[Shellfish]

Still cant chase off this leak and after doing the thermostat amongst some pro-active refurb work, I think I have located the leak's....

Coolant is pooling under the sump, which looks to be over the power steering pump too, which I assumed was running off the thermostat pipe.

I think coolant is leaking from somewhere on the left hand side of the engine, then running down onto the wheels/pulleys at the bottom and flicking it all over the power steering pump. This is a super slow leak, i.e. about 1-3 big drops over say a week. I currently have the the van on jacks as overhauling the brakes as we speak......

I have tried to look at the diagrams on line and work out where is what, but could it be the water pump on the left simply leaking or are their o-rings on the lower pulleys or anything that could be leaking from the engine itself as it were?

One for the garage I suspect......any pointers, thanks.....

 

[T5 TDI]

Unless there is a shaped metal coolant pipe higher than the leak which can corrode and pinhole causing drips, you have to think about the water pump. If it was mine I'd be taking the cam belt covers off and having a good look with a decent light to eliminate the pump, obviously checking it for any slack in the pump pulley at the same time.

If you can see coolant thrown out on the inside of the cover or you can see any leakage at all from the drain hole on the bottom of the pump, the pump needs changing and you might as well get the cam belt and rollers done as well. One for the garage in this case unless you are super confident.

 

[Shellfish]

Unless there is a shaped metal coolant pipe higher than the leak which can corrode and pinhole causing drips, you have to think about the water pump. If it was mine I'd be taking the cam belt covers off and having a good look with a decent light to eliminate the pump, obviously checking it for any slack in the pump pulley at the same time.



If you can see coolant thrown out on the inside of the cover or you can see any leakage at all from the drain hole on the bottom of the pump, the pump needs changing and you might as well get the cam belt and rollers done as well. One for the garage in this case unless you are super confident.

So to confirm, this is all on the left (driver's side) of the engine, dripping down by the serpentine belt etc....


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[T5 TDI]

Yes, the water pump is on that side. It's driven by the cam belt.

 

[Shellfish]

Yes, the water pump is on that side. It's driven by the cam belt.

Thanks for the confirmation, just double checking that ties in etc....Yep, all makes sense....Its due a cam belt kit next year and this drip has always been there, so might hold until next August etc, although I am quite keen to look into doing the cam-belt myself with a bit more studying as it were...thanks

 

[T5 TDI]

If it is leaking it may develop and cause slack on the bearings of the pump. Once it does this it can cause stripped teeth on the cam belt which will result in serious if not terminal damage to the engine. It really is important to at least eliminate the water pump as the cause. Take it in and get it checked now because it could cost thousands if goes badly.

 

[Shellfish]

Doh. Being a bit thick here, so need to get in the Haynes really.... So, the water pump can of course just be changed independently of the cam belt etc right? i.e. I will be out of sync on the 4 year regime, but fix the leak in the short-term. Is that possible? I did the water pump on my straight six Z3 which was a doddle. All that was needed was a locking tool (just a bar with a hole) which held the viscous fan whilst cracking the nut. Like you say, do you just take the plastic cover off (is it clipped/screwed?), then I assume the water pump is one of the smaller ones, once the serpentine belt is release of course? Or, is it just do the entire cam belt/roller/water pump as per 4 year.... Thanks (not had much apart on a tdi !)


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[T5 TDI]

Doh. Being a bit thick here, so need to get in the Haynes really.... So, the water pump can of course just be changed independently of the cam belt etc right?

You should definitely get the manual! Theoretically you could take the cam belt off, change the pump and re-use the belt. But it would be near madness.


Unfortunately you just have to bite the bullet and replace the lot (belt, rollers, pump and coolant.) It's annoying that it has to be done early but that is the only safe way if it is actually the pump that is leaking. On some VW's you can get the top half of the cover off without too much faff but it's not always enough to be certain if the pump only has a slow leak. You will probably need to take the engine mounting off to get the lower half off and get a proper look.

It's not a particularly difficult belt to do and you can buy the special tools reasonably but if you make a single mistake, say with the tensioning, it could be an expensive one..

 

[Shellfish]

You should definitely get the manual! Theoretically you could take the cam belt off, change the pump and re-use the belt. But it would be near madness.





Unfortunately you just have to bite the bullet and replace the lot (belt, rollers, pump and coolant.) It's annoying that it has to be done early but that is the only safe way if it is actually the pump that is leaking. On some VW's you can get the top half of the cover off without too much faff but it's not always enough to be certain if the pump only has a slow leak. You will probably need to take the engine mounting off to get the lower half off and get a proper look.



It's not a particularly difficult belt to do and you can buy the special tools reasonably but if you make a single mistake, say with the tensioning, it could be an expensive one..

Cheers, finally had a chance to have a shuftey at what's what and unclipped the upper black plastic cover etc, thus exposing the cam belt in all its glory and tiger location of the water pump etc.... Also did a quick look at how to's etc to get a feel for the interdependencies of the parts.... Short of time, so one for the local indie.....

I assure you have to take off the bumper, intercooler solid pipe and possibly the engine mount too? Some sort of bracket looks right in the way on the right on the axb.... All the pics you see, the engine is out which makes it look somewhat simpler..... Thanks fort pointers and sorry for sounding bonkers, but to date, I haven't really needed to get deep into engine bits.....


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[T5 TDI]

Basically you have to take off anything that is in the way. You don't have to take the bumper off. It's air filter box, accessory belt, engine mounting, engine mounting bracket and anything else that stops you getting the covers off.

 

[Shellfish]

Basically you have to take off anything that is in the way. You don't have to take the bumper off. It's air filter box, accessory belt, engine mounting, engine mounting bracket and anything else that stops you getting the covers off.

Fixed.... No longer leaking. Local indie replaced the cam belt, rollers etc.... Leak has finally gone. First tdi I have had to change ahead of the 4 years, but such is life.....


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