Water Leak

[jims-terrano]

Other week I had my starter changed, since then there's been a water leak. It looks to be coming from above the starter on the block high up somewhere. It could all be a coincidence of course but I'm sure you can guess my thoughts. Anyway there's no heater pipes around there so what on earth can it be? Last week I also noticed when I'd stopped the engine that I was getting bubbles coming up through the expansion tank, had a good sniff but can't smell exhaust in there and the oil cap is mayo free.

Jim T

 

[tezzer]

possibly the head gasket leaking jim, if you know a mechanic, see if he has a carbonoxide water tester, that will tell for sure. i cant think of anything else that side that could cause a leak. :doh:thumbs

 

[lacroupade]

Other week I had my starter changed, since then there's been a water leak. It looks to be coming from above the starter on the block high up somewhere. It could all be a coincidence of course but I'm sure you can guess my thoughts. Anyway there's no heater pipes around there so what on earth can it be? Last week I also noticed when I'd stopped the engine that I was getting bubbles coming up through the expansion tank, had a good sniff but can't smell exhaust in there and the oil cap is mayo free.

Jim T

Which side is the starter Jim, offside under the expansion tank or nearside..?

 

[jims-terrano]

Starter is mounted on O/S

Jim

 

[clivvy]

I still cant imagine what could be leaking apart from the gaskets of course, but you can see them easy enough. Are you able to trace the leaky water back at all? could it be that its coming from the washer jet pipes?

Although that wouldnt explain the bubbly water, is it worth purging the coolant and refilling?

 

[jims-terrano]

Well guys she's poorly!!!! with a big capitol F on the front.

Just had her in at a garage today. The bloke says that he would need it in to strip the inlet manifold and or head which he has not got the time this week but then again I aint got that kind of money at the moment either. He can't even give me a rough price other than it may take two days work which is 16 hours at £25.

All he can see is a wet torsion bar and the water tho only slight seems to be coming from around inlet manifold area. One or two theories about where all the coolant is going, if it's head or gasket then it could be blowing it out the back. Or if the water runs down the block when cold rather than evapourating when it's warm.

He said try some "Barrs Water Leak" as this may fix it but I'm not so sure to be honnest.

Jim T

 

[tezzer]

jim, try this, it works, and it wont block radiator and heater matrix, as some people say, got to be worth a try if you are a bit tight for cash mate, :thumb2

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/K-SEAL-KSEAL-...mZ270339973953QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts

 

[rayf3262]

K-Seal worked for me...
I had a very small leak from my heater matrix, just enough to be able to smell it & leave condensation on the screen. I did not fancy the idea of stripping the dash down in this cold weather, I'll do it in the spring, honest!

K-Seal in the radiator header tank 30 mins later all appeared well. Its been in for 200 miles now and still ok.
Ray

 

[tezzer]

K-Seal worked for me...
I had a very small leak from my heater matrix, just enough to be able to smell it & leave condensation on the screen. I did not fancy the idea of stripping the dash down in this cold weather, I'll do it in the spring, honest!

K-Seal in the radiator header tank 30 mins later all appeared well. Its been in for 200 miles now and still ok.
Ray

it's good stuff ray, my mates motor has had it in for over a year now, he had a rad leak, no problems or leaks so far. :thumbs

 

[clivvy]

hmm, I used that on my Mazda MX6. big V6 engine, I had NO RUNNING WATER PUMP WHICH WAS LEAKING BADLY. Used that to seal it, and drove home from Sheffield!

well worth a try....:thumbs

p.s., worth getting a second opinion? Seems extreme considering it was fine before new starter, now a big huge bill?

has anyone else noticed garages have suddenly A:got tighter with our cars and B:got more expensive?

 

[Adz]

K-Seal is the best on the market plus Halfords stock it so its easy to get :thumbs

I'll state the obvious

Check ya water pump as when mine 1st went i thought it was head gasket as the water wasn't showing at the front till it went BIG TIME in Wales till it was obvious :doh
New one fitted now so alls rosy

Good Luck

 

[(RIP) PLANK]

I dont have a T2 anymore, but i do keep horses and if your T2 was one of them, can you guess what i would do?

shall i bring the gun round?


only joking try the water pump and the K seal, sound advice

 

[paulp]

water leak

if all else fails

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NISSAN-TERRAN...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item3eee3c0591

Not sure if the year is ok for your truck

Try these, reliable and If concerned about posting I can collect and hold for you (the cylinder gead)

I hope the K-seal is ok for you

paulp

 

[jims-terrano]

Well I think for now I gotta try the K Seal stuff and see how it goes.

I have to admit defeat there's no way changing the starter could of caused this. When the starter went just before Christmas it was stood for nearly two weeks. I'm pretty sure there was enough Anti Freeze but who knows has it been frosted. It's kept under a sheltered car port so doesn't suffer frost on the body work but the ambient temp must of been below zero.

In the last year I've probably spent around 7 or 800 on it. At the moment I'm proper skint with the prospect of my wage going down and having to apply for my own job (thanks Gordon). Any way it's got a brand new battery and starter. Both sills and rear seat belt mounts are now solid. A full set of four very good AT's. So this is all positive.

On the bad side is this obvious problem and the gearbox drain plug is stuck in place, so much so that two mechanics have given up on changing gear oil. The horn don't work but I'm pretty sure that wont be too bad to do.

On the whole I might as well get her fixed in a few months but for the mo give her K seal and anti freeze.

What's everyone else think?

Jim T

 

[clivvy]

Well, under the current climate, I'd first see if the kseal works. If it does, great, if not, time to weigh up the cost compared to a car that isn't broke. Certainly as 4x4 go you will struggle to get a very good one like that for money that won't hurt the bank, it's a rock and a hard place mate but I'd personally stick with it for now, you have the scenic as a fall back, and if I get mine fixed you can borrow it if you get desperate!

 

[tezzer]

jim, regarding your gearbox drain plug, has anyone tried to heat around the plug,? and then give it a pull with a long sway bar, a snap-on bar would be best, :thumb2

 

[jims-terrano]

Don't know about heat but two different mechanics at two different garages stopped trying for fear of breaking the case.

Jim

 

[mobyone]

well, for the water leak, i think you can rest easy. it is a core plug just below and towards b/head. i just checked there was one on my old td25(same lump only small block). i had to take off my inlet manifold anyway to get a few pics, so here is a td27 lump with the same core plug. you say it was outside for 2 weeks before they even looked at it, so i am guessing it either had no antifreeze, or not enough to stop water from freezing and popping out the core plug in question.
i would say with a fair degree of certainnty it is that.
here is a from far pic
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad211/moby_one/IMGP2489.jpg
and here is a closer pic
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad211/moby_one/IMGP2490.jpg
the mechanic may well have holed it too, but at least you now know where it is coming from.
as a side note, you cant get out your drain plug on g/box... look at it closely as it may well have been stripped in the past and simply chemical metalled back in. but if not, try heating all around it but not on it as the ally will expand much faster than the drain plug and give it a tighten first then loosen it, an impact may well help. ifyou heat the drain plug it will expand too which wont let the gap between the threads enlarge and will be harder to undo. if it aint glued, it will come off but patience and high heat localized around the drain plug but not on it will work.
richard

 

[clivvy]

Those pics look promising, doesnt look too bad to get to!

 

[mobyone]

don't let it trick you. the egr pipe is in the way. you may aswell buy a new one. they are about 50 pence or so. you will need to either smack a screwdriver into it and prize it out, or if it has popped out, remove it fully, clean the hole of crap and then re-glue in place and whack it home with a socket inside the recess on the core plug. dont lose it in the engine either, a world of trouble if it blocks up. BE CAREFULL
good luck with it, just a real arse of a job. the pic i took was after i removed the inlet manifold which took me an hour or so.
richard