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Coolant leak from auxiliary water pump

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9.6K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  T5_Adventures  
W
#1 ·
Full disclosure, i know almost nothing about car mechanics but I am in Italy at the moment and would really appreciate a little advice to see if it's something I can do myself before I roll into a local garage and possibly get fleeced as a foreigner.

Van is a 1.9 Tdi T5 2004.

Fired it up this morning after doing a ton of miles the previous night to hear the coolant warning go beep, had a look around and found it was wet underneath the van, so removed a plastic cover and found a pretty heavy leak. You can see in the pics, two pipes leading to an electrical gizmo, the little pink dot is where it is dripping out from.

Image
Image


I'm pretty sure that is the auxiliary water pump right? .... seems like a super easy job, is it something a novice could do without much trouble? I'm happy using tools just not usually on cars / vans.

Also I've seen it mentioned that some folks simply bypass this pump ..... is this a stupid idea??? .....

Thanks guys
 
B
#2 ·
Mine went once, it looked like something had given up inside it and tried to exit through the plastic casing, causing a split and leak.
Easy enough to replace - you don't say if you're on holiday or living there, so not sure how desperate you are?
Think I got a Pierburg one from ECP for about £80
I think its to keep the coolant circulating for a bit when you park up - guess you could bypass it temporarily if you needed to
 
T
#3 ·
Personally, if it were mine and I was only in Italy for a short while I would buy some pink coolant mix, top it up and keep an eye on the level. It doesn't look to be pissing out, so I would wait until back home and change it when things aren't time-critical.
 
W
#4 ·
Thanks bikerbob,

Living out here at the moment and I only use the van for leisure so I'm not super desperate, guess I will get a pump ordered and give it a go.

When I disconnect the damaged pump is it going to try and 6 liters of coolant on me? :)

Thanks
 
B
#5 ·
Not if it's already empty :eek:
I think I clamped mine off when I changed it, but if you've already lost a lot then it might be worth letting it go anyway and putting fresh in?
If you're in a cold bit of Italy you need to be sure you're well protected.

Good luck
 
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