Exploding pipes!

[bigblue]

Hi folks,

last Friday whilst on my way to Lincoln from Manchester one of the water hoses blew (the left hand one of three that come from the water pump). So I sent out an SOS here on the forum and a good samaritan (namely H-G) came quite a way out of his way and fitted a new pipe for me. We set off for home and got as far as the M1 when another pipe blew! This pipe comes out of the back of the engine block (under the starter) and heads off up to the radiator. Ended up taking a ride on a flatbed back to Manchester.

So my question is has anyone else suffered from multiple pipe failures? What could cause it, is it simply a mixture of coincidence and old pipes or possibly something more serious?

[toomanytoys]

More seroius IMHO.. hoses can go.. but when you are "blowing them apart" thats more than a tired hose leaking...

[BOXY]

The chances of several pipes failing at the same time due to age isn't impossible but is unlikely. There probably is a root cause.

Over pressure - low coolant, blocked overflow, seized cap causing high temperatures & steam and increase in pressure?
Contamination - something in the coolant degrading the hoses from the inside. something used to clean the engine bay degrading the hose cover?

I've got an air-cooled so I'm sure there will be better ideas from the water haulers. If you can post a picture of the hose it might give me more of the clue to the cause of the failure.

[T25Convert]

Hi,

Had this happen on a MK1 Golf and a MK2 Golf, which whist different engines might help pin down the cause.

On the MK1 it was a blown head gasket, and on the MK2 it was a cracked head. Seems that the loss of coolant and pressure from the combustion chambers combined to over pressurise the coolant system, and pop went the hoses (which were old and weak anyway).

Hopefully this is not the cause for you, but once you are full of water again, it might be worth getting the water in the header tank 'sniff tested' for combustion fumes (assuming you can keep the water in the system long enough!)

Cheers,

Alex

[H-G]

Glad you managed to get home in the end.

Fitted the pipe for Bigblue and the filled and bled the system using straight water to get them home in the normal way. Ran the endine at around 2000 rmp for a good 15 - 20 mins to get it up to temp checking pipes and none seemed to be over pressurised as they could be easily squeezed by hand. Had the overflow pipe off during this time and excess water was overflowing out of the 'Dalek'. Once it had been run at temp for a while, engine turned off and the radiator re-bled and the level checked and the overflow refitted. Radiator was warm when bled.

Throughout this no flashing temp light and the needle held nicely at the mid point. I didn't notice any oil in water or scum in waterbottle which are normally associated with a poorley head gasket and the engine sounded fine with no smoke blue (oil) or white (indicator of water) smoke from the exhaust other than the normal puff on startup. Had a good check around the engine bay and radiator end and there were no obvious leeks apparent.

Bigblue, did you notice if the temp suddenly rose or the red LED started flashing before the pipe went pop?

I hope the above helps with the diagnosis.

[ghost123uk]

From a recent thread I took part in =

So this probably stems from an air lock and subsequent over heating, as I did have a water pipe burst during the winter.

Possibly yes.

From that "long post" see this =

Also more thoughts...........
Cleaned out the bleed pipes from top of engine. This was in one............



While the other was blocked by plastic, the T' junction mold hadn't been cleaned out properly, Had to drill it out. I'm sure the pressure build-up is what eventually caused the seals to go.

Go & check your bleed pipes, Just disconnect from engine & check that coolant can run out. If it can't look further.

I too had exactly the same type of blockage in 2 places in the thin pipes that run around the lip of the engine bay, and also in the thin part of the rubber one that comes from the rear of the left hand head, and goes to the afore mentioned metal pipe. This causes the water to cease flowing around the l/h cylinder head, that in turn causes the water to boil, in my case the "dalek" cap was not releasing the excess pressure fast enough and that caused 2 x hoses to blow out. (I think this was what killed my original engine as it was that l/h rear cylinder that semi seized)

Check all those thinner water pipes in the engine bay for blockages

Take care as if it is this and that l/h head is not getting cooling water it could end up in a BIG bill (as it did for me = replacement engine )

[bigblue]

Thanks for the input guys.

Hi H-D, I was nervously checking the temp gauge every minute for the first half hour of our journey home and it didn't moved from the halfway mark but after that I must have felt confident enough to stop checking quite so pften so didn't notice what was happening when it blew!

So next step is to locate a four foot long hose which is wider at one end than the other! And check for any blockages etc...

[ghost123uk]

So next step is to locate a four foot long hose which is wider at one end than the other! And check for any blockages etc...

On the rear of the l/h head, 2ft long, goes to the thin metal pipe that runs around the lip of the engine bay (assuming post 85 water system)

All bits and T pieces of that thin metal pipe should be checked for blockages, also the thin pipes on the thermostat housing (again assuming post 85 water system) btw, in case you didn't know already, if you have that later type stat housing, look after it, they are like hens teeth to get.

[Cruz]

if you have that later type stat housing, look after it, they are like hens teeth to get.

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?p ... t&Itemid=6

[ghost123uk]

if you have that later type stat housing, look after it, they are like hens teeth to get.

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php?p ... t&Itemid=6

Ahh

[H-G]

Gents, just read through the thread and I think people are advising on a Wasserboxers; Bigblue has a 1.6 TD JX lump in the back.

[ghost123uk]

Gents, just read through the thread and I think people are advising on a Wasserboxers; Bigblue has a 1.6 TD JX lump in the back.

Ohh heck

Just goes to show, that adage that is oft shouted on here when posting in " Technical Questions and Answers" = TELL US WHAT ENGINE YOU HAVE

[bigblue]

Just been informed by the guy at Manchester Aircooled that he's 100% sure it's a crack in the cylinder head causing the pipes to burst. Said I'm probably looking at £500 to get it sorted and that he personally wouldn't touch it! Guess that leaves me stuffed (think that's the technical term).... Sounds like T25Convert was right...

So, question: If I replace the pipe can I still use the van for short journeys of under 1 hour say? (I say that cause it was OK for a month doing short journeys before I ventured from Manchester to Lincoln!)

[ghost123uk]

If it's pressurising enough to explode pipes, then the "dalek" header tank cap cannot be releasing the pressure like it should. Change that, or run it with the cap loose (that's what folks used to do in the "old days" )

[T25Convert]

Hi,

the guy at Manchester Aircooled that he's 100% sure it's a crack in the cylinder head

Just out of interest how did he arrive at his diagnosis? Did he check for combustion gas in the header tank, or was it just from symptoms described to him? Might be worth getting a second opinion??

If I replace the pipe can I still use the van for short journeys of under 1 hour say? (I say that cause it was OK for a month doing short journeys before I ventured from Manchester to Lincoln!)

In theory yes, but be aware that it is likely to get worse, and you may do other damage to your engine if it overheats during water loss. A totally seized engine has zero exchange value if you want to (or have to!) get an exchange recon engine in the end...

Good luck with it all,

Cheers,

Alex