Mystery coolant leak, please make it go away!

[Citroen Surf Bus]

I bought my old 2.2HDi Turbo with a slow coolant leak. I found that one of the bottom corners of the rad was corroded - and replaced it with a new one.

Thought I'd fixed it, then found that there's ALSO a major trickle of water that runs down the back of the engine block!

It comes from somewhere up high around the cylinder head area, but it's so cramped and obscured up there I can't see the source.

Anyone have experience of this? Is there a heater hose connection up there, maybe? Is there any way to get access?

I've been running around with the filler cap off to avoid pressurisation - and no antfreeze because I have to keep topping up. I'm terrified I'll blow the head gasket from corrosion around the liners...

Can anyone help, please?

[Bick]

You know ill get criticised for saying this but when i worked in retail when we had a vehicle in under warranty with a leak we could not find of was a b88888d to get to we would use a decent leak stopper - they do work.

I did the cambelt and water pump on my own Relay a couple of years ago and it started using coolant, i know what it was the bloody new water pump - not the gasket but out the shaft lip seal! I just put some k-seal in it - sorted.

K-seal does work and does no damage contrary to what people say - so just use a leak stopper and see what happens.

[GiveMeABreak]

I would advise you to make a thorough check of the hoses - especially the hard to see ones. A mechanic missed a leak on one of the main hoses in my XM, and mistakenly assumed it was coming from the Head Gasket. It was duly removed and the head skimmed at a cost of over £500 back in 1995 - only to find the leak was still there! I ended up taking it to Citroen and they found it straight away and replaced the large hose at £20 plus labour. There's a lesson there me thinks!

[Citroen Surf Bus]

Thanks guys.
I have used leak sealants several times - but they only slow it, and only temporarily.
This makes me think it might well be a rubber hose/ connector that's cracked or failed and opening up with heat and pressure. Sealants don't work on these.

Question is - what connections are up there behind the block? Does the heater connect up there?

Manuals are unobtainable, so I have no diagram/ photos to consult.

[GiveMeABreak]

If you post up or PM your VIN, (as there are lots of combos for this vehicle), I'll be able to post up a diagram with the hoses for you.
This was the problem on mine - the split was very small and couldn't be seen until the water temperature was really hot and it expanded, so worth a second glance and doesn't cost anything.

[chinkostu]

Unless its a core plug rotting through?

[GiveMeABreak]

Ok, so here is the diagram for your vehicle - I've just put a simple key below to show only the numbers for the hoses, as there are wiring sheaths in the diagrams that could be confusing:

Number Key for Hoses:
01 WATER EXHAUST BYPASS PIPE
DIAM 32 LG 282

04 WATER HOSE
DIAM 32X36 LONG 80

08 ENGINE WATER PIPE
DIAM 22

10 EXCHANGER WATER INLET HOSE
DIAM 14X16 LG 603

11 ENGINE WATER PIPE
DIAM 14X16 LG 433

14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23 & 25 = ENGINE WATER PIPES
20 = RADIATOR WATER INLET HOSE
21 = RADIATOR OUTLET HOSE

I hope this helps track them a little easier.

[Citroen Surf Bus]

Thanks for that, great stuff.
I'm not seeing any heater hoses on there, strangely. I'll do a picture search and see if I can come up with a photo of the rear view of a 2.2 HDi ...

I'll keep my fingers crossed it's not a core plug, Chinkostu. That doesn't sound much fun at all. ) :

[Citroen Surf Bus]

2.2 HDi: Are there any coolant hose/ connectors on the BACK of the engine?

Anyone here ever removed one of these engines? I've still not yet managed to find a photo of the rear view of this engine to see if there's a hose connector there that might be causing my leak...

Ps. Is it externally similar to the HDi 1.6? Like this:
http://engineeredengines.co.uk/images/9 ... 007-gt.png

[Citroen Surf Bus]

FIXED!
Dopey as I am - I hadn't noticed the heater hoses going through the bulkhead ABOVE, not behind the engine.

And - the dribble down the back of the block (drumroll...) was from those two little hoses chafing against each other, wearing a little hole in one and dribbling invisibly down the back of the head. Hallelulyah! What a relief.

(I bought this van with one of those hoses split - cut off the damaged end and grafted in a new section with a connector and Jub clips. I made it a little too long though - and the bend in the hose rubbed against its neighbour ...)

[GiveMeABreak]

Glad you've had the eureka moment!