On reversing SWMBO's 306 Sedan out of the garage this morning, I noticed a small puddle (2" dia) of liquid on the floor. Dipping forefinger in it and wiping against thumb gave a slimy sensation, though it wasn't oil. A quick touch of the tongue confirmed antifreeze.
Five minutes later, up on axle stands, and I found the source to be adjacent to an allen bolt on more or less the same level as the crank pulley centre, and slightly behind. Above this is a plastic blister moulding that Haynes confirms to be the water pump.
Question to any XU7 expert BRers, please: Is this the first sign of impending internal doom to the water pump (in wish case I will replace it), or is it likely to last like this for eons yet? May be the gaskets simply become brittle with time and heat cycling?
The car has covered 25k miles in ten years, and right now I could do without the hassle of a Pug to fix! (I have a new kitchen to install instead!)
Cheers!
|
Usually the sign that the seal on the shaft of the pump is failing. Can check by pressurising system with radiator checker.
May carry on for months, but quite likely to fail traumatically when out in the moors at 2am
Suggest you change it and the timing belt. Check tensioner, but these usually outlast the car
|
|
change it straight away ,expensive little job tho,if ya doing it ya self ,then its a fiddly little job but quite easy,i done many a water pump and a leak is normally sign of pulley seal going.
|
|
TVM, both. Will get it changed within a few days.
|
Hmm, the water pump is driven by the cam belt and when it leaks it tends to reveal itself by water running out of the bottom of the timing cover, under the crank pulley. The plastic 'blister' you are referring to is actually the water pump intake housing, bolted on the back of the block. Known to start leaking with age. You will probably have to remove the RH drive shaft in order to change the housing.
Bit more leakfinding before you commit yourself!
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
|
Ta muchly, RichardW.
With the kitchen installation making (huge!) demands on home time, and the need to ensure that the cambelt is correctly tensioned on reinstallation, I have decided to let my trusty Pug Indy do this work. £211 including VAT will be the damage, including all parts. (No new cam belt as only recently changed. Wish I'd changed the pump at the same time now, though to be honest, the thought to see what else the cam belt drove didn't even enter my head).
|
|
When was the belt replaced? Why not put a new belt in. It is probably only £20, and it seems a shame not to go so when so much of the engine is in bits anyway. Are you sure the belt was not contaminated by fluid from the pump. This is probably the last belt in this cars life. I once replaced only 2/3 of a clutch, on the basis the cover had recently been done. The new componants did not bed together. A disarster. The cost is all labour. The parts are cheap. Also think of the satisfaction that 'all is properly renewed.'
|
Thanks All for the advice along the way, but it's Crinkly Dave who gets the Gold Star!
The fault was indeed simply that the input shaft seal was failing. Looked like it's been doing it slightly for a while, though the coolant reservoir had never needed a top-up.
|
|
|
