P38A Coolant leak at rear of engine.

Hi I have a v reg p38 with a V8 petrol engine. Its the later bosch engine.

A coolant leak has appeared and has gotten worse quite quickly. It is at the rear of the engine but I cannot pinpoint it. To give an idea of location it is running down the nearside. Down the fuel pipe and down the side of the engine/Bell housing. It's a steady flow and it drips a reasonable amount of coolant.

When the engine is revved the coolant becomes frothy.

So its running down the fuel pipe which goes over the gear box and into fuel tank. Also down the side of the engine directly where the gearbox bolts to the engine. I can' s where its coming from. I've used a mirror and light. I've even take the nsf wheel arch out but can't see anything.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Many thanks
James

Rear Core Plugs corroded?

I dont know what they are

Little discs that are placed into openings in the block during manufacture that cover the openings that were created during casting....

They are these delightful little devils.
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RB7105
Basically, there are machined holes in the engine block castings and core plugs block these holes.
Some core plugs are on waterways and some are in oil-ways.
There are (I think) 3 at the rear of the engine, Its a gearbox off or engine out to get at these ones (again., I think) and the failed core-plug would need to be bashed-through and yanked out and then a new one inserted (with a bit of the appropriate sealant ,maybe). The plugs cost nothing, the time and effort to do the job is not trivial.
I read somewhere that leaking/weeping waterway core-plugs is a sign that the coolant mix has not been changed as it should and maintained at the correct mix either.
I hope you find your leak and are able to fix it.

These are core plugs they are fitted in the block to close of manufacturing passage ways


here is some at the back of the block and there are ones on the side as well

Could also be a leak on the rear of the Valley Gasket.

Surely if they were leaking the water wouldn't be coming from above the bell housing? And it wouldn't be running down the fuel pipe?

Saint.V8 said:

Could also be a leak on the rear of the Valley Gasket.

Click to expand...

What's involved in replacing that?

And also its worth noting the leak has come in quite quickly so surely a corroded plug would start off light and slowly get worse?

I'm with Saint, rear valley gasket.Easy enough job, few nuts and bolts. Few hours work at an easy pace, need a torque wrench for the inlet manifold.

PPP38vouge said:

I'm with Saint, rear valley gasket.Easy enough job, few nuts and bolts. Few hours work at an easy pace, need a torque wrench for the inlet manifold.

Click to expand...

OK so remove manfold a it' under there?

A makeup mirror and torch may help to pinpoint?

The picture above of the core plugs in the rear of the engine - the Valley gasket is the large gasket held in place by the metal strip with a bolt in it!

Saint.V8 said:

The picture above of the core plugs in the rear of the engine - the Valley gasket is the large gasket held in place by the metal strip with a bolt in it!

Click to expand...

The bolt at the very top right?

James Rogers said:

The bolt at the very top right?

Click to expand...

OK so after some research and by looking at the rave guide it seems a very do able job. I will have another look on Monday to see what if I can find the leak. Maybe take the coil packs off. Is this what it is do we think? It does make sense.

And thanks for the picture. Made it much clearer.

OK so I've had a look and there's a little puddle of coolant just below the Valley gasket clamp. But above the gearbox. So I'm assuming it's the Valley gasket. Is there a kit I can buy to do the job. I know I need the 2 seals that go either end and the Valley pan Gasket. I'm assuming I'll need one for the throttle body and inlet manifold upper. New bolts too. If someone could share a link or maybe list the bits I will need.

Get a kit from Turner engineering, some of the other aftermarket valley gaskets are crap & dont fit / leak.
I'd also put some threadlock on your lower intake bolts as mine had a habit of backing off on the outer 4 bolts.