Hi all,

I have noticed that my 1.4 TDCi is dripping a bit of coolant, I have found where its leaking but still need to 100% pinpoint - annoyingly its quite inaccessible.

The leak is coming from:

Gearbox side of engine, Below the vacuum pump Under the engine lift bracket.

I am going to try and remove the engine lift bracket but due to where the plastic thermostat is its not that easy, have bought a swan neck spanner to get in there - will be trying tomorrow.

Basically I can see coolant dripping from behind this bracket, I am not sure if there is a weep hole around there at all and its something I shouldn't need to worry about - will remove the bracket to check. I am leaving the car overnight to see how much has gone but I needed to top it up a bit earlier - it was down to just above min level in the expansion tank.

The water pump is new and done with the cambelt, I have a feeling its a seal or bolt not 100% tight on the gearbox side of the engine, it might be an issue with the seal on the plastic thermostat but wanted to check things before dropping all the coolant etc, I can see the drips coming from behind the bracket though rather than around the thermostat housing.

Has anyone had this issue before? Its just typical that its in a really tricky place - as they always are!

 

 

Had a similar problem a couple of years back and never did find where it was coming from.   I stuck a bottle of Bars Leaks in the radiator and that cured it and I haven't had a problem since.

thermostat housing im guessing, the seal will have deterioated. ive seen housings go brittle or detrioate where the seal fits also.

11 minutes ago, Bobr said:

Had a similar problem a couple of years back and never did find where it was coming from.   I stuck a bottle of Bars Leaks in the radiator and that cured it and I haven't had a problem since.

 

8 minutes ago, iantt said:

thermostat housing im guessing, the seal will have deterioated. ive seen housings go brittle or detrioate where the seal fits also.

Thanks for the replies, I have tightened down the thermostat housing slightly - although careful as its plastic and I have another on order. Oddly it doesn't seem to be coming from around there but actually behind the engine lift bracket - not sure if there is a threaded hole in the block that the coolant can pass through but is plugged by the bolt used by the engine lifting point.

I have also noticed that the vacuum pump can be easily removed with the 2 bolts and taken off for slightly better access - but would rather keep things as they are as there are also other seals for the vacuum pump.

It does seem to be leaking from behind the bracket - will investigate tomorrow, its just typically in a really tricky place but the good news is that there has always been good coolant levels in the car and there aren't any bubbles in the expansion tank so I think its just a seal that has gone.

Oddly it drips onto a bracket below which has a sort of trough down the middle of it as if its meant to drip down there, the water pump is new but I don't know when the thermostat was replaced so it might just be a thermostat issue. It could just be an issue when the engine is cold which then is fine once the engine is up to temp and coolant is circulating much like a pressure relief valve or something. Just seems odd that it does drip quite a bit - will get the bracket off tomorrow hopefully and seal up whatever it is, hopefully it will be obvious but its just typical!

I had engine coolant dissappearing but couldn't locate it. Some wynns leak stop product has sorted that 

I have found the issue, it seems that there was coolant seeping from the top of the plastic thermostat housing - looks like the gasket has failed and have a new thermostat + gasket coming soon. I might just try and simply swap out the gasket with the new one and use the old housing as the hoses are still watertight, I have use some liquid gasket along the seam between the plastic housing and the engine but due to the fact that its under pressure it does still leak.

Just frustrating that I now have to drop all of the coolant to swap the gasket over but hey ho, its a Ford, it wasn't mean to be easy - don't want to put any of the stop leak in as I would rather fix it properly owing to needing the car to be 100% reliable as I need the car every day to get to work.

I would use the new housing knowing how brittle the get .

On 9/24/2016 at 0:50 PM, iantt said:

I would use the new housing knowing how brittle the get .

Good point, I am going to take tomorrow off and get another housing, I need my car everyday to get to work and it seems like the part won't be here until Wednesday or Thursday so I guess I will have a spare! The part isn't cheap but its typical that I either don't have the tool I need, the part I need or the tool/part is always expensive - its such a stupid design anyway being plastic!

aggre with the use of plastics on hot components is problem waiting to happen. you think that housing is awkward, try a peugeout 308 petrol theremostat housing!!

11 minutes ago, iantt said:

aggre with the use of plastics on hot components is problem waiting to happen. you think that housing is awkward, try a peugeout 308 petrol theremostat housing!!

At least its not as bad as changing Renault Megane headlight bulbs! I figure I might as well take the time and do it properly, I don't know when it was last changed, no issues with temps on the car, water pump was new when the cambelt was changed about 15k miles ago. I do a fair number of miles a year so I figure that I was due a few other maintenance bits here and there, might also run some more injector cleaner through the system whilst I have that part of the engine apart etc.

Thanks for the suggestions, swapped over the thermostat housing yesterday, took about 30 minutes, found that the original thermostat housing had cracked internally on the inside where the seal goes into the groove. New part fitted and no leaks!

the joys of using plastics for hot components . at least it should be good for another few years.

19 minutes ago, iantt said:

the joys of using plastics for hot components . at least it should be good for another few years.

Indeed, will upload a photo in a bit, really not keen on modern cars, everything is either:

• Badly designed
• Hard to get to
• Uses incorrect materials (not fit for purpose)
• Have serviceable parts that are expensive
• Are an 'all in one' unit where the whole thing has to be chucked away if 1 part goes bad
• Require the ECU to be reprogrammed when parts are swapped out (injectors)
• Combination of the above