Gti Radiator...

[Guest PacMan]

I recieved a good condition second hand radiator this morning for my 1.6 GTi, but it was off a 1.9. I assumed they would be the same, but by the looks of things the thermostat is in the wrong place. It has a 'blanking plug' type of thing where my 1.6 GTi thermostat should go and vice-versa on my original radiator.

 

My question is - is it ok to swap the position of the thermostat on the new radiator so it slots into my GTi without having to mess about re-routing wires or anything?

 

Also is there anything else i need to know before attempting this swap?

 

Heres some pics of the new radiator :

 

My 1.6 has the blanking plug here instead of the thermostat switch:

 

Can i remove this and screw in the thermostat?

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Yes, IMO you should be fine to do that.

 

Graham.

[blue1.9 0]

I think I remember reading that early 205 GTis had the temp swich near the rad bottom hose, but the later models had them near the top hose. The new rad I got from Autofive had two holes and one blanking plug so I just copied what was already in the car and put the temp switch near the top hose. You should be fine swaping the blanking plug over - they should both have the same thread size.

 

Should be a straight swap other than that....just remember to bleed the system fully afterwards!

 

Good Luck

Alex

[Rob_the_Sparky 9]

Been told before it is fine to swap the blanking plug over but never tried it.

[blue1.9 0]

Guess the only problem would be if you couldn't get the blanking plug to seal properly after you'd removed it, but it shouldn't be a problem!

Alex

[Guest PacMan]

Thanks for the info. I was sort of sure that it would be ok, but didn't want to go ahead and do it without checking!

 

Maybe like blue1.9 says, the difference was in the earlier and later cars rather than the 1.6 and 1.9 models like i had assumed, my GTi is a 1986 car.

[Anthony 1,003]

Just swap them over, it works fine - I had to do this when I replaced the radiator I bust in my previous 205, and the radiator and fan switch both worked fine and were leak free afterwards

[Guest PacMan]

Well i guess thats my weekend sorted then! Another one up to my eyes in grease and 205 bits!

 

Heres a photo of the state of my existing radiator, suprising it doesn't leak! -->

 

 

When i'm swapping them over, will i just let all the fluid run out of the cooling system and then fill it up again with fresh antifreeze?

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

When i'm swapping them over, will i just let all the fluid run out of the cooling system and then fill it up again with fresh antifreeze?

Yes that is your best bet, well as much as you can drain, the heater matrix will still be full.

 

The only difference between the location of the temp switch is where the guage will indicate before the fan cuts in AFAIK.(higher = hotter)

 

Graham.