i found a water leak HELP....

[meltonlad]

ive just found a water leak its at the side of the engine ive got the temp sender unit and to pipes on the bit thats leaking.... it bolted to the side of the head (i think) its leaking from the edge round the bolts/head. what is this bit called and also is it easy to fix ?

 

[RickC]

you will need to post more info, like engine size, what side of engine etc,

a pic woild be better,

 

[meltonlad]

1.8 20v yr 2000. as you look at engine its on the right bolted to the side of the engine. its got three water pipes connected to it and the temp sender unit. please could sumone tell me how i upload pics..

 

[Tolly]

It sounds like the Thermostat housing is leaking. Is it a plastic or alloy unit on your engine??

 

[RickC]

i would say its the O ring that has either perished or has been disturbed, you will need to bleed the system, remove the housing and the o ring and clean the surfaces up, when you refit the new o ring use some G12 to lubricate so it forms a good seal

 

[meltonlad]

its plastic. i think i might aswell change the thermastat at the same time then.. how would i bleed the system ??????

 

[Tolly]

Its pretty easy.... I have not had my Toledo long so not done any work on it yet but from looking at it my old VW Polo, which I changed, is the same...

1. Undo the bolts that hold the plastic housing to the block (It will start to leak all of the coolant out but just undo them all and dump the water on the floor)

2. Remove the old O'ring from the housing and clean both surfaces of the housing and block.

3. Place in the new o'ring (Whether you use some sealant too is up to you... Personally I feel if it needs sealant then you are doing it wrong)

4. Replace the housing but do not tighten it too much or you will break the plastic housing... (About £80 at the dealer)

5. Fill back up with some mixed coolant and water (I mix this in a watering can)

6. Start the car and leave it ticking over.

7. Turn the heater system on to hot with the fan full...

8. Leave it running till the tempersture guage is past half and the electric fan has cut in and out twice.

9. Whilst it is running you will see air bubbles coming up in to the expansion tank when it escapes. Keep the tank topped up to the MAX mark with coolant. (All of the coolant may disapear when the Thermostat open and lets all of the coolant in to the radiator.)

10. Check for leaks.....

11. Drink Tea

 

[meltonlad]

thanks for that tolly. BUT !!!!! you say wait till the fans cut in but both my fans are going from when i start the engine ??? should they do that ????

 

[Tolly]

Well I have never had the engine running and the bonnet up but I am guessing not..... The fan stat might be knackered.......

 

[kewe]

thanks for that tolly. BUT !!!!! you say wait till the fans cut in but both my fans are going from when i start the engine ??? should they do that ????

Make sure the aircon is switched off. I'm sure that one of those fans switches on/off with the aircon?

 

[Muttley]

meltonlad wrote

1.8 20v yr 2000. as you look at engine its on the right bolted to the side of the engine. its got three water pipes connected to it and the temp sender unit.

This isn't the thermostat housing. The thermostat is on the front face of the engine block, where the bottom hose from the radiator connects to the block. The bit you're describing is (I think) bolted to the end of the cylinder head and connects to the radiator top hose. As far as I can see it's just a connection piece with the coolant temperature sender in it. RickC's advice was good; clean up the joint and dampen the new O-ring with coolant before bolting the housing down - this lets it slip into place and compress evenly.

I don't know if these plastic housings are liable to warp if they've got too hot at some point? It will be worth checking the joint face for flatness while you have it off.

The fans should not run on startup unless you have air cooling/conditioning fitted, when they come on at a slow speed setting to cool the condenser fitted in front of the engine radiator so that the air cooling works.

If you *don't* have air conditioning, then the fans should be controlled by a thermoswitch fitted to the radiator itself and only come on when the radiator gets hot.

 

[meltonlad]

thanks for all the advice BUT please see my new thread cus now im and very !!!!!!!!!