#3 easy questions :)

2003 Golf Gl - 300k - #1 How can I cheaply and effectively cover the radiator to increase winter engine temps? - #2 Where would one navigate to sell a working 10mm injection pump? - #3 I got some bad fuel just after a new fuel filter was installed this Last Summer, and was wondering if I should drain the filter(water) or perhaps replace the filter? The car ran bad for just a few hours after buying my Kroger FUEL (( - Thank You

Here's your winter front solution.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=160835
Bottom of the main page there's a for sale section .
The bad fuel...I would use diesel purge.

1) I have found that the best radiator cover is the cheap coroplast type sign board material. You can do some community service and remove one from a roadside since it's election time and they are over used anyways. Cover the whole radiator and it helps with quicker warm ups and it doesn't cool down as fast on coasting or in town driving. Search for the threads, it's a tight fit to get it installed. Be selective or paint a piece black so it's invisible. If your thermostat is working properly it shouldn't really make the operating temp any higher. The dash gauge is deceptively/intentionally very vague. It will read 190 when the actual coolant temp is only 165, which is too low for decent heat and/or efficiency.

2) There is a nice section in the forum for buying/selling. List it there.

3) bad fuel in what sense? Water? Dirty?
If it's water drain it, if you have the stock filter and follow up for a while with Power Service white bottle additive to displace the water.
Dirty fuel the filter should catch the particles, so unless the filter is clogging, I wouldn't change it for a while.
I would change it before it gets into well below freezing temp if it was excessively bad fuel or showed any signs of affecting the flow.

Pull the bumper cover, put nice thick cardboard on rad (24" wide, 15" high), then reinstall bumper. 15 minutes of work.

If you have an Android phone, pick up a ELM327 OBD2 dongle and use the torque app to be sure you're getting to 190F. Like said, gauge shows 190 at 165.

You can install the coroplast quicker and a lot less work than removing the bumper cover IMO.

Pipe insulation takes less than 5 min and 5$....lol

Geobmx4life said:

Pipe insulation takes less than 5 min and 5$....lol

Click to expand...

Coroplast can cost nothing, takes less than 5 minutes and is not as unattractive.

Sheesh

jettawreck said:

Coroplast can cost nothing, takes less than 5 minutes and is not as unattractive.

Click to expand...

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder...

Geobmx4life said:

Pipe insulation takes less than 5 min and 5$....lol

Click to expand...

The pipe insulation mod works very well.
Coroplast and cardboard work of coarse but often too well when you really do need your rad to work it can't......such as an abnormaly warm winterday in stop and go driving or that warm spring day when you forgot to remove it in time.
Not worth the chance blown head gasket in my opinion.

I'm using black foam pipe insulation too. A 6 foot length was about $1 at Home Depot. Just cut to the sizes required to fit in the grill.
It fits well, and oddly doesn't look bad.

I leave the lower passenger side open for the intercooler.
And I leave one off the top driver's side for the air intake. I found that the car runs a bit more peppy when I don't block the air intake.

maxmoo said:

The pipe insulation mod works very well.
Coroplast and cardboard work of coarse but often too well when you really do need your rad to work it can't......such as an abnormaly warm winterday in stop and go driving or that warm spring day when you forgot to remove it in time.
Not worth the chance blown head gasket in my opinion.

Click to expand...

An abnormally warm winter day here is 0C.

ScottySK said:

An abnormally warm winter day here is 0C.

Click to expand...

Yeah. I understand that. Last winter was brutal up here, too.
I have run the coroplast radiator fully covered up to about 50*F in the spring w/o overheating. I've towed the snowmobile trailer up to freeze/thaw temps and same result.
Do whatever makes you happy and stay warm.
Just to really clarify things I also put the VW vinyl front grille covers on, but by themselves they are mostly ornamental. When it's below 0F, they don't help much. Too much airflow goes around/thru/behind them. They do make you look like a winter driver if that's worth anything to you. And they would also cover up that pipe insulation......

Yes, last year's winter was brutal. Frost 8 feet deep & 7 months long. At least when it's that cold it doesn't snow as much.

I cover my "custom" piece of 3/16" thick cardboard with black Gorilla Tape to keep it from getting soggy in the car wash, then when I take off the winter wheels & I remove the bumper cover again and take it out for next year.

Tried the pipe insulation, this works better IMO. I also block off the intercooler grille with a solid backed grille from a 2.SLOW. I'd rather conserve as much heat as possible in the intake, IAT temps observed significantly warmer when it is -35C or lower like it was a couple mornings last year.

The OBD dongle + Torque app, best $25 I've spent, turns guesses into tested solutions. Usually, with a coolant heater plug-in for 4 hours prior to leaving in the morning, -30C temps, I'm at 90C in 10km (6.2 miles) driving at 110km/h (~2400rpm, 5spd).

No overheating in 20C temperatures, although we don't exactly have a ton of stop & go. I wouldn't try running the A/C at all with the condenser blocked off though.