I changed my cam case gasket today to stop an oil leak and when i loosened the cam belt tensioner water started dripping out, it took me about 2 hours to change the gasket and i lost all the water out of my header tank!

when i got to the point of tightening up the cambelt tensioner the leaking stopped, and i filled the header tank back up and no more leaking?

however i have yet to turn the engine on yet so i'm not sure if it will still leak when running,

but to what i have described is this normal??

Thanks
Mark.

yep for some reason there its leaking water from behind the cambelt, i fitted a new waterpump and gasket and connected all the hoses up but have I forgotten something?

is there a plate or something behind the cambelt which is making it leak?

Please someone must know, Alex?

Sorry for the slow response.

I would have said that it wasn't necessary to replace the gasket etc. as it's normal to have that water leak when you loosen the cambelt tensioner. This is because the mounting stud goes into a water jacket. And it's also in the middle of a cover plate, just as you said.

So, with the tensioner retightened, does your water leak go away? Mine always have. (1116cc/1301cc/1498cc/1580cc).

Cheers,
-Alex

thanks for your reply alex,

when the cambelt tensioner is tightened that particular leak goes away but when the engine is running it is dripping from around that area, and when i drove the car it didnt take long before the water temp went up and i needed to add more coolant.

I'm gonna have to take off the manifolds and investigate i think. which i'm not looking forward to doing

Yeah, that's tough luck.

Heater hose? Can't remember if the Uno Turbo has the heater hose coming off the cylinder head behind the cambelt, I think it does.

Another coincidental leak (but a common one nonetheless) would be the water pump. Sometimes they leak after they've been sitting unused for a while. If the bearing seems good, perhaps keep using it.

If you've taken off the end plate of the block and the problem has started since then, it does sound like too much of a coincidence; so maybe you'll have to take it off again and re-check gasket, etc. I don't think you need to disturb the manifolds just yet, unless you can see a leak under the inlet manifold (the gaskets seal off coolant passages in the cylinder head).

Must be quite a bad leak to affect coolant temperature that quickly, so good luck with the remedy - keep us posted?

-Alex

yes unfortunatly it is a bad leak, I fitted a brand new waterpump when i changed the cambelt and head gasket, I have a feeling its the coolant distribution tube which connects to the rear of the waterpump water pump see the attached picture,

I'm going to take it for a MOT as there is a station down the road and when its on a ramp i'm going have a look to find out exactly where its coming from,

Aha - yes, that sounds likely to me, even without the picture (not attached) I can see it clearly That tube that runs across the back of the engine - rust is a huge problem... and it needs a new gasket each time, really...

Good luck with it, shouldn't take much to fix it once you do find the leak...

-Alex

I spent some time today investigating the leak and i found it! exactly where i thought it would be, went to my local fiat dealer and they had one in stock for £1.30

its gonna be a ball ache changing it though which i aint lookin forward to.

That doesn't look like fun, i cant picture if thats easier to approach from the bottom or not!?

Tom

I started to attack it today, I unattached the complete waterpump and housing but i dont think i'm going to be able to change this gasket without removing the turbo, exhaust manifold and inlet manifold.

there just isnt enough room to get to the bolts and even if i did un attached the pipe i'd never be able to get it back together complete with new gasket,

does anyone know what the best way to do this?

Help!

I've attached a picture of how it was before i put it all back together when i was changing the Head Gasket, you can see the pipe there, wish i changed the gasket then!

finally getting somewhere with it, I've removed the waterpump, housing and the pipe to change the gasket, ball ache it is doing it as there literally is no room, I've re-attached the pipe to the waterpump housing with the new gasket so hopefully no leaks!

all i have to do now is re attach the waterpump to the housing and bolt it to the block,

Is the best way of doing it to attach the housing to the block then bolt the pump to the housing or bolt the pump to the housing first then attach the housing to the block? any ideas alex? mk1kid?

Thanks

Mark.

I too had similar problem with my UNO45 FIRE. One fine morning, I have observed , pool of coolant under by car!!!

Immediately, I rushed to the mechanic for rectification. He found that water leak is due to the two cases described below.

- Bad water pump.
- There is a small hole( 2mm dia in size approx) due to the rust in the water dummy(big size) located just beside the water pump.

As usual !!!, water pump is not available with fiat dealer. So, i have purchased water pump from local market for 1200 INR. I remember it is of "GRAF" make. I am not sure how long this will work!!

Secondly,he fixed the problem of plugging the hole by using the Araldide/M-seal adhesive as there is no alternative. That means, spare water dumy is not availble either with Fiat dealer or in the local market !!!!
Please advice the procedure followed by mechanic is correrct? How long this will work? Are there any other alternatives to plug the hole permanently without dummy plug.

Intrestingly,mechanic has taken out the engine ouside completely to rectify the problems as there is no room for hand between the fender and the timing cover,etc. Is the procedure followed by him is correct? Please adive,
I have paid 750 INR for labour to fix the problem.

Thanks
Anil

If there is room i'd try and fit it as a complete unit personally, though i expect you've done it by now!

Tom

Quite a lot going on here lately

Anil - that sounds interesting. I'm sure it was possible to fix the FIRE water pump without taking the engine out?! If I remember correctly the metal pipe has an O-ring.

Mark - have you tried removing the other end of that metal pipe from the right-angled hose that attaches to the thermostat, and then fix the metal pipe to the water pump (with your new gasket AND sealant, I'd suggest ) before you bolt the water pump onto the engine?

Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine, mate
I haven't done this job on the Uno Turbo, only on the 128, Tipo, Uno 70, X1/9, and, umm, Uno 70 again

I think I'm avoiding this job and similar others by flushing and changing my coolant every year or two... well I hope so anyway!

-Alex