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I doubt this is a classic ... yet ..

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 10:48 am
by gazza82
but maybe one day.

Our Pug 206 1.4 hdi developed a coolant leak a while back and with everything else going on I just parked it up, sorn'd it and left it to gather dust .. but with the end of the world cup and nothing to do in the evenings I decided it was time to have a look. I was fearing the worst as the coolant was a disgusting colour and it drained the header tank really quickly when I refilled it .. the kitchen bowl is now the garage bowl too as that is unlikely to clean up!

The water was obviously coming from the head area behind the exhaust manifold and over towards the right .. so check the thermostat and hoses and they are all ok .. looking more like the HG ..

The area I wanted to get too is behind the manifold, a small turbo, and large catalytic converted and downpipe and lots of headshield ... so slowly it came off (still working on manifold and turbo! Two inaccessible nuts left and possibly the need to loosen the power steering pump to get the manifold off!!! Why? :roll: )

Once I could get a better look a carefully placed mobile and a usb endoscope on my laptop may have found the issue .. and it could be good news ..

Up behind the manifold and in the cylinder head are two 20mm welch plugs and one was wet. When I dried it off it soon became wet again .. that leak was running down and along the edge of the head gasket and making it look like there was a long leak ... a bit like the one I saw on my old Alfa 156!
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This is the offending article .. and a couple of quid from Peugeot by the look of things (ServiceBox) .. although add in 10 new manifold nuts, a manifold gasket, and a couple of new exhaust clamps and the bill soon gets to £30!). Why the new nuts .. most were a bit chewed up before I got to it and this was a replacement engine fitted a couple of months after the original owner bought it new in 2002 .. why? Head gasket went!! :shock:
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If it is that welch plug then I'm a very happy bunny as the time to change a head gasket on this PSA/Ford collaboration is 9 1/2 hours! And that's for a garage .. that for me was probably 9 1/2 weeks working in the evenings .. however if you see black smoke drifting over South Bucks in the next few days it won't be another field on fire .. :evil:

Re: I doubt this is a classic ... yet ..

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:44 pm
by JPB
Modern cars eh, great when they're working, harder to fix with gaffer tape and epoxy resin when they're not!
Is that a crack under the manifold stud in the image or a change in level around the area where the stud hole is?

Re: I doubt this is a classic ... yet ..

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:46 am
by rich.
have you fixed it mate?

Re: I doubt this is a classic ... yet ..

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:27 am
by gazza82
JPB wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 8:44 pm
Modern cars eh, great when they're working, harder to fix with gaffer tape and epoxy resin when they're not!
Is that a crack under the manifold stud in the image or a change in level around the area where the stud hole is?
Not a crack .. a casting/machining mark. Flat area for bolt spacer to sit.
have you fixed it mate?
Not yet .. the clever people at peugeot make it almost impossible to get the manifold off with the steering/alternator support bracket on the engine. So (a) remove loosen that bracket (which involves steering pipes and aux belts) or (b) try and remove the studs from the head to allow the manifold to move sideways .. I now what I'm considering.

Cost of the plug ... 61p plus VAT!!

Re: I doubt this is a classic ... yet ..

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:29 am
by gazza82
Sorry, forget there's an option c .. grind way the alloy mounting bracket to make space! :shock: