1.9 8v Broke Down Today - Massive Coolant Leak

[Faz85 0]

Afternoon All,

 

Had a great day today, Drove my usual route to uni this morning, driving the 10 miles or so between J1 and 2 of the M6. anyway...I pulled off the motorway at J2, and am sitting in a queue of traffic just before a roundabout, when I noticed steam coming up from the bonnet.

 

I immediately pulled over, and opened the bonnet and coolant had splashed up all over the left side of the engine (AFM, Battery etc covered with the stuff)

 

I couldnt see any obvious leaks, so had to get a mate to pick me up. after leaving my car at J2, I raced back home, picked up some water and tools (and a tow rope just in case) and returned to the scene. I filled the expansion tank up, and fired her up, but water pissed all over the box, so i figured thermostat.

 

Anyway, after taking all the induction pipework off, I found this strange blank which I have never noticed before (perhaps a late 205 addition)

 

 

This blank was just lying there and was immediately obvious it had come off this outlet (centred here)...

 

 

 

Does anyone know what this outlet is for?? Its really got me puzzled...I replaced the blank which fits quite snug on the outlet, and filled it up again. Started the engine and it was fine, no more leak...so i drove it home sticking to 60 in the slow lane back to J1. When i got home, popped the bonnet again and had a look, the blank was still in place and everything seemed alrite...UNTIL...i decided to rev it up from inside the bay to get the pressure up and the blank fired off, covering my arm with boiling coolant.

 

I want to know whether there is some underlying problem causing this blank to fire itself off, or can i just get away with jubilee clipping it on. I have no idea why it pisses out of this hole as it has never happened before...and i always thought that if the pressure does rise excessively then the coolant should blow from the expansion tank, rite!?

 

Apologies for the long post, and thanks in advance.

 

Faz

[jackherer 543]

thats an Mi16 thermostat cover I think, I've certainly never seen one on an 8v anyway...

 

on the Mi it has an oil cooler hose running from it, and its held on with a jubilee so that blanking plug definitely should be, I'm not surprised it gets blown off!

[Alastairh 47]

Yeah seen that before.

 

Get an earlyer metal pipe for the thermostat, and chuck the plastic one.

 

Alastair

[Faz85 0]

Thanks for the reply Jack, I cant understand why that housing is being used, its a late GTi running on motronic, but I still cant understand why the housing should be any different.

 

I'll probably try jubilee clipping it and then take it for a spin and see if it holds up. Im amazed that it has lasted this long, since i've been driving it since october without a jubilee clip. I suppose it could have gradually worn out and lost grip over the years...but fingers crossed a clip will sort it.

 

Thanks

 

Faz

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

My thermostat housing broke (plastic ones are crap) and the Peugeot shop only had a Mi16 one in stock. He was going to sell me that and a rubber cap like what you have.

I found an older metal thermastat housing in a scrappers instead (which was cheaper too).

Better than the plastic ones but it doesn't have a bleed nipple.

I now have to warm the engine up so the stat opens to bleed the rad with the bleed screw on the block (other side of the stat housing)

[Faz85 0]

Yeah seen that before.

 

Get an earlyer metal pipe for the thermostat, and chuck the plastic one.

 

Alastair

 

Cheers for that Alastair, I wasnt sure if they were interchangeable...Im assuming that the metal housing is the same accross all years?

 

I'll probably jubilee clip it for now, got to get to uni...I think this must be the first time I've actually had a legitimate excuse for missing lectures!

 

Faz

[Faz85 0]

My thermostat housing broke (plastic ones are crap) and the Peugeot shop only had a Mi16 one in stock. He was going to sell me that and a rubber cap like what you have.

I found an older metal thermastat housing in a scrappers instead (which was cheaper too).

Better than the plastic ones but it doesn't have a bleed nipple.

I now have to warm the engine up so the stat opens to bleed the rad with the bleed screw on the block (other side of the stat housing)

 

So its all making sense now, I guess previous owner must have taken this option. Cheers Alex

[jonnie205 1]

jubilee it on, ime amazed it ever stayed on without a clip. Fit a metal one is the answer but then you will need seals for thermostat so mayu be best to leve that alone and just clip blank on

[GLPoomobile 958]

I had one of those plastic ones on my J reg 1.9 which had the blanking tube jubilee clipped on.

 

Whether it was swapped at some point in it's life I don't know, but I really wouldn't be surprised if it was one of those Ph2 oddities, or Puegeot using up left over parts.

[Longun 1]

Mine is just like that one. I think its from a variant of the 205 or another model that is interchangable. I put a jubilee on it and has never caused any problems. When I got a new header tank cap it was off a 206. Think pug will give you anything that fits these days

[taylorspug 7]

I will also join the crowd of people amazed that it stayed on this long! Also hope the water didnt hurt too much, unlike the massive burn right through the skin i ended up with the other day when much the same thing happened.

 

Bloody cars...

Edited January 9, 2007 by taylorspug

[Faz85 0]

I will also join the crowd of people amazed that it stayed on this long! Also hope the water didnt hurt too much, unlike the massive burn right through the skin i ended up with the other day when much the same thing happened.

 

Bloody cars...

 

 

Tell me about it, I love the way my 205 seems to reward all the care and maintenance i give it by pi**ing all over me. Thankfully I was wearing sleeves, so no real harm done...Im seriously glad i wasnt staring straight at the offending blank at the time it fired off! Happened once before on my 306, had the engine up to about half temp, and tried bleeding the valve on the top of the rad...of course I lost grip of the dam thing and got a face full of coolant

 

anyway, jubilee clip is firmly in place now and once again everything is running as it should...For now at least!

 

Faz

[mikeyd 13]

its because peugeot dont supply the older plastic housing [so our dealer claims] and is off a 405??

also be wary of fitting an alloy one cos been there tried that on an h plate 1600 and the recess is bigger on the plastic one and iirc the alloy one wont pull down properly by one mm or so!!

btw that pissy little plug is about £5