Mk2 1.9 Tdi Losing Water

[shalhambraxy94]

1.9 TDI Losing Water.

 

Just thought I'd share a recent experience with my Alhambra.

 

Started up one morning and there was a warning light on the dash indicating low coolant level. Opened the bonnet and sure enough the expansion tank was empty - topped up and kept an eye on the level for a day or two. The level slowly dropped but there was no sign of a leak under the bonnet. Then after the car had been parked for a while after a long run I noticed a damp patch in front of the nearside back wheel. Checked under the car and found the coolant leak at a joint in the pipework near the rear heater system. This was a joint between two runs of metal pipe using a short length of rubber pipe. This is part of the piping which runs along the sill from front to the rear of the car.

 

After a few unsuccessful attempts to cure the leak by replacing the pipe clip with a well tightened jubilee clip, I took the joint apart and closely inspected the rubber and metal pipes. The rubber pipe seemed ok and the metal pipe was still bright with no signs of corrosion however the end of the metal pipes have two swages formed on them. The rubber pipe passes over the first and butts up against the second with the pipe clip sitting between the two. The second swage was found to have a very small crack/pin hole in it.

 

The Ford & SEAT dealers quoted around