Water leak 2.5KV6
 

A substantial coolant leak is appearing around the area of the two oil pipe couplings above the oil filter housing. It just seems to appear!! I have read loads of threads and seem to remember a post which said excess leaked coolant in the V escapes away in a drain and appears around the back (bulkhead side) of the block. Is this me dreaming!!? I haven't looked in the V yet! As didn't consider it as an option because of the amount of coolant leaking. The pipe at the bAck of the block isn't leaking. If I take a big breath, and blow big time into the cleaned expansion tank neck i can increase the leaking coolant flow dramatically! The wheel arch cover is moved over to inspect the suspect area but still can't exactly see the source. New water pump and thermostat housing etc. 6kmiles ago. Any advice please. :shrug:

Coolant collecting in the vee is drained out in that area.
Had it on mine last month. Best to pull the engine cover
and have a look.

No, you're not dreaming. The chances are it's originating from the 'V', in which case it's the thermostat system. Sounds like something's gone amiss with the recent work. The minimal fix will be a new set of o-rings, which you can get from Rimmer, forum traders and ebay. The worst case is a replacement 'stat housing/pipe assembly. Again from Rimmer, forum traders. Both fixes need good access by removing the upper inlet manifold assembly (or hire a brain surgeon).
There are lots of threads discussing the procedure and probably a HowTo somwhere.


TC

Yes, look in the V!:D

Thanks chaps - a couple of weeks on now but on closer inspection the coolant was leaking badly from what apperead to be the straight pipe seal into the thermostat housing - I couldn't say for sure , as it could have been the elbow and couldnt really see. Anyway, job done using the keyhole method. No issues here, I removed the lifting bracket which frrees up more space, and the battery box! I didnt take any chances and replaced all 3 parts and seals. My observation was that the pinky coloured O rings on the old parts, deffo on the straight pipe were badly flattened and came out very easily! After just 5k!! But black O rings seem to hold shape better. I also noted lots of silecone used in previous assembly, safety measure i guess? I took a long time cleaning all the housings to take the new O rings and used Molycote 111 as recommended in the plethra of previous 'Thermostat' posts! That made assembly easy.:bowdown: Bleeding was easy and dare I say after a weeks driving all's good running generally around 89- 91degrees.

questions:

1. are black O rings original spec and if so are they available?:shrug:
2. Why are pinky coloured seals sold if they fail?:shrug:
3. Does Kaiser (hope you see this Kaiser) still supply whatever it is thats made from metal? And if so what type of O rings are on it - or does the metal bit come naked?

Black O rings are original spec, pink O rings have changed colour due to being in contact with a chemical that is red in colour.

The O rings have failed due to compression set ;)

Brian :D

Naughty :}

But factual ;)

He does. Nitrile or Viton.
The main differences I have noticed: Viton 4 x the price of Nitrile (being the "normal" O-ring material).
Viton can be fitted in tension. Nitirile will develop cracks if kept stretched.
That is why I don't fit the O-rings before shipping. Once fitted on engine, no problems, because they get compressed in situ.

[QUOTE=marinabrian;2676640]Black O rings are original spec, pink O rings have changed colour due to being in contact with a chemical that is red in colour.

The O rings have failed due to compression set ;)

Brian :D


Brian - possibly a slight misunderstanding from my shoddy description, but the new O rings on the new pipe in a sealed bag from an MG dealer are a pinky colour and exactly the same colour as the O rings which came off the leaking bits at 5k.

So they hadn't changed colour, just flattened off!