Has anyone changed one of these coolant pipes before & if so, is a monumental task to do ?
I did the thermostat a couple of years back & I remember having to take the bolts out of that pipe, round the back of the engine, to aid fitting the stat.
Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Has anyone changed one of these coolant pipes before & if so, is a monumental task to do ?
I did the thermostat a couple of years back & I remember having to take the bolts out of that pipe, round the back of the engine, to aid fitting the stat.
Any help would be much appreciated.
That pipe runs from the thermostat, round the back of the engine, over the top of the gearbox, and terminates just after your water fountain. It's a pain to get it out, as it's boxed in, so you'll need to remove stuff to get access at it. You'll need to remove the rocker cover as the bolts holding it onto the back of the engine are above the exhaust manifold, below the airbox which is part of the rocker cover. After that access is a lot easier. a couple of bolts on the passenger side of the engine some cables clipped onto it, a fuel pipe bolted to it IIRC and Robert is your mothers brother.
 
Well after doing the service work & fitting the correct ball joints on the lower arms the better half & I went to the Bomber command center nr. Lincoln, 200 mile round trip, & I said to wife how smooth & we'll it was running. On the way back we stopped for a cuppa & I had a quick look under the bonnet like ya do before setting off for the last 30 miles. When I got home I noticed a tiny patch of water & thought air con evaporator but lifted the bonnet to find expansion tank empty & coolant on the engine :mad: seems one of the metal coolant pipes had decided to impersonate a ornamental fountain :(. Luckily there seemed to be coolant in the system still see pic. O well good job I'm off this week :rolleyes:View attachment 245630 View attachment 245631
On the plus side - at least its very obvious where the problem is.

Much better then trying to find/guess where coolant is leaking.
 
That pipe runs from the thermostat, round the back of the engine, over the top of the gearbox, and terminates just after your water fountain. It's a pain to get it out, as it's boxed in, so you'll need to remove stuff to get access at it. You'll need to remove the rocker cover as the bolts holding it onto the back of the engine are above the exhaust manifold, below the airbox which is part of the rocker cover. After that access is a lot easier. a couple of bolts on the passenger side of the engine some cables clipped onto it, a fuel pipe bolted to it IIRC and Robert is your mothers brother.
Hi, thanks for the reply. I know what a PITA it was doing the stat (& turbo at the same time) getting to some of those bolts but I didn't realise the valve cover would have to come off. (I got new o-rings & copper washers for the injectors a while back but couldn't budge the injectors so left well alone as I was only changing them for preventative maintenance) So as the injectors have too come out for the valve cover to come off that might be a bigger problem:eek:. I'll have a gander from underneath tomorrow & hope for the best.
 
On the plus side - at least its very obvious where the problem is.

Much better then trying to find/guess where coolant is leaking.
Well there's certainly a lot to be said for an easy diagnosis:), it's just the cure that's not looking too good & £217 for the pipe adds to the pain !:(:(
 
Well there's certainly a lot to be said for an easy diagnosis:), it's just the cure that's not looking too good & £217 for the pipe adds to the pain !:(:(
I don't know the pipe as I don't have a TD4, but is there no possibility of fixing it somehow? Welding or "liquid" metal type stuff?
 
Well there's certainly a lot to be said for an easy diagnosis:), it's just the cure that's not looking too good & £217 for the pipe adds to the pain !:(:(

It's unusual for the pipe in question to rust through.
Normally it's just the O ring where it seals to the thermostat that causes the issue.
 
If you are looking for bodges, have a look at thistlewrap or technowrap, no they aren't emergent music genres for d'yoofs to listen to, but pipe repair tapes, essentially products you wrap around a damaged pipe that set hard like a (scottish term) stookie (plaster cast) on a broken wrist.
 
You could probably "make" your own repair kit equivalent to technowrap, which is just fibreglass bandages and epoxy resin, using something like these two products:
https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/product/25mm-carbon-fibre-plain-weave-tape-240g
or
https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/product/fibreglass-tape-200g-x-25mm
and
https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/product/sika-biresin-cr82-epoxy-resin
then lay it up like this:
upload_2021-8-16_18-33-11.jpeg
 
I spent half the day getting the water pipe off, fiddly & time consuming but didn't have to take the valve cover off, in fact even if the injectors come out without a fight I still wouldn't bother removing the valve cover. The rest of the pipe is in good nick so I'm going to see if I can get it welded tomorrow & go from there. As it's still a bit of a fight ( just getting all the rubber hoses of without damaging them took a while) to get off, if it's repaired I'll make sure I test it some how before refitting .
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Wondered if you could run a tap through it with grease to collect swarf and then seal it with a bolt and O ring?? Depends how thick it is.
Hi, good shout I never thought of running a tap in there with bolt/seal & put some JB weld on the inside of the pipe as it's off. I will try to get it welded first but if I can't find anywhere I'll repair it myself, as paying £217 will be a very last resort considering the rest of the pipe is in good nick.
 
It's unusual for the pipe in question to rust through.
Normally it's just the O ring where it seals to the thermostat that causes the issue.
Hi, yeah it's easy to see why people run into problems with the o-ring leaking where it goes into stat because as you know unless you get the pipe in dead square it will nic the o-ring.
Now I've got the pipe off & seen how good the rest of it is (pics on another post) I'm surprised it's gone the way it has in that spot.
andyfreelandy said about threading the hole & putting a bolt with seal so I'll check out getting it welded tomorrow & go from there.
 
If you are looking for bodges, have a look at thistlewrap or technowrap, no they aren't emergent music genres for d'yoofs to listen to, but pipe repair tapes, essentially products you wrap around a damaged pipe that set hard like a (scottish term) stookie (plaster cast) on a broken wrist.
If I didn't intend keeping it I would try a quick fix but it's such a great vehicle & as I have no plans to get rid of it I will get it welded or do as andyfreelander said thread the hole & put a bolt with seal, o-ring/copper washer or if the worst comes too the worst new pipe:eek: £217 hard earned beer tokens:(:(.
 
I don't know the pipe as I don't have a TD4, but is there no possibility of fixing it somehow? Welding or "liquid" metal type stuff?
Hi, now I've got the pipe off I'll try & get it welded up but if I can't find anyone to do it I'll do what andyfreelander said & tap a thread in it then put a bolt (with seal) in there, with some JB Weld for good measure.
 
Hi, now I've got the pipe off I'll try & get it welded up but if I can't find anyone to do it I'll do what andyfreelander said & tap a thread in it then put a bolt (with seal) in there, with some JB Weld for good measure.
Get yourself a new o-ring to go on the stat end whilst you're at it. Even though the one you have on there looks good, since you've gone to all this effort it's well worthwhile putting a fresh one on.
 
If I didn't intend keeping it I would try a quick fix but it's such a great vehicle & as I have no plans to get rid of it I will get it welded or do as andyfreelander said thread the hole & put a bolt with seal, o-ring/copper washer or if the worst comes too the worst new pipe:eek: £217 hard earned beer tokens:(:(.

It really pleases me to hear that it's getting welded or replaced, I hate botches, but since I reckoned you needed to take the rocker cover to get that pipe out, and your injectors are stuck, the suggestion of doing a techno wrap type repair.
 
Get yourself a new o-ring to go on the stat end whilst you're at it. Even though the one you have on there looks good, since you've gone to all this effort it's well worthwhile putting a fresh one on.
O don't worry although that o-ring was new when I did the stat a couple of years back, as it's a PITA to do I won't re-use that one, I'm also looking to replace a few of the more awkward rubber hoses whilst I'm 'in' there.
 
It really pleases me to hear that it's getting welded or replaced, I hate botches, but since I reckoned you needed to take the rocker cover to get that pipe out, and your injectors are stuck, the suggestion of doing a techno wrap type repair.
Yep I agree on the bodges front & would only resort to them if really stuck but as I don't need a 'car' for work & I have my D2 as well, it won't matter if it takes a week or so (as long as it's ready for the LR int. show for my camping weekend).:)
On the valve cover front, I know you can lift the pipe over the eng. once it's off (v.cov) but the biggest pain was getting the hoses off without damaging them & the intercooler metal pipe/water cooled part of the EGR system out the way (which you still have to do even with the valve cover removed) other than that it was just fiddly. Just glad I didn't have any seized bolts.
 

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