LHM leakage and bloody seal!

Sahand · Post by **Sahand** » 04 Jun 2005, 03:00

Hi again,
I was up to the south last Friday when I realized the car is going bouncy in the M6! Pulling up to hard shoulder I saw the LHM level has dropped so I topped it up and couldn’t find any leakage around and just continued. Coming back on bank holiday that happened again and this time I could find the source of leakage on top of the hydraulic pump, around a nut. I tried to fasten it, but it was tight enough! Later, when I got home I found this thread http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=3912 which is exactly the same as mine and thanks the guy who wrote it, fixing the problem seems to be so easy.
So what’s my problem now? Unfortunately I made a mistake and called RAC second time as I didn’t have enough LHM and didn’t want my brakes off in the middle of motorway! The man who came put some kind of sealing there which seems not removable now! It was black and spongy at first and he pressed it in his hand for couple of minutes before applying it around the nut. Any idea of how to remove this kind of sealing?
Thanks all.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 04 Jun 2005, 04:16

Sounds like one of those epoxy mixes that are supposedly on there forever.
I think it will need grinding off.
If it's not causing any problems, I'd be inclined to forget about it.
Alan S

Sahand · Post by **Sahand** » 04 Jun 2005, 07:08

thanks alan, but the fact is it did not solve the problem and LHM still leaking

! also there isn't enough room to grind it off easily! are there any solutions which could solve it or make it soft? or, can i force them to fix it themself (RAC i mean)?

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 04 Jun 2005, 07:37

If it's the stuff that I think it is, you won't shift it any other way than literally grinding it off. People use this stuff I'm thinking about to fill holes in metal castings even holes in engine blocks so it really sets hard.
As far as getting a result from RAC goes, I don't know how your laws work over there, but if on his repair docket he admits to putting it there and if it was a wrong diagnosis, then I'd imagine you would be in with a chance.
I suppose the worry then is whether they can do a proper job fixing it without stuffing another dozen things in the process. If they would allow you to take it to a repairer of your choice or pay for the new parts, that would be a better option to give you some control over the end result.
Alan S

Post by **Peter.N.** » 04 Jun 2005, 13:15

If the fluid is leaking from around the high pressure output pipe union, you will probably find that the pipe has split just in front of the olive. This is usually caused by u/s accumulator sphere causing the pump to cut in frequently and with no 'cushion' to absorb the sudden increase in pressure.

JohnT · Post by **JohnT** » 04 Jun 2005, 17:31

Follow my logic here (or lack of it!) if the hardened material is still allowing weepage it means that some areas must not have full contact with the surface it is stuck to. So it make come away with the right pusuasion? Can you lay your hands on a Dremel? I used a similar black resin which was rock hard but it eventually was broken away with this method, and using a small screwdriver with its point sharpened to chip the resin away..
If you do not want to do this try Alans idea of contacting the RAC.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 04 Jun 2005, 17:41

cant you gently chip it away with a (small hammer and chisel) as ithink if you start putting any sort of grinder near it you might damage bits you dont want to,once you have removed it you know it just replace the O ring regards malcolm