Coolant leak

[jameswkr]

My ABY S2 loosing coolant. No obvious leaks. Both hoses under the PS pump appear ok and clamps tight. Both radiators appear OK. Starting to suspect the water pump (!) Is it possible to view this without major dismantling ? Any other suggestions ? TIA. Cheers James.

[s2avant]

My ABY lost all it's coolant from the water pump. You can see it better if you take the cover off above the main radiator. It's held in with a couple of screws and then slides off.

Also if you move the top cam belt cover you can see if the cambelt is wet or not. The only way water can get on the belt is from the water pump.

Ben

[jameswkr]

coolant loss

Ben, thanks for your response. A quick look suggests that the water pump belt teeth indeed look wet. According to the service history, the cam belt was changed at 55K ( its now done 74K) along with the tensioner, but maybe not the pump! Any idea on costs or did you do yours yourself ? Can it be done with the cam belt left on the engine ? Coolant level has dropped about 20mm in 20 miles !! Cheers James.

[s2avant]

No problem. I had just got mine back after a month having most of the front end replaced (see projects section) when the pump let go. My mechanic decided the pump looked brand new so we didn't bother changing it. I managed to get three miles before it dumped all the coolant.

The pump is £42 +VAT (with a £15 surcharge) for an exchange unit from a main dealer. Part No 054 121 004 AX. There was a thread before about dealers trying to charge the price of a new part and then supply exchange so quote the part number (you can only get exchange ones from VAG).

The labour cost is a bit hard to predict as I have an understanding mechanic who runs an independant VW/Audi specialist. (I work for a main dealer but wouldn't trust any of our mechanics near the car!!). I would have thought you'd be looking at 1-2hrs labour though. As the pump is run off the cam belt it will need to be removed from the top pulley at least.

HTH

Ben

[martinjs]

my dealer tried to charge me 140+vat for one, but when i asked if they do an exchange service, put me on hold for about 5 mins then came back with 22+vat, with 15 surcharge as ben says, for a 3b though so yours may be slightly different.

martin

[jameswkr]

coolant leak

Martin, thanks. I was unable to get the top cam belt cover off ( in the rain last night !! ) but having got the undertray off, there was no sign of any coolant below the pump or on the bottom of the block ( where I assume it would collect/evaporate ). Due to the rain it was impossible to examine the bottom of the main radiator. The loss seems to have slowed, but IM not holding my breath..Cheers James.

[AbsS2]

I have a coolant leak also. And apparently the coolant resevoir has a crack in it. So a new one is on order! Until then the car is outta action.

[jameswkr]

Have you tried "welding" the crack shut with a small soldering iron? Experiment on a bit of the tank where there is plenty of material and then cut a bit off to use as donor material on the crack itself. I used this to keep an Audi on the road until the new one arrived ( about a week). Good luck, James.

[AbsS2]

the crack is on the top pipe that connects via a small rubber hose to the top of the radiator/Fan if i remeber correctly. Ill just have to make do with a Honda car till then

[audiman]

Headgasket failure!!! If no visible signs of a leak. Get the cooling system pressure tested. Remove the plugs and see if one is a different colour. What does the temp gauge read when driving on dual carriageways? It should be smack on 90. When my head gasket was half gone it would sit higher.

The sure test for head gasket is to use a gas analyser (like the one for MOT emissions) is put the probe in the air space above the coolant in the header tank. If any HC or CO is present then gasket has gone. Should be ZERO!!!

[AbsS2]

that for me? or the other guy?

[audiman]

Er, the other dude. He sounds like his prob is a bit more seriuos

[jameswkr]

The other dude here. Now its stopped raining and the undertray is off, I found the main rad was leaking near the infeed pipe. Thanks to all for the input, now waiting for the next thing to go wrong..........James.

[Martynf]

DON'T talk to me about bloody water leaks...!!! :mad: :mad: two bloody hours I had to wait on the hard shoulder on the M25 tonight, TWO bloody hours for the freaking AA to turn up...

I get in the car at about 5pm, drive about 10 miles, then the red water warning light comes up on the dash :-( temp gauge is not rising, water temp is 90, oil temp is 90. Hmm me thinks... no sign of over heat, header tank had water yesterday, what shall I do... I think I'll find a safe spot to stop on the hard shoulder and see what.... ar.... that'll be too late then as i cannot see a bloody thing through the screen for all this white smoke pouring out from the bonnet :mad:

Coast it to the hard shoulder, stop. Lift bonnet, ar.. what water in header tank? hmm... now where's that gone then? ar, I see, that 1 inch long split in the top hose might have something to do with it I think?? Phone AA... what's the problem they say, Split hose me says and I have a 4WD, please DO NOT send a van! please send a flat bed. 2 hours later it arrives, feecking butt wipes... nothing as dignified as sitting on the M25 for two hours with an S2.

******! what a great freaking day....

A thoroughly P@@@@@D off me today.

Martyn

[Michel]

Sorry to hear about your two hour wait...

My S2 has had new aux rad and rad in the last month or so. The aux rad was rusted to hell and back and the main rad top feed goose neck snapped. Oh the joy on the Euston road on a Monday morning....Never knew I had a steam powered car. Or that you need a few tanker fulls of water to refill the system.

Luckily the AA were there in 20mins. Well it was about 6.30am. The guy tired to fix it with various tapes and glues but no luck. Ended up on the flat bed.

The lesson.:- Breakdown before all the others, you get better service.

I'm now waiting for the water pump to go AWOL.