Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

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citronut
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by citronut »

mat_fenwick wrote:
Dollywobbler wrote:That's certainly not how mine is Mat - black pipe goes into the axle tube.
:oops: :oops: :oops: Mine too! Must be the onset of dementia, as I would have put money on it being the other way around. Sorry for any confusion...

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i know as i get them all the time :? :roll: :wink:

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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Dollywobbler »

Way2go wrote:That's the nearside rear isn't it? There's a number of HP pipes running over the subframe that side where if a pinhole break occurs the green stuff flows over and seems to come from anywhere. I had a front-back pipe go at this location and the leak first of all was not as catastrophic as you would think.
It got considerably worse when moving pipes to faultfind though! :shock:
Yup. It is that area. However, I can't imagine a pinhole in a high pressure pipe would just cure itself. It must have been a slightly leaky return. Of course, if I end up being recovered from London this weekend, then you were right to be concerned!
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Dollywobbler »

It's now a pretty major leak. Used the car today, no problem at all. Used it again, major leakage!
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by James Lee »

have you any more news on the leak? as mine still leaks after thinking it was just a loose return pipe that just pushes into the boot.
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Dollywobbler »

Nope. I've been away - had to 'suffer' my 27mpg Mercedes instead of my 50mpg BX. :(
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Dollywobbler »

Right. This seems to be a pretty massive high-pressure leak now. LHM is misting in pretty clouds in front of the rear wheel and puddles are forming very quickly indeed. I've never seen frothy LHM before. I believe the phrase for such moments is "Bumhats."
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by MULLEY »

High pressure causes the lhm to atomize, it looks like smoke, i remember Tim's old G-Seg doing that at a ccc meet a few years back.
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by mat_fenwick »

It's interesting that you at least got some warning - I've never known a high pressure leak do that. With me it's been either all or nothing! I suppose looking on the bright side tracing it shouldn't be as much of an issue. I spoke to Pleiades a couple of weeks back and IIRC each front to rear pipe was under £20. I've got that job this year I think, as I've spotted a couple of areas where the coating has failed.
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Dollywobbler »

It's odd isn't it? At one stage last week, it definitely wasn't leaking at all, then it was VERY leaky. I'll have a search in a bit (high workload at the moment) but is there anything I need to know before tackling front-to-rear pipe replacement? I'm presuming it must be that pipe.
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Re: Rear suspension leak

Post by Way2go »

Dollywobbler wrote: is there anything I need to know before tackling front-to-rear pipe replacement?
Carefully hinge the back of the rear subframe down (bolts in the boot) to gain good access for threading the new pipe through. It's nigh on impossible to thread this pipe through otherwise even if massaging some of its bends. Use a jack to support the subframe when lowering and only drop it enough to get the new pipe through to avoid placing undue strain on the other pipes.
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Re: Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

Post by KevR »

I need to do this soon, and have decided that rather than just hinging the subframe down I'm going to drop it out to so I can get some prper rust-proofing into the front subframe mounts, which tend to be hidden rust traps. Seems dafto not to take the opportunity while you're halfway there anyway.
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Re: Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

Post by Dollywobbler »

I think that's a fair point Kevin. This car is remarkably solid, so it'd be sensible to try and keep it that way! At the moment though, I feel I don't have enough axle stands. I'd appreciate tips on where to support the rear of the car if I'm dropping the subframe. I'm slightly concerned that I have absolutely no idea what needs doing to even start this job, but I guess I'll have to learn as I go.
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Re: Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

Post by Way2go »

Hinging the subframe is not a fraction of the work to dropping it IMHO. You can carefully hinge it without disconnecting the other HP pipes, brake lines, ABS sensors wiring etc. Also alignment on reassembly remains fairly automatic. But hey if you want to be thorough, go for it, but be prepared for some disintegration of other pipes etc upon dissasembly necessitating additional expenditure. :shock:
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Re: Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

Post by Dollywobbler »

I've just had a look at it actually. I still can't see where it's actually leaking from. Possibly above the axle arm, but it's hard to say. There is LHM spraying out everywhere now. Ugh!
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Re: Rear suspension leak - front-to-rear pipe how to?

Post by mat_fenwick »

I've not done the job myself (yet) but speaking to Plieades about it they said dropping the subframe was optional with the cupro nickel pipes, with them being more flexible than the steel originals. That's a job for me one dry day this summer!
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