Club 80-90 Forums

I appear to be losing coolant from a slight weep around a head stud/nut. Is this likely?

It is difficult to trace but it does seem to be coming from above cylinder 3, top left, rearmost of the engine.

I have read that sealant should be used in engine assembly, is it likely that this could be the cause of my leak? Can I remove the nut and reseal? Is the a preferred product to use here?

Opinions and advice gladly received!

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Yes it's likely, wbx head studs are in the water jacket and sealed with a special sealant.
I'd leave it unless it becomes unmanageable, if you release a nut you could reseal it but the stud may snap.

you also risk distorting a head if you remove just one nut but somehow I doubt it.

Make sure you have the correct antifreeze.

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Thanks for the reply Itchy.

I realise that messing with head studs is often a twitchy bum moment but it is leaking more than I would like. I'd guess as much as 500ml a fortnight if I'm using the van a lot.

I have at least been good at flushing and changing the coolant while under my ownership.

I'll mull it over a while longer, hopefully you won't see me on here lamenting a snapped stud in the near future!

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I decided that I needed to try and tackle this leak. It was nerve wracking undoing the nut but it eventually gave with a series of sharp cracks!

I gave the face of the nut a good clean and did what I could to the seat on the head.

A bead of sealant and torqued back up I left it a couple of days before running it up this evening.
Early signs are promising but only time will tell I guess.

Thanks to Itchyfeet for putting me onto the correct sealant.

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Excellent well done.

You can use a blow torch on the nut and give it some heat, makes removing them much smoother.