I've just had a quote from a local independent I use, they're actually a Renault specialist (among other things) and do cam belts on Renaultsports and done them on my old 182, so I know they're genuine and no mugs. The quote they gave me however was after I specified genuine parts, waterpump and the thermostat housing which it seems to be leaking from and it was only £538. Being that cheap (they are competitive - have to be in Doncaster!) though alarm bells are ringing.

The said it was a quote for waterpump and thermostat, coolant, some belt or other and a union plus labour. I questioned the belt part as I thought they meant a cam belt, as in being driven by that but he assured me it was the one at the front of the engine.

Can anyone clear this up as I haven't heard a belt mentioned and the price seems too cheap.

Sounds dubious to me. My R was an all day job. The VAT and labour bumped the price up.


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I've just had a quote from a local independent I use, they're actually a Renault specialist (among other things) and do cam belts on Renaultsports and done them on my old 182, so I know they're genuine and no mugs. The quote they gave me however was after I specified genuine parts, waterpump and the thermostat housing which it seems to be leaking from and it was only £538. Being that cheap (they are competitive - have to be in Doncaster!) though alarm bells are ringing.

The said it was a quote for waterpump and thermostat, coolant, some belt or other and a union plus labour. I questioned the belt part as I thought they meant a cam belt, as in being driven by that but he assured me it was the one at the front of the engine.

Can anyone clear this up as I haven't heard a belt mentioned and the price seems too cheap.

If that includes all the parts and labour I'd snap their hand off! The t/stat housing is a ballache to change (it was on mine) and maybe they don't realise the amount of work involved.

Worth checking with them exactly what's in the price quoted.
 
If that includes all the parts and labour I'd snap their hand off! The t/stat housing is a ballache to change (it was on mine) and maybe they don't realise the amount of work involved.

Worth checking with them exactly what's in the price quoted.

I asked them at the time and they said it was the new genuine water pump and thermostat, a union of some sort, coolant and belt IIRC and labour of course.

I queried it at first as I wasnt aware of the belt, I thought they'd mistakenly thought it was another model. I asked if it was the water pump/thermostat at the front rather than one on the side of an engine being changed with a timing belt. He went away to check (I wasn't speaking to the owner at this point) and he phoned back and confirmed it was the one at the front with the items mentioned above.

In talking to the owner initially he'd mentioned one of the lads in their garage had a Golf R and had done his too. In terms of parts it seems to stack up, I just think they're under estimating the time.

As said previously theyre no mugs and the Renault Clio Sport timing belts are a right pita and many of the guys with 172, 182,197,200's used to use them and I've never heard any horror stories so given they're local and they've been good in the past I'm going with it.
 
I dropped my 65 Cupra off at local specialist for a MOT and brakes last year, they do a full check first. I had no prior knowledge of any issues or leaks but they said the coolant was low and they could see where it had leaked onto the undertray a bit, they found a crack in the waterpump.

Had warrantywise Platinum and they covered for a waterpump and thermostat replacement. They used the newest iteration of the Pump which apparently was completely different to the stock one of my car.

I think it was getting on for £800 fitted.
 
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As an update I got the thermostat and waterpump, along with coolant, a union and the drive belt changed at DDC Doncaster just over three weeks ago at the garage I was speaking about previously.

It cost a total of £561, keeping an eye on it, but so far so good. It comes with one year warranty for parts and labour. I asked the guy what it was like to do and he said it wasn't that bad and that they took the inlet manifold off for better access.
 
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That's really good, must be quicker doing it from the top and removing manifold. I did think, why can't it be done from top, even enquired about new manifold gasket, which if I recall was about 50 quid. I just let the garage do it how they want. Good info though for anyone else with issues.
 
That's really good, must be quicker doing it from the top and removing manifold. I did think, why can't it be done from top, even enquired about new manifold gasket, which if I recall was about 50 quid. I just let the garage do it how they want. Good info though for anyone else with issues.

I actually watched about three you tube videos on it before I got it done and the first done it on a ramp without and the two after took the inlet manifold off.

The first that took the inlet off was a guy in the US at home, the second was a proper VW specialist (all on an R I believe) and although there's a lot of stripping down involved it actually didnt look too hard a task.

He had said earlier that one of the lads who works there and has a Golf R has done his, so having experience of it may have helped there.

It was dropped off 8.45am and they phoned saying it was ready at around 14.15 same day. They've billed me for three hours labour @45 per hour plus vat, so being In Doncaster may have kept the overall price down as I generally hear labour is a bit more expensive than that elsewhere.
 
Hey all,
Hope you do not mind me thread jacking, but I have an issue with my Thermostat housing.
I own a 2016 Leon Cupra 290 ST, and just had an oil service at a trusted independent.
They advised that the thermostat housing is in fact leaking. They said the water pump was replaced, and that I could just get the thermostat housing replaced.
The owner advised that he has done this twice on Golf R's.

Can I ask, with the water pump having already been done at some stage, would it be "OK" to just get the thermostat housing replaced?

Thanks in advance,
 
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Hey all,
Hope you do not mind me thread jacking, but I have an issue with my Thermostat housing.
I own a 2016 Leon Cupra 290 ST, and just had an oil service at a trusted independent.
They advised that the thermostat housing is in fact leaking. They said the water pump was replaced, and that I could just get the thermostat housing replaced.
The owner advised that he has done this twice on Golf R's.

Can I ask, with the water pump having already been done at some stage, would it be "OK" to just get the thermostat housing replaced?

Thanks in advance,

Yup - common occurrence on the R. When I had mine, the thermostat housing failed. Including that, the water pump, labour and VAT, it was £990. I would say it depends on when the pump was replaced but I dare say you’d be fine.


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Hey all,
Hope you do not mind me thread jacking, but I have an issue with my Thermostat housing.
I own a 2016 Leon Cupra 290 ST, and just had an oil service at a trusted independent.
They advised that the thermostat housing is in fact leaking. They said the water pump was replaced, and that I could just get the thermostat housing replaced.
The owner advised that he has done this twice on Golf R's.

Can I ask, with the water pump having already been done at some stage, would it be "OK" to just get the thermostat housing replaced?

Thanks in advance,

That said, price up the cost of a water pump anyway as it can be a lot of labour to do it again.


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That said, price up the cost of a water pump anyway as it can be a lot of labour to do it again.


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This makes sense, sure they'll have it apart to do it all anyways :D
Thanks.
 
Hi,
I'v just been told waterpump and thermostat leaking on my cupra 280 when it went for a service with Pentagon Seat. How much should I be looking at price wise aswell as where I should be taking it to so it can be replaced? Is there anything else I should be aware of or asking?

Thanks in advance ?
 
Hi,
I'v just been told waterpump and thermostat leaking on my cupra 280 when it went for a service with Pentagon Seat. How much should I be looking at price wise aswell as where I should be taking it to so it can be replaced? Is there anything else I should be aware of or asking?

Thanks in advance ?
Hey there, sorry only seeing this now.
The prices I have gotten in Ireland were between 300e to 400e for labour alone and about 450e for thermostat and water pump.
There are a few threads on here where people have gotten various prices, so best to shop around but also worth paying the extra if you have good feedback from the garage.
 
Hey all,
Just an update for any IE users.
I got the thermostat housing and water pump replaced last week. The pump didn't need doing as it was already replaced, but I figured whilst its all out may as well get it all done again for peace of mind.
With discount on parts and labor, it cost me €650. So far so good, but being completely honest, I didn't notice any performance issues or coolant level issues before it needed doing (it was only weeping slightly before).
Hope this helps some people budget for the work.
 
Had my 66 plate Cupra since May and mostly its been fine. I keep noticing the coolant level is low though.

I topped it up months ago when it was sitting on the minimum level (probably June or something) and gradually its made its way back down to just below the minimum, but this has taken months.

Around three weeks ago I took a photo where it was several mm over the minimum, last week when it was just over or on and this week its just below. all taken when sat on the same place on the drive, though the car could be at different temperatures.

When opening the bonnet and having a sniff about I also think I can smell a bit of coolant, but again I might just be being massively paranoid and generally this comes when I've given the car a bit of a hoofing.

Anyway so I'm wondering those that have had water pump failures on these, how did you notice it and how did it progress and also what was the cost of replacement?
I have been having all the same issues over several months with my 17 plate Seat Leon Cupra 300. Kept topping up coolant and warning cleared several times. Then last night I got an EPC fault up and car went in to limp mode. Took it to my usual garage and they hooked it up to their machine. Came up as electric water pump failure. Quoted £650 for work to be done.
 
It's a stupid fault of this engine. My 290 is in the dealer at this very moment for a leaking water pump.

They replaced the thermostat housing a few months ago during the routine service.

I've never lost coolant! The guys just noticed dried coolant within the engine bay.

A very confusing situation!

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I got my car back today from the dealer after having the water pump and Aircon condenser replaced., also the thermostat housing was replaced a few months ago

As previously mentioned I've never noticed any coolant loss but I checked the tank earlier (once after driving, then after several hours after cooling down)

The level is now on minimum!

I'm lost on this situation! 'll buy some G13 and top it up and see how it goes.
efd38ebcf7363aa118ca338f86977839.jpg


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BTW, if any SEAT workshop has opened up the cooling system, it will have been premixed, 50-50 G12evo that they refilled it with, so just buy a bottle of that from any VW Group parts department, they should have used a vacuum system to refill it and also ran it long enough to purge out any remaining trapped air - but they just didn't bother to do that job right - did they!
 
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BTW, if any SEAT workshop has opened up the cooling system, it will have been premixed, 50-50 G12evo that they refilled it with, so just buy a bottle of that from any VW Group parts department, they should have used a vacuum system to refill it and also ran it long enough to purge out any remaining trapped air - but they just didn't bother to do that job right - did they!

Hence why I stopped using main dealerships years ago. Rang a SEAT dealership today with an enquiry - didn’t bother to return my call.


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