#1: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:15 am ---- So our little pug has been off the road for a few months after it kept loosing coolant .. and I couldn't find the time to check it out.
Anyway this week I decided as there was no football to keep my amused in the evening I'd break out the spanners.
The coolant was leaking pretty quickly as it would half-drain the expansion tank over night ... the water is also a pretty disgusting colour which made me think it could be the headgasket. The leak was running down the right end of the block, behind the oil filter assembly and down the bell housing and onto the exhaust.
Tried a mobile phone but there was too much in the way .. even tried a USB Endoscope to get a picture, but that wasn't clear.
So last night I removed the cat and downpipe and the heatshield from the engine to give me a better view. Lots of absorbent cloth to try and dry up the block to see where is was dribbling .. and a few scratches later I think I've found it ...
There are two welch-plugs (core-plugs) in the cylinder head behind the manifold. One was wet and if I dried it off it soon dribbled water again ..
Still trying to get manifold and turbo off to be 100% sure .. I've got 8 out of ten nuts off but I have a sinking feeling the power steering pump is going to stop me pulling it straight off the engine later .. when I've found a way to get to the last two fairly inaccessible nuts!!
#2: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:23 am ---- And a picture once I could see better
#3: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 9:29 pm ---- Good news is ... it IS the welch plug.
Bad news is ... you can't get the exhaust manifold off if the power steering/alternator bracket is on ... or ... you take ten manifold studs out ... guess what my plan is?
#4: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: Sim, Location: West CountryPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:34 am ----
gazza82 wrote:
guess what my plan is?
To use a hammer? If it breaks, then it clearly needed replacing anyway!
To use a hammer? If it breaks, then it clearly needed replacing anyway!
If the current trend on FaceCrap is anything to go buy, you're going to scrap it ....
#6: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 2:12 pm ---- Not as drastic as that .. take the bl**dy studs out .. if I can get a stud remover (or molegrip) in there!
#7: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:02 pm ---- Plan B .. worked. Manifold off.
Now I can get to the welch plug ... with a pin hole in it. It's tiny yet piddles water at a rapid rate even with no pressure ...
#8: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 2:21 pm ---- TWO new welch plugs fitted to head last night. S*ds law says the other would leak next week if I left it.
Thin'ish coat of blue hylomar on plug sides before tapping into place using a socket as a drift. Left hylomar to set .. which in this heat will be about 2 seconds .. and will test by filling up expansion tank later.
Then it's back to replacing the exhaust manifold, new gasket, new studs, new nuts and new clamp from downpipe to exhaust as mine was rusted up (That is where the coolant dribbled down!. Old one came off wit the help of a hacksaw!).
So my two 61p 20mm welch plugs ended up costing nearly £37 with VAT!! Still a lot cheaper than the head-gasket change I was envisaging!
Full coolant replacement also on the list along with oil change and new oil and air filters ...
#9: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:27 pm ---- No leaks ... and given how tight these were to fit, there shouldn't be.
Now to start putting it back together ...
#10: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:02 am ---- Fair play, I doubt many people would have gone to this level of fix!
But thanks for posting it up, as I'm about to embark on a 'hunt the leak' (albeit very slowly) myself, and it's one more place to 'concentrate' on. Although, there's no way I'd be able to fix this myself in a resonable time if it turns out to be the culprit!
#11: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:52 am ---- Don't know if your engine has these .. but it's worth a look on servicebox at the engine parts ..
The hole was tiny ..
Mine has the added complication of the turbo .. means it's harder to get to some of the nuts and studs. I replaced all the studs so they now have a torx end which means I can unscrew them quickly now!
#12: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: VorTechS, Location: Gloucestershire, UKPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:13 am ---- There are 3 'well plugs' on the 180 head, that look like they are the same as your diagram.
Not sure if they're the same size or part no: 023442 ... ?
(At the moment I suspect the water pump, belt was changed before I bought the car, but no mention of the pump being done)
#13: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: MrBSI, Location: What's it to you? ? ?Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:47 am ----
VorTechS wrote:
Fair play, I doubt many people would have gone to this level of fix!
But thanks for posting it up, as I'm about to embark on a 'hunt the leak' (albeit very slowly) myself, and it's one more place to 'concentrate' on. Although, there's no way I'd be able to fix this myself in a resonable time if it turns out to be the culprit!
If you can borrow a cooling system pressure tester it makes playing hunt the leak much easier.
If you can borrow a cooling system pressure tester it makes playing hunt the leak much easier.
Thanks and yes, that's on the cards if I can't locate it myself while Sim is away. I believe he's planning on getting one at the unit soon...
While we had the car up doing the gearbox we noticed drops of coolant. I've forgotten where now, and we did some clean up work post head clean-up (oil leak tracing) that seems to have removed the traces that we spotted.
For now though I've borrowed a thin camera probe and will be wiring up a security light I've got lying around so that I can reel it out to the car, hopefully tonight (weather permitting). (Apparently it works best in the dark with direct light)
#15: Re: 1.4 Hdi Coolant Leak Author: gazza82, Location: South BucksPosted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 10:53 am ----
VorTechS wrote:
There are 3 'well plugs' on the 180 head, that look like they are the same as your diagram.
Not sure if they're the same size or part no: 023442 ... ?
(At the moment I suspect the water pump, belt was changed before I bought the car, but no mention of the pump being done)
The same part but only two on mine. Really expensive at 67p each plus VAT!
Bit unusual for a welch plug to "corrode" like that .. but getting it out destroys the evidence so I can't say for sure.
All I know is it has had proper levels of coolant/anti-freeze, etc. Use "blue" coloured as that was what Peugeot sold me many years ago when I had to swap out the thermostat unit. Fully drained down now as I took the rad out to retrieve a lost "nut" .. !
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