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inlet manifold removal

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inlet manifold removal

Good little thread for the uninitiated. Wish I'd spotted it before!

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Think I've been unlucky enough to join this club :(

Had a fairly slow water leak for a little while. First the hose from the inlet manifold's water outlet died because it rubbed on the exhaust manifold and melted…later realised that this is the hose that should be plugged into the carb's water inlet. I've got a Weber conversion so no coolant channels on the carb - the previous owner had just bent the Pierberg hose around to join onto the metal water pipe that runs around the side of the engine to the water pump and it was too long. Temporarily patched the hose up with tape - there was still some steam escaping but I couldn't locate where from. Assumed this was the hose repair not quite holding.

While replacing that hose with a shorter piece that routes more directly, the outlet on the metal water pipe cracked! £40 and a lot of swearing later I replaced that and it all looked OK. Lots of steam when I first started it back up, but I assumed that was from the spilt coolant burning off. Went for a spirited drive and all seemed well.

Until yesterday evening…had a little steam coming from under the bonnet as I parked, but this was replaced by billowing clouds when I shut the engine off. Very hard to tell where it was coming from but there was loads of water on the top of the inlet manifold and it was just boiling away all around the carb/air filter etc. Tried again this morning in the light (I had to get back home…) and same story - very little steam with the engine running, then huge clouds of it as soon as I shut it off. Quite embarrassing when you've just pulled up in a petrol station! :$

So I'm guessing I'll have to take the manifold off. No much looking forward to it, but the tips here have been really handy. GSF had a gasket but no o-rings, so I've got one on order for tomorrow. Fingers crossed it's that and will go away once I've replaced it…if not, is there anything else I can try? Promised the other half we'd go to her parents' for New Year so I'm not going to be Mr Popular if we spend NYE on the hard shoulder :lol:

Stone

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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Massively frustrated with this, now. Got four of the six bolts out (after fighting to get the warm air deflector plate and support bracket off…rust everywhere!) but six hours elapsed and the sun went down without success on the other two. I could get onto the bolts with my long ball-ended allen keys but couldn't quite get enough torque to get them unjammed…

To add insult to injury the leak's got worse now! Seems to be quite a lot coming out from near the inlet manifold hose barb, but I'm fairly sure the hose is the right size so maybe the inlet casting's cracked? Applied some K-Seal as a last resort to get me mobile again, but I'm not convinced it's going to last :(

If anybody's near M1 J9 and wants to show me how it's done in exchange for my undying gratitude and all the tea you can drink, let me know…failing that I'll have to get it booked in :(

Stone

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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When I had to do this i got so frustrated I ended up taking the whole head of and swapping out exhaust manifold at the same time, was very simple on a bench but when in the car it was near impossible to locate let alone undo the bolts.

1985 Cabriolet GL

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I did it! Only took me a month on and off :lol:The secret for the last one was a set of ball-nosed, 160mm long hex bits with 3/8" drive. Shorter, and it won't reach the evil third-bolt-in, longer and you'll hit the bulkhead or brake lever linkage. Also needs to be 3/8" drive and not 3/4", otherwise the part that the ratchet fits into won't fit into the groove between the manifolds. Found that one out early…also beware that the hex bits are sold by the overall length, not the length of the allen drive section. 110mm would do it but for the 30mm of ratchet fitting which makes them just too short to reach the deeper bolts. Which is why I now have a set of those as well!

Pics in the morning when it's light, but it looks like the leak was definitely from the inlet coolant channel. The o-ring that was in there is different to the replacement I bought - totally flat at the outer diameter like a top-hat shape rather than the round cross-section of the replacement one I got from GSF. I tried a bottle of K-Seal as a last-ditch attempt to get it sorted for New Year (my other car needed a wheel bearing doing and I was trying to avoid driving it) but that failed. Obvious why now I have it apart, there's plenty of sealant forming an annulus around the far end where it's tried to stem the leak, but it's not worked because the rubber flexes so the water can always seep back out. The gasket was pretty mangled too - it was one of the cardboardy ones and looks to have started to 'melt' post-leak - so fingers crossed with new gasket and o-ring it'll all be happy again :) The other bright side is that the K-Seal will have fixed any leaks in solid parts through the whole system so it should have sorted any impending failures at the same time. Touch wood it'll be OK when I reassemble it, it needs an MOT now…

Hat tip to all those going before who've made it so much easier by documenting everything!

One question though - what's the required torque when I do the bolts back up? Cheers :)

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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Here's the guilty party…looks like totally the wrong part, unless it changed sometime in production? The leak must have been around the skirt as all the sealant has built up there.





The central hole is way smaller on the old one, surely it can't have deformed into this shape?!

Stone

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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That old o ring looks in comparatively good condition compared to some, they usually swell and completely constrict to resemble a ducks backside.

1985 Cabriolet GL

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It must have been the problem though, after I bolted it all back together it stopped leaking completely! (After a few harrowing minutes while all the spilt coolant boiled off the exhaust manifold and downpipe…)

Which is lucky really, as his MOT had expired and my Corrado's just been condemned with chassis rot. Took him straight out and he immediately sailed through with only one advisory  :ocf_emoticons__clap: :ocf_emoticons__cheer:  :party:Just need my winter wheels refurbed so the salt doesn't destroy my polished lips, but an absolute result. They're built to last!  :cool:edited to add: You don't have to remove the carb to do this - save yourself the bother of setting up all the cables again! At least, I didn't and it went just fine; there's more than enough space. One of those jobs you could do in under an hour the second time round with the right tools without having to work everything out again - though if I ever have to do it again I will be sorely displeased…!

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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when i did it i unbolted the carb but left all the pipes and cables on, just moved the carb over to the side out the way. worth doing if only to check the condition of the carb flange :)

Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.



My wiring diagrams and other documents have moved here:

VAG Documents & Downloads

You'll need to sign into google/gmail for the link to work! (its free!)

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Thought I'd fixed it, but now it's just as bad as it ever was :( Changed the expansion tank cap for a new blue one, but the hoses are still inflating and there's still coolant getting lost.

I seem to be burning it (poor running coinciding with occasional bursts of white smoke from the exhaust) but it will still run if so richen up the mixture with lots of choke.

Lots of steam on stopping at lights etc, after a run there are always wisps around the inlet / carb flange n particularly on the battery side - and a small puddle of coolant on the inlet manifold and on top of the air filter housing.

Starting to wonder if the inlet manifold's coolant channel is cracked and admitting wisps of coolant into one cylinder. Hoping it's not the head gasket, but then there's no mayo on the filler cap or dipstick and none in the coolant…

Got no other way to get to work at the moment so I have a powerful incentive to get it sorted! Anything else I can try?

Stone

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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sounds like the inlet as you say if its letting coolant out to burn off on the exhaust and you see a puddle on top of it. either its warped or cracked as you say :(

mk2 golf one is the same anyway so you shouldnt struggle to get one

Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.



My wiring diagrams and other documents have moved here:

VAG Documents & Downloads

You'll need to sign into google/gmail for the link to work! (its free!)

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Per the manufacturer's instructions for an over-pressurised system I added a bottle of K-Seal to the top rad hose yesterday before driving home from work. Got a feeling that when I tried it before the inlet wasn't quite on properly (and I added it to the expansion tank so it may well have just sat there).

Night and day difference, no more hesitation, random missing or clouds of steam. This morning I got 75% of the way to work before it started again…again it looks like coolant's coming out around the base of the carb flange so the inlet must be screwed. Will have to acquire a new one and see if it helps. :(

"Klaus": 1987 Clipper Cabrio, LA7Y, 1.8 Weber (auto)
1995 Corrado VR6, LK4Z: RIP
2003 Golf R32, LB5R

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Di the exhaust and inlet manifold gaskets on my wifes mk1 1.3 over the weekend and without the pics I found on this site and the advice I reckon Id still be puzzling to find the Allen bolts under the inlet manifold.
thanks a bunch.

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Now all I have to do is replace the cv boots, steering rack boots, clutch, main water pipe from the heater to the pump, rear shocks, water pump and gas flow the manifolds and we're set.
Sort of…oh yeah one last thing…4 doors are not cool.
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