What's in these pipes...?

wheelzhavegone · Unread post by **wheelzhavegone** » 29 Oct 2009, 00:15

Hi everyone, been a while since I've been on here, but I'm hoping someone can tell me what goes through the two pipes that run over the top of the gearbox on that plastic plate with all the wiring on it in my '97 facelift Xantia 1.9TD LX estate, I've searched on here and looked in the Haynes BoL, and for all I know it could be carrot juice!

TIA

Ricky.

andmcit · Unread post by **andmcit** » 29 Oct 2009, 00:33

These feed LHM from the reservoir on the nearside inner wheelarch to
the hydraulic pump and the feed for the accumulator/regulator.
Are you concerned they're chaffing or damaged? Its not so much the
pressure of fluid running through them but the volume that will literally
sink you if they fail.

Andrew

wheelzhavegone · Unread post by **wheelzhavegone** » 29 Oct 2009, 01:01

The story from the top is that I did the starter motor on it on Monday, and I was a bit brutal with the plastic plate (it just would not get out of the way...!), and also the pipes that run over it (which were quite tight), and it was dark by the time I had finished, so I had to just put it back approximately (all the pipes and wires are on top of it), but the plate won't go back properly from whence it came... I thought it would be ok (everything seemed fine), but tonight I have a puddle under it, a steamy coolant leak from that side of the rad and a wet lower panel, and the BoL mentions that there are two pipes down there at the bottom of the rad, which I can't see as the battery and airbox plate are in the way - I was hoping they weren't coolant pipes as I had images of breaking a plastic part of the rad and hence needing a new one I can't afford, but the rad has been there since the car was new 12 years ago, so it's had a good innings - it still looks newish from the engine side, it's only the date on the top of it that gives it away! Is there any way I could have knackered the rad down there by fiddling with this plate , or is it just a very unlucky coincidence that it's decided to leak now?

Cheers,

Ricky.

wheelzhavegone · Unread post by **wheelzhavegone** » 29 Oct 2009, 21:47

Needless to say, daylight brought a bit of clarification to the problem - it wasn't a puddle of coolant the car had left for me, it was actually LHM (it was all still there in the road in the morning...!), and it seems to be leaking from somewhere around the block the accumulator screws into. I have changed the hose clip on the pipe that goes from the LHM tank to the accumulator block at the block end, as it was one of those stupid one use crimp type ones, but this hasn't made it any better. Do these pipes go soft if they get LHM on the outside of them? I only ask as I'm sure I've tightened the hose clip on there quite a bit more than I should have to get it to grip the pipe... Is there any common leakage point on this block thingy that I should also check out, as it is quite difficult to see where it is coming from, it doesn't seem to leak at all with the car running, only when it's stopped for some time, which is also baffling me!

Cheers

Ricky.

Unread post by **Peter.N.** » 29 Oct 2009, 22:55

Hi Ricky

There is a return pipe from the regulator with a rubber elbow where it fits on, it can split.

Peter