Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

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M13esy
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Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by M13esy »

Hi.got a slight leak on my waterjacket seal any one have a rough idea of the cost to replace at a garage? It’s 1.9 dg 1989

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maxstu
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by maxstu »

Its an unknown quantity and lm not sure you will get defined answers from so little details.

Whereabouts are you for a start? Can you follow a manual and remove engine yourself? Do you have a T25 knowledgeable mechanic in your neighbourhood? Or a mate who can spin the spanners with confidence?

Condition of exhaust and engine are also big factors. There are issues such as head studs breaking, stuck liners, worn rings or damaged pistons to consider. Or exhaust studs breaking (then needing redrilling and tapping out). It all could easily run into many hundreds of pounds in labour alone. To a point where a recon for £2.5k may be an economical option.

Sound a bit doom and gloomy l know. But will leave you with this...l have a VW classic garage on my doorstep in Margate. But they will not rebuild T25 watercooled engines. Simply because after 30 years they are often rusted and abused, and the man hours involved are not appreciated by their customers.

And as someone who did my first water jacket replacement only recently l can fully appreciate their stance. The amount of hours in solely preparation and cleaning...and more cleaning again.....is considerable. And l had a huge amount of support throughout from the good ladies and fellas on this forum.
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Stesaw
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Stesaw »

Don't.mention.the.cleaning!! I still have nightmares.
:lol:

If you are mechanically minded, have tools and have somewhere to put the van it might be worth giving it a go yourself. As maxstu said getting someone else do it you're gonna be paying lots of labour and from my experience so far garages can be hit and miss unless you have a specialist local.

If I recall the gasket kit for one side of a wbx is about £60 

If you have deep pockets Id swap out the engine for a new one from ajsimmo, you'd have peace of mind then. The job should be possible with the engine in situ if you are short on space, but you can easily run into problems if the engine hasn't been looked after which would then require you to drop the engine. Whatever way you choose do some research first, if you dont have a Haynes or Bentley manual I'd recommend as they give you the info you need on jobs like this. 


 
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1664
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by 1664 »

Erm does the engine HAVE to come out? Reason I ask is I had mine replaced a few years back by a fellow member on here and he did it with the engine still in situ. Mine is a 2.1 though so maybe that makes a difference?
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Mocki
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Mocki »

It can be done in situ, but frankly for the extra hour to drop it out it’s soooo much easier to do the job with it out 
you have to take the exhaust off , inlet manifold off and the water pipes off to do the job anyway , it’s only the starter motor and the four bell housing bolts difference . 
 
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TONYT25T25
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by TONYT25T25 »

Recently saw this offered up by a member on the forum, would be interested what the opinion is of members to its use or not??

captain tolleys creaping crack cure :?: :!:
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Mocki
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Mocki »

Tony , that is for window rubber seals , it won’t work on water jacket seals 
it’s excellent on window rubbers tho 
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TONYT25T25
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by TONYT25T25 »

Thanks for that Steve, never heard of it before until it popped up on the Forum.
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Sir Brixalot
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Sir Brixalot »

Had both sides done in S London for about £900. 
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1664
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by 1664 »

Mocki wrote: 08 Apr 2021, 09:53
you have to take the exhaust off , inlet manifold off and the water pipes off to do the job anyway , it’s only the starter motor and the four bell housing bolts difference . 

It was when I was replacing the old exhaust with stainless now you come to mention it. Don't recall any manifold or waterpipes coming off but then I wasn't the one doing it!
 
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Stesaw »

To get the head off two pipes would have to come off plus undoing the manifold on the top at least iirc. 
1985 LeisureDrive 2.1DJ 5 Speed syncro conversion project.
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by Mocki »

You can’t get the head undone without taking the inlet manifold , exhaust and coolant pipes off .
 
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maxstu
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by maxstu »

As my learned colleagues have mentioned, it can be done with engine in situ. Ive also watched a video of someone replacing the lower sleeve seals without removing sleeves from pistons and with engine in situ. Some even cut exhaust manifolds and re-braze/weld back together again.
Start asking for recommended T25 specialists near you.
MaxStu
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maxstu
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by maxstu »

Stesaw wrote: 08 Apr 2021, 09:26 Don't.mention.the.cleaning!! I still have nightmares.
:lol:



 

Damn! Did l mention the cleaning?

Yes, l did mention the cleaning. But l think l got away with it. :rofl
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M13esy
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Re: Waterjacket seal replacement 1,9dg

Post by M13esy »

Thanks for the advice

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