Club 80-90 Forums

Hey guys,
Its been a long time since Ive been on here or done anything with the van. I want to get it on the road now but Iv got a water leak. When I fill it up with water it all pisses out of the coolant pipe that goes from the water pump to the right hand head. Its just a knackered gasket but Iv done a bit of searching and I can't find anywhere that sells them!
Could I make one up out of something? Or can anyone tell me where I can get one please?

Cheers,
Edd

Go on, give us a clue .... what engine is it ?

IF it's a 1.9 DG or 2.1 DJ then that comprises (from the pump) a gasket (should be available from GSF) then a curved pipe which goes behind the crankshaft pulley ... these are VW only and cost ~£50 (I had 'the last one' 4 months ago), then a short hose and then the elbow and seal that goes onto the R/H head (again VW only).

Hope this helps, Ian.

Oppps
Its the 1.9 DG. Its not on the waterpump end, its the gasket in between the flange on the 90° bent pipe that goes into the right hand side of the engine.

Thanks,
Edd

Well, on the late DG I took out of our Bus it was the flange (plastic ) which had been overtightened and cracked, this has an O-ring type seal which has indentations in it to allow for the bolts.

Ian.

Replaced the gasket for a new one and still got water leaking from somewhere in that area.
Any known problem areas for this kind of leak? Its only a drip, not a gush of water, still enough to empty the coolant tank in 5 mins though!

Thanks,
Edd

As Hulley says the later plastic elbows are c*ck, my van is early and has the metal elbows.

Try getting hold of a metal one and a new gasket (i got mine from VW) and at worst a bit of gasket sealer as well if the casting is too pitted to get a good seal.

shepster wrote:As Hulley says the later plastic elbows are c*ck, my van is early and has the metal elbows.

Try getting hold of a metal one and a new gasket (i got mine from VW) and at worst a bit of gasket sealer as well if the casting is too pitted to get a good seal.

Cheers mate. Though mine is already a metal elbow, I did have a good look at both sealing surfaces and can't remember any pitting, although there could have been on the head surface as I didn't have brilliant light to see by. I did make sure that the elbow surface was nice and clean and flat before I put it back together though.
I think I will just have to haul the van out of the corner of the unit and put some water in it and have a good look all around to find out where its coming from.

Thanks,
Edd

It's not where the elbow bit is welded onto the flange is it as mine was really quite rusty around there.

shepster wrote:It's not where the elbow bit is welded onto the flange is it as mine was really quite rusty around there.

I will check when Im up there tomorrow. I will report back my findings.

Thanks,
Edd

If I'm thinking of the same pipe as the one that you're talking about, I think it's two metal pipes that are connected by a short length of rubber hose. Check the condition of your rubber and the clips that are holding it on.

Tony

Turns out it was the coolant elbow after all. Took it off and had a good look at it. The mating surface was all pitted, so I ground it flat again and made up a new gasket. Put it all back together and it seems its holding water now
Yay! Got the coolant system filled up and bled, and managed to drive it down the road and back.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SFCnl1380Yw

Iv got a question too. The coolant light was constantly flashing. What does that mean?

Cheers,
Edd

eddbmxdude wrote:Iv got a question too. The coolant light was constantly flashing. What does that mean?

It probably means that you've got some more bleeding to do! There shouldn't be any air gap in the main header tank and you need to keep the top-up tank topped-up to just below the bottom of its cap as well. Once you think you've finished bleeding it all, do it again a couple more times. Keep an eye on that warning light and temp guage during your test drives.

Tony

eddbmxdude wrote:Iv got a question too. The coolant light was constantly flashing. What does that mean?

It means S T O P !

the warning light gets its info from two places.....
1.the low coolant level sensor in the top of the header tank, make sure its plugged in, and clean, if so it may well be the sensor, particually if it has been "dry" for some while

2. the temp sender, in the thermostat housing, which will also get the gauge over to the wrong side of normal before it comes on...... check the wiring there too