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View Full Version : Coolant system leak, any help much appreciated...



Mark Threlfall
25th September 2014, 12:41 PM
Hi all,

I am running a 2010 JCW Hatch and noticed a puddle of coolant on my driveway a few weeks back, I parked the car the other way round and checked the next morning to see an even bigger pool which had formed overnight and the expansion tank was almost completely bone dry.

Needless to say the car hasn't moved since, I had a look underneath and found that the coolant was leaking from the middle of the engine, and dripping from the bottom of the exhaust manifold. I had a Google around and found a large number of forum threads and articles saying that it was almost definitely the Thermostat Housing that had failed, I had a quick look around on top of the engine and couldn't find anything to agree or disagree with this, so I bought a new housing and started taking the system to pieces.

I have now finished installing the new housing and putting the rest of the coolant, ECU and intake systems back together, filled it up with brand new coolant last night but it appears to have started dripping again... :sad: I have not run the engine yet though.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone has any wisdom they could impart on the matter. Is there something specific I should have done when fitting the new housing? Is there another part in that area which could need replacing? Does it just take a while to bed in? Do I need to run the engine for a while for the vacuum to build and secure things?

I did this work myself as I have just moved house and wanted to save the money of a garage bill, so anything further I could do myself would be great before having to bite the bullet of paying for labour.

Thanks in advance for any replies :thumbs up: :D