Water pump leak???

Hi there,

i appear to have a slight coolant leak but trying to work out where it is coming from, there appears to be coolant leaking from the alternator (drips circled in blue) but not sure if there is a pipe above it that is leaking onto it. Long story, can't get the bonnet open at the moment, working on resolving that.

Also the pipe underneath looks wet , is this from the water pump? it is marked in black on the photo?

Apologies for the photos and lack of more detailed digging but i only had a quick lunchtime window with work to get under and take a nosey at it.

cheers

Steve

Take the grill out to open the bonnet, or a long pointy thing up behind the grill if you can't remove it for some reason.

It's likely to be the "P" gasket.
Get a new water pump and change that at the same time.


The pipe (in black) is the oil feed for the PAS pump.

The long pipe which you high lighted in black is power steering pipe

Must be the season for water pumps leaks. I think I have the same....?!

3.5V8efi in a 90, coolant dripping from back of water pump and pooling in the valley gasket area, looks like it's coming off one of the hoses but could be straight out of the pump.

I've read that water pumps tend to drip through the bearing when knackered, it's that or the pipe has split/holed. It is also noisy which is new, sort of chattering sound like a tappet.

The temp which usually remains steady at 83 went up to 95 the other day which seemed odd but hasn't happened since on the short drives since then where it got to running temp and not above.

Before I order a new pump and go through the straightforward but potentially fraught replacement job - seized/snapping bolts etc - are there any other signs or tests?

Thank you.

Engines hate running out of coolant, 300tdi's more than most due to the high pump position.
Coolant dripping of power steering return pipe is coming from above.
DO NOT mess about, get in there and sort it. Temp gauge's are not good at letting you know coolant is gone until it is to late and other damage is done.

Cheers all for the replies and guidance. having managed to get the bonnet open ( two person job as one needs to push on the bonnet while the other pulls the cable) i can see that the top hose is directly over the alternator and you can see rust marks down the alternator so i suspect that is weeping onto the alternator and dripping down. i've tightened the jubilee clip up, it took a few extra turns so i suspect it was a bit loose, i will replace it with a brand new one i reckon.
Hopefully that is the cause but i will look at the water pump as well and why the PAS hose looks wet with oil but i think thats just the coolant drip. having looked at the PAS fluid level that all looks normal.

next job on the list is to remove, clean and adjust the bonnet release and make sure the spring is in place. at worst case i can replace the bonnet catch and see if that helps.

cheers all

Steve

Check all goes dry in a bit. A regular look under a bonnet will often catch a problem early with a Landy, unlike a modern car where plastic covers it all.

Still got a bit of a weep so going to try a new jubilee clip and then might replace the hose though it doesn't look in bad nick , whats the recommendations for replacement? standard type or flashy silicon in a gaudy colour?

Unless you like flash standard ones are fine.

tottot said:

Unless you like flash standard ones are fine.

Click to expand...

yeah and they are cheaper as well. however mine is moulded in one piece but all the ones on ebay seem to be multple pieces with jubilee clips holding the joints together, feels like more chance of them springing a leak somewhere

Sometimes it helps to put the jubilee clip on in a slightly different place.

Anaconda said:

Sometimes it helps to put the jubilee clip on in a slightly different place.

Click to expand...

i'll try that, the current clamp has a rusty turny bit (not sure on the technical term) and its starting to round off so i'll put a new one on and orientate it 180 degrees to the other side. cheers

drfoster said:

i'll try that, the current clamp has a rusty turny bit (not sure on the technical term)

Click to expand...

Worm.

drfoster said:

i'll try that, the current clamp has a rusty turny bit (not sure on the technical term) and its starting to round off so i'll put a new one on and orientate it 180 degrees to the other side. cheers

Click to expand...

Sorry, what I meant was slightly further along the pipe so it compresses the rubber pipe in a slightly different place.

Turboman said:

Worm.

Click to expand...

of course it is!!! doh!!!

Anaconda said:

Sorry, what I meant was slightly further along the pipe so it compresses the rubber pipe in a slightly different place.

Click to expand...

got it!! cheers

Changed the clip yesterday for a wider clip with a better worm! seems to have done the trick, coolant level has stayed stable and the top of the alternator is now dry. hopefully we've cracked it. thanks for everyones input and guidance.

cappers said:

Must be the season for water pumps leaks. I think I have the same....?!

3.5V8efi in a 90, coolant dripping from back of water pump and pooling in the valley gasket area, looks like it's coming off one of the hoses but could be straight out of the pump.......

Click to expand...

Update:
Used a pressure pump to check for leaks etc and found that the hose from the water pump to the steel pipe running along the valley - ERC2279 - had a pinhole.
No other leaks found and nothing from bottom of the pump so maybe it's ok, just the hose. Can't really see in the photo but was peeing out where circled in red:

New hose ordered expected by Friday.

Expected today which would have been nice as it was dry and sunny whereas the next few days look wet and windy again!
Posted on the 14th, in PO depot 15th, eta 17th but no sign of it, still 'in transit' according to the tracker