2.1td water leak

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davethewheel
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2.1td water leak

Post by davethewheel »

i've had a bit of a water leak on my 2.1td xantia for a few months now and have never been able to spot were it's coming from, today when changing the oil i noticed some water on the floor and it appears to have come down from the back of the engine somewhere and was dripping onto the drive shaft but i still can't find were it's coming from, the only water pipe i can see on the back of the engine is a steel pipe and looks ok, i've checked the pipes at the top of the engine, heater matrix pipes and pipe from the expansion bottle and all are dry.
LeeDJC
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Post by LeeDJC »

On the 1.9D XU engines there is a drain plug on the back of the block. I don't know if yours has this, but may be worth a look.
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David W
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Post by David W »

On the 1.9 diesel there is a black plastic water outlet elbow just above the drivers side driveshaft. If the back of the engine is oily it is hard to see.

This age hardens and leaks. It has an o-ring seal and what can happen is the o-ring channel in the plastic breaks away so the coolant pressure displaces the o-ring. In a serious case the o-ring can come right out of its groove and dump all your coolant very quickly.

I replace this plastic housing as a precaution when ever I have the drivers side shaft out... usually during a clutch change.

Wonder if your 2.1 engine has the same arrangement?

David
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deian
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Post by deian »

maybe the coolant drain plug is loose or the seal has gone bad, it's up in the top at the back of the engine, skinny arms help!
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

Is this anywhere near the waterpump?
jeremy
davethewheel
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Post by davethewheel »

i will have another look tomorrow ,couldn't see any drain plug from below i think the 2.1td does have the same plastic housing as the 1.9td but that all looked dry to me.
damn car the list of jobs i need to get sorted is getting longer, i need rear brake pads, crankshaft pulley plus probably tensioner and belt and 2 new tyres for the front :cry:
David W
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Post by David W »

I've had a couple of these housings leak and in both cases they went at the top and the coolant leaked down in a way that looked as if it was from somewhere else. It was only a small mirror held above the plastic housing that showed 100% the leak was coming from the top of the joint.

David
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deian
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Post by deian »

jeremy wrote:Is this anywhere near the waterpump?
the plug isn't located near the water pump if thats what you're refering to, but if you are asking where the leak is suspected to come from the first post says from the back of the engine. :P
davethewheel
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Post by davethewheel »

found the leak it's coming from a steel water pipe that runs across the back of the engine block, there is a steel bracket welded on it which attaches it to the block and it's leaking right on the weld, only a drip every few minutes, pipe is £30.00 plus vat so thats not to bad, i might finally be able to get this engine water tight, so far in the last six months it's had a new radiator, expansion bottle, heater matrix, plastic elbow that sits under the fuel filter :D
davethewheel
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Post by davethewheel »

damn looks like i haven't found the leak i changed the water pipe today but it's still got a leak from somewhere, it's coming from around the cylinder head area on the passenger side below the expansion bottle i've checked the bottle and connecting pipes and all is good there the only other water connection is where one of the pipes goes into the cylinder head but again it's dry, is it possible that it could be seeping through the head joint and running down the back of the engine, it's got me baffled.
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Post by Stewart(oily) »

Core plug? I had one start leaking behind the alloy fuel pump mounting plate, the water ran around the block, behind the belt covers and had me totally convinced it was the waterpump, when I got the plug out it was the smallest imperfection, I should have put a stick of Barrs in, instead I replaced the wter pump, cambelt, took off the fuel pump, etc etc all for the want of a part that cost 18 pence :oops:
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davethewheel
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Post by davethewheel »

the only core plug that i can see is lower than the leak so i don't think it's that ,i've wondering whether i should stick some bars leaks in there i don't normally like using stuff like that i've heard mixed reports some say it will block things like the heater matrix and i've heard of people putting it in from new as it helps lube the water pump, it's only a very small leak maybe a drip every 5 minutes that's why it's hard to find but i'd still like to get it sorted.
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