Coolant Leak

Having spent the evening doing the interior found a coolant leak as I put it back in the garage. Couple of drops where it had been parked whilst being cleaned. Did the old dip your finger n lick it test and tasted sweet. Had a look underneath and noticed front valance wet and looking up at rad saw where fan cowl bolts to rad wet along the seam. Suspect the rad so will investigate further tomorrow. Also think there may be another leak further back towards back of engine?
Advice welcome.

That's a pitty bit should be an easy enough fix

Think I've sourced one of my coolant leaks to rear of block. There are 3 core plugs and at least one of them is weeping coolant out of it!!! Can these be changed with engine in if so how?
It also looks like the rad is leaking as cleaned it all off when I was looking for the block leak and found that to be also weeping!!!
Any thoughts on whether the likes of radweld will keep me going for a bit?
Pics of back of block from underneath

i wouldnt use radweld, ive seen the results of prolonged usage in an engine i stripped. not pretty

changign core plugs is simple job, main issue is access round the back as the replacements need tapping in! might be easier if you remove the exhaust manifold and downpipe?

rubjonny said

i wouldnt use radweld, ive seen the results of prolonged usage in an engine i stripped. not pretty

changign core plugs is simple job, main issue is access round the back as the replacements need tapping in! might be easier if you remove the exhaust manifold and downpipe?

Thanks for this. What about K Seal? This has some great reviews. I know the best solution is to do the core plugs and new rad but running out of time before AGM

essentially the same thing isnt it? if it has good reviews you could give it a go it'll probably be fien really. to be fair the mk2 i mention was bought off some pikeys (actual, real pikeys ) so god knows how many million litres of stuff they put in rather than actually fix the knackered cooling system

Putting in any tyre of sealer is just delaying the problem then you have to clear all the sealer out which takes ages as it leaves a browny sluge everywhere so why not just fix the problem once rather than making more work and spending more money?
At the end of the day it's your engine at it's up to you if you want to use that type of stuff.
You have just over a week till the AGM, should only take a few hours to fix the problem and it does not get dark till 10pm so plenty of light in the evenings….

rubjonny said

essentially the same thing isnt it? if it has good reviews you could give it a go it'll probably be fien really. to be fair the mk2 i mention was bought off some pikeys (actual, real pikeys ) so god knows how many million litres of stuff they put in rather than actually fix the knackered cooling system

I've just ordered the 3 rear core plugs from my local VW main dealer. They took reg number etc and all they were able to confirm was they measure 36mm in diameter. Now I'm not with my car just now so can't go and measure so can anyone confirm whether this is the correct size.

only one i can find for your engine same right up to mk3 era

Cheers John, fingers crossed they are right
Picking them up today. Asked for a rocker gasket as noticed a leak. They said its obsolete and suggested i source a pattern part!! Will get one from GSF

go for a rubber one, VW did a conversion kit which includes the studs but NLA now. can be had from AVS though:
Elring 457.200 Valve Cover Gasket Kit - OE Ref: 026198025C | AVS Car Parts

Car taken to garage tonight for the core plugs to be fitted tomorrow as I've got too much on at work. Wife followed me for the lift home and commented on how much it was smoking
I also think it's running lean as smells of fuel and ticks over at about 1500rpm. Valve stem oil seals maybe?

was the smoke blue or more grey? big cloud of blue smoke on a cold start which clears a bit?

rubjonny said

was the smoke blue or more grey? big cloud of blue smoke on a cold start which clears a bit?

To be be honest there wasn't much if any on start up it got gradually worse during the 20 minute drive. It looked more blue to me when i revved it up whilst stationary.

if its stems they tend to leak oil into the cylinders while sat, so maybe its just a setup issue related to high idle and fuel smell etc

rubjonny said

if its stems they tend to leak oil into the cylinders while sat, so maybe its just a setup issue related to high idle and fuel smell etc

Thanks John,
Also just been reading your how to on carb set up etc and picked up on

Last but by no means least, the inlet manifold coolant channel o'ring, the o'ring degrades over time eventually blocking the coolant channel completely. Often overlooked this is key to having a 2e2 carb that actually works! If this coolant channel is blocked expect poor running when cold, smoking, petrol smells, engine overruns and having the engine rev up to 1.5k+ at random until the engine is VERY hot.

Could this be my problem?

it certainly could! I dont know why but for some reason I assumed your car was a GTI which wouldn't have this, it may be the leak was from that all along

rubjonny said

it certainly could! I dont know why but for some reason I assumed your car was a GTI which wouldn't have this, it may be the leak was from that all along

Thanks,
I was thinking this could be the smoking and idle issue as I'm pretty sure the coolants weeping from the core plug