Water pump and thermostat replacement recommendations and best practises for a 2016 Polo

[R826583]

The water pump has been found to be leaking at a minor rate on my 2016 Polo. I need to get it replaced and am looking for a suitable option. I hear that the thermostat unit should also be done. Is this correct? Is the general consensus to go aftermarket with the water pump? I’ve read that the VW ones are poorly designed. Ideally I’d like to get one that will last the longest and not cause any issues for my engine. Do you guys have any recommendations? This may also be a bit of a silly question, but aftermarket pars won’t cause any computer issues right? There seems to be a sensor shoved in every crevasse of the car

[ciclo]

Replacing the water pump is a simple procedure if done exactly as indicated in the repair manual, especially when tensioning the small toothed belt that drives the water pump pulley on these engines, it is very easy to do, but seems to be not well understood.

Personal skills, love for details (try not to damage with the tools a single plastic, pipes, retaining tabs, etc.) and cleanliness of the work area - parts ('BEFORE', during and after) will also influence the final result.

Using the original spare parts is the most recommended, both the water pump with the thermostatic box (2 thermostats) and the coolant (currently G12 evo).


If you use reputable aftermarket parts, everything should work and last the same as with the original part.

On YouTube there are some videos on replacing the Polo 1.2 TSI (2015-->) water pump that may help you.
e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX3QdfjyTN0
IMHO 'vertical' videos are the worst way to take a video, THE WORST!!!, ...then this guy will own TVs larger than 65 inches 16/9 in small rooms...
In the name of love, PLEASE use the 'Golden ratio' to convey your ideas. Pleeeeease!!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

There were problems with the G13 coolant that due to its chemical composition 'was said to be the cause of these leaks'... it was replaced by G12evo.

[R826583]

That information is extremely useful. Thank you! A few more questions:

I would like to flush out the old G13 coolant and replace it with the new G12evo coolant. How many litres of G12evo should I buy to do a complete flush of the coolant lines?

I’ve read that the water pump can fail repeatedly (not that mine has) because of the formation of a leak in the upper timing cover gasket. Is there a way to check this without disassembling bits of the engine? I figure that I might as well check this before installing a new water pump.

Finally, will ES#3663665 from ECS Tuning work as a replacement kit? The description says that it is compatible with TSI engines but goes on to talk about a 2.0T VW/Audi, which doesn’t sound like my engine (as it is a 1.2L). Strangely, the Polo does not appear to exist at all on ECS Tuning when entering my vehicle to check compatibility. I will get ECS Tuning to confirm this kit works for me before I purchase it. I like that it is an all-metal design compared to the OEM pump, so I am favouring purchasing the ECS Tuning kit compared to the OEM one.

I ABSOLUTELY agree re the vertical video Especially for car maintenance guides.

[Le_Combattant]

The water pump has been found to be leaking at a minor rate on my 2016 Polo. I need to get it replaced and am looking for a suitable option. I hear that the thermostat unit should also be done. Is this correct? Is the general consensus to go aftermarket with the water pump? I’ve read that the VW ones are poorly designed. Ideally I’d like to get one that will last the longest and not cause any issues for my engine. Do you guys have any recommendations? This may also be a bit of a silly question, but aftermarket pars won’t cause any computer issues right? There seems to be a sensor shoved in every crevasse of the car

Mine is from factory 9 years plus 3 months and nothing to report.
She is from 2014, Septembre. 1.2 TSI 90Hp.

140000 km. Never top up coolant.
It's better to buy original part.

[R826583]

You must be one of the lucky ones. What year is your Polo? I’m still not sold on the reliability of the OEM water pumps as a replacement, given their high degree of failure. Unless they have fixed the issues in the new OEM water pumps, an all-metal water pump from a reputable company like ECS Tuning (at least I think they are) sounds like a much better solution to me.

[Le_Combattant]

You must be one of the lucky ones. What year is your Polo? I’m still not sold on the reliability of the OEM water pumps as a replacement, given their high degree of failure. Unless they have fixed the issues in the new OEM water pumps, an all-metal water pump from a reputable company like ECS Tuning (at least I think they are) sounds like a much better solution to me.

Check part number.

If VW made a revision of the part to correct something, they change the last letter.

September 2014, this is the year of manufacturing.
140000 km

I top up one time 3 years ago the coolant level. Since this day, nothing to report

[ciclo]

- VIN, tenth digit.
This is the VIN of my 6R: WVWZZZ6RZDY0XXXXX .
D is the tenth digit in this case. What's the yours?
It's in the small window on the windshield. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_i ... ion_number . Also on a plate/sticker on the B pillar (driver's side access), on the right side rib of the engine compartment, in the vehicle maintenance book, or on a sticker in the trunk (spare wheel or surrounding areas).

Indicates the MODEL YEAR (MY).
Note: it is possible that the 'model year' does not coincide with the year of manufacture.

- ETKA online (parts catalog): viewtopic.php?p=466570#p466570

Thus, you can identify the parts of your vehicle to avoid errors when requesting them.


---
Coolant quantity:
- 8 liters is usual, it depends on the engine.
- Normally sold in 5 liter bottles. Buy two.

[R826583]

The tenth digit of my VIN number is G. This apparently indicates its model year is 2016.

I’ve found my Polo on the CarProg2 website… which is very useful to have. On another note, the model naming is confusing to me. I have the Polo 6C (the facelifted one), which apparently is called the Mk5, but on this forum it is designated the Mk9 in the title bar. Why is that?

I will indeed buy two bottles of 5L G12evo coolant. I see that the original water pump part number was 04E121600AL but there looks to have been revisions that ended at 04E121600CS. CarProg2 seems to claim that the latter is compatible to the former so maybe I should get the updated version? While I am at it should I replace the toothed belt that drives the water pump? I see the options for the part numbers are 04E121605E or 04E121605L. What is the difference if there is one? Is there anything else that I should replace as well?

Thank you again for the help.

[ciclo]

You must adhere to what is specified in the parts catalog or you can call your VW dealer or official VW store where they can inform you in detail which parts are updated. You just have to tell them that your VW Polo is a 1.2 TSI MY G.

The AL water pump was replaced several times, to BD, to CB and finally to CS.

The water pump toothed belt for 1.2 TSI 4-cylinder engine (TP1- PR code) is version L. For 1.4 TSI 4-cylinder engine (TK8) it is version E.
The PR codes define what type of vehicle the parts belong to.

[RUM4MO]

In case you did not know, ECS is a USA based country and they will not see any 1.2TSI engines, that info is aimed at EA888 2.0TSI engines fitted to Audis and VW.

[R826583]

That’s good to know re ECS.

I’ve contacted VW spare parts and they have confirmed that the latest water pump revision is the ‘CS’ version (part number 04E121600CS) and the tooth belt is 04E121605L. I now understand the use of PR codes

I seemingly cannot get a 5L G12evo or G13 bottle of OEM coolant in Australia. VW spare parts only offered me EIGHT 1L bottles of G12evo (:shock:) for $170 AUD. Even eight bottles of G13 came to the same price. That seems like a very silly solution to get the coolant. It’s not cheap either. My only other option appears to be ‘Penrite Purple OEM Coolant Concentrate 5L’ (makes 10L total) for $85 AUD. It is aftermarket but I am seriously considering if it matters that it was not manufactured by VW. It claims to be fully licensed and approved by VW and manufactured to G12evo standards. But also, I don’t want to screw up anything else in my engine. I’m going to flush out all the old coolant anyway. Some people seem to claim that non-OEM coolant is fine if it is from a reputable brand. What would you do in this situation?

Where do I find the bolts that hold the water pump on the engine block in CarProg2? Is it even worth replacing these? I don’t see a reason to not replace them while I’m at it.

[RUM4MO]

I'm guessing that if you can't find the water pump bolts in that spares listing, then they are part of the pump assembly - ie captive, there is usually a circle or a couple of lines covering what the main assembly is if bought as a complete part.

G12evo, yes, when I bought mine a few years ago, I ended up buying a box of 10 1 litre bottles of pre-mixed 50-50 coolant.

Have you ever, recently, tried to buy VW Group brake fluid? Doing that used to be easy, but now all I get from the parts people is "we only buy that in for the workshop, in bulk containers" - so I head for ebay if I must continue to use VW Group branded brake fluid - or wise up and buy from another company!

All, at least the European based VW Group areas, source that G12evo product from BASF and its "name" for that version is GLYSANTIN® G65®, so until you find any aftermarket brand selling their version of that, VW Group outlets will be your only source of G12evo or an equivalent I'd think, in UK the aftermarket does not yet seem to have found that there is enough call that for them to start selling their re-branded version, I keep an eye on Comma Oils as they tend to come up with what the DIYer needs, but so far nothing from them.

[R826583]

I will confirm with VW spares if they are indeed captive this afternoon when I go to collect the pump and the tooth belt.

I can’t believe they don’t sell anything besides 1L containers… and yet they go on about their sustainability and the environment. I’ll have to go with ‘Penrite Purple OEM Coolant’ as it’s my only option for G13 or G12evo coolant that isn’t eight or so 1L containers from VW spares. I can get 10L of the Penrite coolant for $100 vs 10L of the VW coolant for $200. I’m hoping the Penrite coolant won’t cause issues… but it should be fine because I’m flushing the system. I hope at least

[R826583]

I’ve picked up the water pump and tooth belt today from VW spare parts. Hopefully the aftermarket coolant will be fine! If you have any advice re the coolant being aftermarket, that would be great. I’m hoping it’ll just work and not give issues.

[RUM4MO]

If the aftermarket coolant claims to be G13 compliant then that is good enough I'd think.

I am just keen to move away from G13 because VW Group discovered that in some engines or operating conditions, it did degrade and so they added a "booster" pack of Silicate into the reservoir that slowly bleeds Silicate into the G13 to regain or maintain its corrosion protection properties.

I have been monitoring the "condition" of the G13 in my wife's 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110PS and it has dropped back towards being acidic a lot quicker than I had expected, I always planned to replace it with G12evo at round about this point in its life, all VW Group cars I've owned in the past have had cambelt replacements at 4 or 5 years and a waterpump at the 2nd cambelt change - and that meant the coolant was getting replaced, now with longer service life cambelts, it coolant change will not automatically happen, so I still plan to do that and while the coolant is out of the system, remove the inlet manifold/heat exchanger assembly and check the High Pressure fuel rail bolt torques - a known possible issue with these engines, and take pictures of the inlet port areas on the cylinder head so that I can find out if a port decoke is heading my way.

I'll be very interested to find out just how much coolant your system holds, I replaced the coolant on my 2011 Audi S4 3.0TFSI and that car has two small charge air heat exchangers - I made sure that I collected as much of the old coolant as possible and the total system capacity was 6.5litres - approximately.

One other reason for collecting the old coolant was so that I could work out when I had refilled the coolant system with new coolant - and not just end up with a lot of trapped air that might or might not eventually get bled out via the reservoir. I did by a vacuum coolant refill kit to minimise the chance of that happening, so I'll use that again to help refill the Polo coolant system.

If I let this job drag on, I might end up being "lucky enough" to need to replace the coolant pump assembly at the same time!!

Did you find out or work out anything about the bolts that secure the pump assembly to the engine?