200 TDI losing water + other queries

I seem to be losing water from my 92 discovery TDI, not a great amount, but
I have put in
about 3 litres in the the last 2 months. I can't find any signs of the leak
anywhere in the engine
bay, the heater doesn't appear to be leaking, there doesn't seem to be
anything untoward
in the header tank and no visible smoke from the exhaust. The car does not
overheat, but
the temperature gauge does climb a bit higher than normal before the
thermostat opens
for the first time (probably always has, but i'm constantly watching it
now).
I am open to any suggestions as to what the problem is.

I also noticed a couple of other things in my hunt for the elusive leak, I
would like the
groups opinion on.

1) A mystery small bore plastic pipe with a "U" bend on the end, which was
laying on
the oil filter. I assume this is some kind of breather pipe as I cant
see where it could
attach to. ( It seems to run from somewhere near the gearbox, but it was
too cold
to get underneath to check).

2) A spare connector on the alternater. I assume that! it is just unused.

Pictures are here http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stewith/album?.dir=/a12c
if anybody would like to look ( one is out of focus, but as I said it was
cold and I was
shivering when I took the pics).

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

I'm getting the hang of replying now...(old fart - me!)

If you can't find a chemical test - any old mechanic should be able to do a
pressure test on the system - that'll at least prove that you're not
imagining it.

I had a rad fail at the bottom by the chassis/bumper mounts - there was so
much oil down there that it took me ages to spot it.

Cheers

Mark HH


"Darren Cutler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I seem to be losing water from my 92 discovery TDI, not a great amount,
but
> I have put in
> about 3 litres in the the last 2 months. I can't find any signs of the
leak
> anywhere in the engine
> bay, the heater doesn't appear to be leaking, there doesn't seem to be
> anything untoward
> in the header tank and no visible smoke from the exhaust. The car does not
> overheat, but
> the temperature gauge does climb a bit higher than normal before the
> thermostat opens
> for the first time (probably always has, but i'm constantly watching it
> now).
> I am open to any suggestions as to what the problem is.
>
> I also noticed a couple of other things in my hunt for the elusive leak, I
> would like the
> groups opinion on.
>
> 1) A mystery small bore plastic pipe with a "U" bend on the end, which was
> laying on
> the oil filter. I assume this is some kind of breather pipe as I cant
> see where it could
> attach to. ( It seems to run from somewhere near the gearbox, but it
was
> too cold
> to get underneath to check).
>
> 2) A spare connector on the alternater. I assume that! it is just unused.
>
> Pictures are here
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stewith/album?.dir=/a12c
> if anybody would like to look ( one is out of focus, but as I said it was
> cold and I was
> shivering when I took the pics).
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance.
>
>
>
>
>
>

The bent piece of plastic tube is the upper end of one of the breather
tubes. There is one each from the front & rear diffs and one from the
gearbox.
Frank in Aussieland
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"mark hh" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm getting the hang of replying now...(old fart - me!)
>
> If you can't find a chemical test - any old mechanic should be able to do
> a
> pressure test on the system - that'll at least prove that you're not
> imagining it.
>
> I had a rad fail at the bottom by the chassis/bumper mounts - there was so
> much oil down there that it took me ages to spot it.
>
> Cheers
>
> Mark HH
>
>
> "Darren Cutler" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I seem to be losing water from my 92 discovery TDI, not a great amount,
> but
>> I have put in
>> about 3 litres in the the last 2 months. I can't find any signs of the
> leak
>> anywhere in the engine
>> bay, the heater doesn't appear to be leaking, there doesn't seem to be
>> anything untoward
>> in the header tank and no visible smoke from the exhaust. The car does
>> not
>> overheat, but
>> the temperature gauge does climb a bit higher than normal before the
>> thermostat opens
>> for the first time (probably always has, but i'm constantly watching it
>> now).
>> I am open to any suggestions as to what the problem is.
>>
>> I also noticed a couple of other things in my hunt for the elusive leak,
>> I
>> would like the
>> groups opinion on.
>>
>> 1) A mystery small bore plastic pipe with a "U" bend on the end, which
>> was
>> laying on
>> the oil filter. I assume this is some kind of breather pipe as I cant
>> see where it could
>> attach to. ( It seems to run from somewhere near the gearbox, but it
> was
>> too cold
>> to get underneath to check).
>>
>> 2) A spare connector on the alternater. I assume that! it is just unused.
>>
>> Pictures are here
> http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stewith/album?.dir=/a12c
>> if anybody would like to look ( one is out of focus, but as I said it was
>> cold and I was
>> shivering when I took the pics).
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any assistance.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>