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Old 24th July 2009, 18:22   #7
T-Cut
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Rover75 and Mreg Corsa.

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Assuming you've eliminated the possibility of HGF and you know the header cap is sound, then on the 1.8T the first leak candidate is the upper plastic T-piece behind the radiator. This tends to deform as you tighten the clips. If the original clips are still on there, swap them for Jubilees. In fact get rid of the T-piece altogether and replace it with a steel one from Gerry. Search and you'll find.
If that's not the culprit, think about the inlet manifold. It's water heated and the o-ring type gaskets easily fail.
Other than those, leaks can occur in the same place as in any other engine, the water pump is another common one. This drips out from behind the main pulley.
In the turbo, the thermostat is underneath the engine, by the radiator bottom. It could be stuck shut leading to overheat and coolant loss.
If you suspect there's an air lock, you can clear it be evacuating the system using a Pela pump. See the HowTo on vacuum filling the coolant for details.

TC

Last edited by T-Cut; 24th July 2009 at 18:27..
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