Pipe from coolant leaking slightly

[Sue coulson]

Hi people advise please. Pipe is leaking slightly away in van till October. On site engineer said just top up with water when flat?.. answers on a post card
Sue

 

[Larby]

Picture would help. ?

 

[Figaro]

Is it a joint / connection leaking or a split in the pipe ?

 

[Sue coulson]

Is it a joint / connection leaking or a split in the pipe ?

Not sure just a bit of dry green on pipe looks like a leak from a clip

 

[Figaro]

I'd have thought any repair shop should be able to fix that and it's probably worth doing instead of just topping up incase it lets go completely.

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[Sue coulson]

Oh okay thank you....

 

[TheBig1]

Hopefully just needs a jubilee clip, not a small split in the hose. It probably only leaks when the engine is hot and the pipe softens

 

[Sue coulson]

Yes it's not leaking now

 

[L' Hobo]

I don't wish to be disrespectful but, from your photograph, (I know it's only a small area shown) but it looks as if your engine could do with a little TLC !

 

[Sue coulson]

Thank you no offence taken. It had a service in march before my travels so what do you suggest?

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[Figaro]

Most people don't polish their engine block so I don't think there is anything to be done

 

[Nanniemate]

Get the clip changed ASAP I have a family member who blew the engine as a tiny leak suddenly became a major issue and the van was on the back of a lowloader and a reconditioned engine fitted.

I don't wish to be disrespectful but, from your photograph, (I know it's only a small area shown) but it looks as if your engine could do with a little TLC !

Well maintained engines that are used look like that a little wear and tear give it character

 

[TheBig1]

I have seen vastly worse neglect on engines and in general under vehicles.

The point is that you can't usually see it, let alone clean it. Steel gets hot snd cools down so rust will start. Add to that water and salt spraying up off the roads and this accellerates. From the top engines are usually covered in plastic parts, so you can't see the metal parts. Also they tend to fill the space under the bonnet. I regularly see dusty dirty engine covers, as few people think to lift the bonnet unless there is a fault, let alone to clean.

Don't worry about minor corrosion though as it is normal in a harsh environment

 

[L' Hobo]

Get the clip changed ASAP I have a family member who blew the engine as a tiny leak suddenly became a major issue and the van was on the back of a lowloader and a reconditioned engine fitted.



Well maintained engines that are used look like that a little wear and tear give it character

And leaks.

 

[L' Hobo]

Thank you no offence taken. It had a service in march before my travels so what do you suggest?

I'm truly happy that you didn't take offence because none was intended.
I think, from the picture, it might be a good idea to, not only renew the clip but the rubber pipe it's attached to as it looks quite old.
As an ex marine engineer, perhaps reliability mean more to me than it should, sorry!

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[L' Hobo]

Most people don't polish their engine block so I don't think there is anything to be done

You obviously have never seen my engine. I don't polish my engine block and would never think about doing so BUT I do require it to be as reliable as possible and to achieve that, I prefer to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to vehicle maintenance, for example, I have just replaced the brake pads on my van, not because they were worn out (far from it) but because they were 5+years old and my life, and others, depend upon them.

 

[Figaro]

Pads is one thing, but the photo showed a typical dirty, dusty engine block with that aluminum powdery coating it gets and corrosion on steel components.
There's not much most people can do about that, I expect getting the photo was difficult enough without getting in there to clean it all.
If it's serviced that's sufficient surely ?
TLC is for yourself and your partner not the bloody engine bay

 

[L' Hobo]

Pads is one thing, but the photo showed a typical dirty, dusty engine block with that aluminum powdery coating it gets and corrosion on steel components.
There's not much most people can do about that, I expect getting the photo was difficult enough without getting in there to clean it all.
If it's serviced that's sufficient surely ?
TLC is for yourself and your partner not the bloody engine bay

and you really think that just renewing the clip without cleaning the rust and crud from the metal housing under the rubber pipe is going to solve the problem for very long??

 

[NicM]

Are you driving around a lot? If it's just a very small leak just keep topping the water up until you can get it looked at properly, it will need to be removed or pipe replaced to do a proper job. Keep an eye on the temp gage as well. Old cooling pipes will go brittle and start to crack as well.

 

[Nanniemate]

Are you driving around a lot? If it's just a very small leak just keep topping the water up until you can get it looked at properly, it will need to be removed or pipe replaced to do a proper job. Keep an eye on the temp gage as well. Old cooling pipes will go brittle and start to crack as well.

Hi Nic . Good to see your still about

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[Sue coulson]

Hi everyone got it sorted.. New jubilee clip hose was fine( apparantly) he told me my air hoses weren't great gone very soft.. must replace when I finished travelling in Oct. Thank you all x

 

[Figaro]

and you really think that just renewing the clip without cleaning the rust and crud from the metal housing under the rubber pipe is going to solve the problem for very long??

If the OP takes it to a half decent repair shop I'd expect a proper job done and if that requires replacement of the hose and cleaning of connection, I'd expect that to be done.
You were referring to TLC to the engine, which I took to mean the dirty appearance in the photo and cleaning the engine block which I think for most people is a step too far.
Anyway, I'm out now, enough said

 

[Nanniemate]

Hi everyone got it sorted.. New jubilee clip hose was fine( apparantly) he told me my air hoses weren't great gone very soft.. must replace when I finished travelling in Oct. Thank you all x

Good girl we can stop worrying about you know enjoy the rest of your trip

 

[Sue coulson]

Thank you

 

[TheBig1]

Soft air hoses are a real pain. Vaccum in the pipe causes it to shrink closed and you lose power. Then engine and pipe cool and there is no sign of a fault till it is under load again. Add to that a modern ECU controlled engine and it will spit out codes and go into limp mode

A good old fashioned mechanic will check for this. The latest batch of parts fitters will change all sorts searching for the cause of the codes

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[Sue coulson]

Soft air hoses are a real pain. Vaccum in the pipe causes it to shrink closed and you lose power. Then engine and pipe cool and there is no sign of a fault till it is under load again. Add to that a modern ECU controlled engine and it will spit out codes and go into limp mode

A good old fashioned mechanic will check for this. The latest batch of parts fitters will change all sorts searching for the cause of the codes

Ooh err did nt understand that are you saying I should replace them ASAP?

 

[TheBig1]

Ooh err did nt understand that are you saying I should replace them ASAP?

Only if you are experiencing power issues or the engine running rough

 

[Sue coulson]

Only if you are experiencing power issues or the engine running rough

Oh okay thank you

 

[Sue coulson]

I will watch out for it

 

[L' Hobo]

If the OP takes it to a half decent repair shop I'd expect a proper job done and if that requires replacement of the hose and cleaning of connection, I'd expect that to be done.

So would I, but the OP said in Post #10, that she had her van serviced in March and, in a later post, the site mechanic (which I presume is at the garage?) had told her to just keep topping up with water? To my mind, as it looks like an old leak, it should have been fixed then. Perhaps she should find another garage, what do you think?