Head gasket? Water pump? Sensor?

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cavmad
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Head gasket? Water pump? Sensor?

Post by cavmad »

Ok technical people, here`s one for you: the 1.9 TXD I`ve fairly recently bought (and artic Steel is buying) was described by the seller as `definately needing a water pump`. He says it`s been leaking from the pump as described by a garage (thought to be Keith Davis). Now when I first went to look at the car there were no lights showing on the dashboard yet when I went to collect it a day later the light that looks like a radiator was on yet the seller hadn`t driven or even started car since. Got it home, topped up water and light goes out.
A week or so later Andy comes to look at car, radiator level is not visible and the light is back on. We ran the car up and left it ticking over for ages with cap off. No sign of throwing any water out and the dash light came on then off then on again at random intervals. No sign of overheating either and it ticked over perfectly.
I thought it could be the sensor but the water level is dropping though with no signs of water ingress into interior so presumed it`s not the heater? I also left the heater on full whack to check for any leaks and none have been found.
Seems odd to me, and I think Andy`s keen to find out what possible cause is, any ideas gratefully received.
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tim leech

Post by tim leech »

Could be a headgasket Cavmad? That TGD auto I bought had similar problems.
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Post by Barnsley BXer »

Could it be airlocked.I don't know about the diesel,but BX petrols are a pig to bleed
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Geoffrey Gould
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Water pump?

Post by Geoffrey Gould »

Hi Well water pumps have been known to play all sorts of tricks - leaking when not running - leaking when running etc. can you beg, borrow or steal a pressure tester, the type that goes in place of the radiator cap and you pump up and watch a gauge. These are pretty good at finding leaks other than that it could be almost anywhere. I remember one that was the metal pipe that runs from the thermostat housing round the block over the top of the clutch housing that had rusted through and dripped into/onto the clutch.(it was a diesel). try to get it pressure tested it will eliminate a lot of things.
If you had time it would not be hard to make.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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cavmad
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Post by cavmad »

Thanks gent`s. Geoffrey, I might buy one from Machine Mart as it sounds like a useful tool anyhow. very now and then I get myself some tools which are only used very occasionally but are a God send to have.
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Tester

Post by Geoffrey Gould »

Hi Draper and Sealey do kits but they look bl**dy expensive to me havn't tried eBay but it might be worth a look.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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Post by Brian »

Hi, Sorry misread the post, but it's worth doing this:

Pull off the plug from the little black box that resides adjacent the L/H side of the rad, drivers side.

Clean all the contacts on the plug and the unit, pop it back on again.
Last edited by Brian on Thu Jul 13, 2006 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
artic-steel

Post by artic-steel »

Thanks for posting this Billy, i've been busy worrying about the GTi, yes any help in solving this would be great, it needs too drive about 20 miles to get her home.
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Post by jeremy »

Firstly - a pressure tester may be handy but you don't necessarily need one. try this with another car that does not loose water - release cap - there may be some pressure anyway - start engine and when warm you will definitely get a hiss when you release the cap. try on the TXD - if its holding pressure its interesting - but I bet it isn't - in which case look underneath and see if you can find any drips.

A horror on older ones is the fuel heater at the back of the block - had one go on mine and it was a bit intermittent - but would drop quite a bit at times when hot which is how I noticed it! However you will not have this if you have the combined heater and filter (black plactic bowl arrangement) in the centre of the engine/gearbox assembly over the thermostat. (If you have the separate filter by the LHM tank you do have it.)

Water pumps can be a bit intermittent and are especially pressure prone. In fact its usually possible to get a car with a severely leaking pump home by filling it with water, putting a plastic bag under the cap (as some have a valve for releasing a vacuum), and driving gently so as not to generate expansion in the radiator.

You should be able to see anti-freeze traces round the pump especially if it has dried when the blue gets lighter.

Another mysterious leak someone (Jon?) had was the oil cooler - which sits under the oil filter and has 2 water pipes going to it. For diagnostic purposes the water pipes could be bypassed by if it has rusted through there is a serious risk of loss of pressurised oil. These don't often rust through and so second hand ones should be plentiful. Your car may not have one but it seems most do.
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cavmad
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Post by cavmad »

artic-steel wrote:Thanks for posting this Billy, i've been busy worrying about the GTi, yes any help in solving this would be great, it needs too drive about 20 miles to get her home.
Not neccessarily: have Mercedes, will travel :wink: :lol:
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