Drastic Water Leak

[Guest Waynerrr]

Having just replaced the starter motor on my 1.6 CTi I was keen to get it running. Anthony had kindly offered to make sure I'd got all the hoses in the right places after removing the rad and inlet mani, however, he and I weren't expected the jets of water coming from the back of the engine when we started it up! With fading light he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. This evening I got an inspection light down there and managed to film this:

 

 

The jet of water appears to be coming from that bolt (at 24 secs) but it does seem to be tightly screwed. Any ideas what that is? Could it be coming from somewhere else?

 

When I bought the car I drove it onto a trailer (no tax or MOT), got it home, drove it down the driveway. I started it every couple of weeks and it ran fine for the 5 minutes I had it going. I then left it for about 2 months over that harsh winter and found it wouldn't start again (knackered starter). Having removed the rad to do the starter I found the pipes to be dry, literally just powder coming from them. I'm starting to wonder if it was sold to be with no coolant in so it wasn't obvious there was a water leak. Or, there was coolant in it which froze and cracked something...

 

Any thoughts/help/ideas would be great. Thanks

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

\/ Tom has answer

 

Where in Oxfordshire are you based? Could have a look if you get real stuck, mate lives in Wycombe

Edited May 6, 2010 by Paul_13

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Looks to be coming out between thermostat housing and the head. This is held on with about 4 or 5 bolts, I'd remove it, clean up the joint, then refit with a new gasket. That should sort it.

[Guest Waynerrr]

Where in Oxfordshire are you based? Could have a look if you get real stuck, mate lives in Wycombe

Cowley area. Thanks for the offer. I'll try as Tom suggests and let you know.

 

 

Looks to be coming out between thermostat housing and the head. This is held on with about 4 or 5 bolts, I'd remove it, clean up the joint, then refit with a new gasket. That should sort it.

Sounds like a plan, thanks.

[timb1046 1]

ive had the same problem on a mates car. (not a 205) where-by it was squirting from the thermostat join with the head. new gasket and a bit of blue on both sides of the gasket sorted it.

[Baz 421]

Ahh, Anthony sounded a little worried other night telling me about it, ala cracked block, as seems to be commonly the case after the winter we've had! At least from that you can see it's pretty clear-cut, and hopefully not as woe-ful! Certainly worth doing as Tom suggests.

 

I'd just use sealant rather than a gasket though tbh, rather than both.

 

Good luck mate!

[richsmells 2]

What's a good sealant to use on the thermostat housing, sump etc?

 

I vaguely remember a thread discussing this but can't find it.

Edited May 7, 2010 by richsmells

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

What's a good sealant to use on the thermostat housing, sump etc?

 

I vaguely remember a thread discussing this but can't find it.

 

 

I've used this on engine builds, never failed. click here The high temp red stuff

Edited May 7, 2010 by j_turnell

[sport1901966 8]

Loctite 5910 is good, can pick it up in halfords in the big bottle seen below or a toothpaste type tube. I'd recommend the big bottle as it makes applying it 100 times easier

 

Edited May 7, 2010 by sport1901966

[Baz 421]

What's a good sealant to use on the thermostat housing, sump etc?

 

I vaguely remember a thread discussing this but can't find it.

 

Generally Loctite 5920 Copper sealant has always been widely reknowned as very good, i know a good few members, myself included that use it with excellent results.

[Guest Waynerrr]

Thanks for the replies. Managed to get a good look at the thermostat housing and saw this:

 

 

Got it off and the crack nearly goes completely around:

 

 

Ant is looking in his garage for a replacement but if anyone else has one I could be looking to take it off your grubby hands...