends, but what fan do I get? The car has climatronic fitted, would that make a difference to the fan I buy, can anyone recommend a make/type etc?

I'm also thinking of replacing what I can of the cooling system (radiator, expansion bottle as that's got a crack in it and the cap is stuck fast) all just to be on the safe side as I don't know to what extreme it boiled, but no water/oil mix and the engine sounds really nice, no odd noises either.

Gear stick is a little sloppy, is there a repair kit available for this?

But whatever you guys can point me towards will be gratefully received.

Many thanks.

There are many parts that are common between the Gti and other trim levels, but some are not, use https://volkswagen.7zap.com/en/rdw/polo ... /2000-240/ to research for the part numbers you need.

Forget about the Climatronic / aircon for now. It can be tricky to diagnose, but not impossible. Focus on getting the header tank and other parts that you need to at least get her running again and then start to diagnose why it is overheating.

Think about head gasket, thermostat, failed temp sensor for the fans. Try and diagnose what the problem is, don't just start throwing parts at the car, it's an expensive way to fix things.

The gear sticks can be a bit sloppy, but it doesn't cause any issues in use.

Nice many thanks, that link will prove valuable I think.

I agree with your comments though on parts and diagnoses etc, but so far the fan runs at one speed but not the other, I took that off and hooked it up to a battery and it ran on the low speed but the fast speed is a no go.

Radiator seems fine so so we'll replace the fan and the header tank and a few other items while we're at it etc, get those running as they should then go from there, plus a service etc/plugs filters that sort of thing. Looking at the info I have the thermostat was replaced recently (6mths back) which precedes the overheating issue, so we'll see where this goes.

Lovely car though first time in one of these for me, but leather interior, diamond black, heated seats etc, all rather nice.

I'll pop back with an update later in the week.

On the right hand fan the terminals are as follows:

1 - Full 12v from fan control unit (under the nearside wing) red / black (high speed)
2 - 12v from control unit, but slightly thinner wire, which connects to a resistor within the motor which often fails (low speed)
3 - Earth

They are a cracking little car, I have one of each and the black one is a daily driver. You have the top spec with leather and heated seats

thanks again, couldn't locate the fan control unit so will check again when the heat drops down later today. I take it the control unit is accessed from under the arch as we couldn't see anything beneath the battery but we'll trace the cables.

I'll post some pictures up when we've got it roadworthy which hopefully will be in a week or so

It's mounted on the underside of the left hand chassis leg / under the battery, you'll need to be underneath properly to see it.

Look for a wiring loom and follow it