Technical Coolant keeps leaking

[Mitcheman]

Hi Friends,

I need some help. The panda ('04 1.2 60hp) of my mother is giving me a hard time. I've noticed that the car was leaking coolant. After a investigstion i found that the leak was coming from the back of the waterpump. The place where the metal pipe and rubber seal are located. Replaced the pipe and seal. Seal i did twice. No more leaks yeey! But yesterday I filled up washerfluid and saw a low lvl of coolant...

Reached in the engine bay felt the bottom part of pipe and seal and wet...and a wet oil filter again. How can I fix this for good? The damn seal is €30 a pop. Do I need to cover it with liquid gasket or do i need a new seal again? Please advice.

 

[Yolanda]

Are you sure it's the seal and not the actual pipe, they do tend to corrode.

 

[Mitcheman]

Are you sure it's the seal and not the actual pipe, they do tend to corrode.

Hi, i've replaced the pipe and seal the first time. Seal was leaking again. To be honest the pipe is not oem fiat. Third party brand. Just like the first seal. That seal started leaking like right away. Bought a oem fiat one. Issue solved and now its leaking again. Dont know yet where its leaking. If its between the housing of the WP and seal of between the pipe and seal.

 

[Yolanda]

I've read a post somewhere on here about a similar problem, whereby the new pipe wasn't compatible with the pump and the end of the old pipe had to be cut off and welded on to the new one. But that could have been just a one off. Have a search on here under water leaks, I'm sure you will find the post.

 

[DaveMcT]

Are you sure the leak is from the pipe or its seal? I had to replace a water pump because the core blank within the pump body was leaking and throwing coolant over the timing belt.

If it is the seal, some (not too much) RTV silicone should help the parts to connect without tearing the seal. You will have to decide whether to RTV the pipe and seal inner or the engine and seal outer. Doing both will make a slippery mess so best avoided.

 

[Yolanda]

When I bought mine, getting on for 12 months ago now it had a slight radiator leak from one of the bottom corners. It had been reported on two previous MOT's So I used a bottle of K Seal as a temporary measure till I could get a new radiator, and the leak stopped. Now I know I'm going to get some flack here from other members for using it but it does the job and can be flushed out of the system once the leak has stopped, so its not constantly circulating round the system. The original product I've heard was said to cause problems with heater matrixes and the like but products progress over time, and if you do some research on google the product appears to have improved a lot. I must add that I have no connections or interests with the product. But it's a handy ting to have on your shelf for emergency's.

 

[koalar]

The damn seal is €30 a pop.

wonder if its different in your country less than a fiver here

https://www.sparepartstore24.co.uk/oen-55185066

 

[koalar]

. Do I need to cover it with liquid gasket

no

fix it properly and its not needed, I do use silicon grease so everything pushes together nicely without tearing, not sure why yours keeps failing. Bit of old gasket left in ?

 

[koalar]

I've read a post somewhere on here about a similar problem, whereby the new pipe wasn't compatible with the pump and the end of the old pipe had to be cut off and welded on to the new one. But that could have been just a one off. Have a search on here under water leaks, I'm sure you will find the post.

my advise is to always keep the old parts so they can be compared

micrometer or calipers would confirm if the new and old were the same

there is two part numbers for the seal on eper, I have no way of telling if they are identical ?

 

[DaveMcT]

Has part of an old seal been left wedged into the engine?
My suggestion of RTV was that its greasy when applied so will help the seal to fit and its sealing effect will cope with any poor fit. Silicone grease is more economical if simple lubrication is enough.

 

[koalar]

Has part of an old seal been left wedged into the engine?
My suggestion of RTV was that its greasy when applied so will help the seal to fit and its sealing effect will cope with any poor fit. Silicone grease is more economical if simple lubrication is enough.

its not usually a good idea to add sealant where it wasn't intended.

probably everybody that has worked on cars day in day out has done this at sometime in there lives
due to a part with a design flaw/weakness, a damaged part and replacement isnt easily, quickly or cheaply available and so on.

they will have also seen problems caused by its incorrect use and/or application sealant

If you do use sealant you have to understand why its being used. lets Just suppose this seal is hypothetically failing because the coolant system was over pressurising due to a faulty coolant cap or head gasket, Adding sealant here without diagnosing the problem would just move the problem further down the chain to the next weakest link most likely taking out the heater matrix.

Needless to say dismantling something stuck together with silicone will be far more difficult

I have had Fiats with this design fitting with over half a million mile and nearly 50 years between them none have shown a weakness here, I have never know his seal to fail except after a replacement pipe for corrosion has been fitted.

I didn't want to get into over pressure of the coolant system just yet but now it mentioned, Is there a regular loss of coolant, do the hoses go firm after the car been running awhile

I still think it will be

the leak isnt from this joint and it just where the coolant runs to
A poorly made new pipe and/or seal
wrong pipe and/or seal
part of the old seal still in the hole
damaged hole or pitting
the seal wasn't lubricated/greased before fitting, and the seal is getting torn/ripped or not seating properly upon fitting
the coolant has been in there too long and has gone acidic

or a combination of the above