I have a water leak-water pump?

Just going over the new 'F' today and got as far as checking the levels only to find the expansion tank empty and a pool of water under the car! From what I can see and guess, I think it is the water pump. Water is running and dropping off the sump plug and after removing the offside arch cover I can see seeping around the lower pulley housing.

When I test drove it the car was fine, no signs of leakage and no water loss. Seems to be just bad luck as you cannot hide a leaky pump.

My question is, how the hell do you change the pump? I have looked and can see no real access to the front end of the engine. As you can guess I do not have a manual as yet! I would also like to get a second opinion as I am new to the 4 pot k-series, I only know the KV6.

Great start to 'F' ownership! :shake:

Right I'm off out to take the dogs out for a run in my broken Discovery! I'll catch up later.

It's a cam cover off Timing belt off job I'm afraid.

Are you certain that it's not coming from anywhere above?

I'll post a How to change the water pump when photobucket stops messing about!

Not sure if it is from anywhere else as viewing is difficult, water is coming out slowly when engine off and speeds up when engine running.

Having never worked on an 'F' how do I gain access to said parts? I guess it would be adviseable to purchase a Haynes? I'm not one to always need instructions but in this case to pick the brains of those that know would be the ideal route.

I am guessing that we had better not use the car until it can be rectified? Not wanting hgf!

stamford;9153 wrote: Not sure if it is from anywhere else as viewing is difficult, water is coming out slowly when engine off and speeds up when engine running.

Having never worked on an 'F' how do I gain access to said parts? I guess it would be adviseable to purchase a Haynes? I'm not one to always need instructions but in this case to pick the brains of those that know would be the ideal route.

I am guessing that we had better not use the car until it can be rectified? Not wanting hgf!

Unfortunately, Haynes don't do a manual.

You can get a workshop manual, usually available on Ebay.

Renewing the waterpump involves taking off the top and bottom cam covers, removing the cam belt and the rear plate to access the pump.

Unless you know what you are doing, I would advise contacting Russell; he is very reasonable. http://www.mgroversolutions.com/


edit:- if the expansion tank was empty, there's probably air in the system. That's a recipe for HGF.

Quick question_ What does the coolant that's leaking look like? Does it have small coppery bits in it? Leaving a stain like this:-

Obviously this is not a waterpump leak, but the staining suggests that someone has used a leak-sealing additive.:shake:

Access is slightly restricted but not to bad, you need to remove the O/S engine mount (from the top through the main inspection panel) then lower the engine on a jack to get into the bits you need. Basically the water pump is all the work you would do for a belt change then once the belt is off, the pump just unbolts, new one goes in then re-assemble as for cambelt re-fitment (ideal opportunity to fit a new belt and tensioner:thumbsup:) but you need to bleed the cooling system on re-filling.

Check first that the coolant is not leaking from elsewhere and running down to the sump plug - even a slight external HG leak could cause coolant to run downward. If all OK then its sounds like your pump has had it.

Main inspection panel..........now that's a question!

David, I know about what needs to come off, the question was more to do with how I get to them! All I could see was the offside wheel arch liner that exposes the crank pulley. Do I take it there are a couple of other panels hidden to gain further access? Excuse my ignorance but I am new to this layout and don't know my way around this particular model.

As for the colour of the coolant and staining, it was fresh coolant with no obvious staining as you showed in the picture.

What was also strange was that I checked the car later on today to find the expansion tank level okay. Took the car for a 20 mile run, stopped and checked the levels many times to find the coolant level had not dropped and no signs of any other leaking. Now this boggles me somewhat as I was expecting it to be leaking as it did this morning. The gauge is as before, just below midpoint, no other signs and nothing to indicate any other problems.

Very strange!

stamford;9176 wrote: Main inspection panel..........now that's a question!

David, I know about what needs to come off, the question was more to do with how I get to them! All I could see was the offside wheel arch liner that exposes the crank pulley. Do I take it there are a couple of other panels hidden to gain further access? Excuse my ignorance but I am new to this layout and don't know my way around this particular model.

As for the colour of the coolant and staining, it was fresh coolant with no obvious staining as you showed in the picture.

What was also strange was that I checked the car later on today to find the expansion tank level okay. Took the car for a 20 mile run, stopped and checked the levels many times to find the coolant level had not dropped and no signs of any other leaking. Now this boggles me somewhat as I was expecting it to be leaking as it did this morning. The gauge is as before, just below midpoint, no other signs and nothing to indicate any other problems.

Very strange!

is it possible they did a top up before you collected, which may have pooled somewhere before spilling down into the pump area?

just a thought.

Gos;9177 wrote: is it possible they did a top up before you collected, which may have pooled somewhere before spilling down into the pump area?

just a thought.

If the tank was overfilled would this be connected? It was picked up last Weds, drive back was fine with no issues. The test drive showed up no issues either as I was quite thorough. Not something you could hide, the tank was clean as was the coolant.

It is baffling me now. If it continued to leak I could accept this, but for it to leak then stop is not helping!

stamford;9178 wrote: If the tank was overfilled would this be connected? It was picked up last Weds, drive back was fine with no issues. The test drive showed up no issues either as I was quite thorough. Not something you could hide, the tank was clean as was the coolant.

It is baffling me now. If it continued to leak I could accept this, but for it to leak then stop is not helping!

OK, the main inspection panel is beneath the rear parcel shelf.
You need to unclip the back of the soft top, I think there are 5 cam clips.
Then you can pull the rear of the top up and tie it out of the way.
The carpet and sound proofing just pull out exposing a metal panel secured with 10mm bolts. Take this off.
The engine is now accessible.

ps Make sure the rear window is warm and flexible before you do this or you could split the rear window as well.

pps You could lose coolant through a dodgy expansion tank cap. Is there any staining around the top of the tank? Make sure the coolant is only filled to the seam on the tank. Check the pipework attached to the expansion tank too.

David Aiketgate;9183 wrote: OK, the main inspection panel is beneath the rear parcel shelf.
You need to unclip the back of the soft top, I think there are 5 cam clips.
Then you can pull the rear of the top up and tie it out of the way.
The carpet and sound proofing just pull out exposing a metal panel secured with 10mm bolts. Take this off.
The engine is now accessible.

ps Make sure the rear window is warm and flexible before you do this or you could split the rear window as well.

pps You could lose coolant through a dodgy expansion tank cap. Is there any staining around the top of the tank? Make sure the coolant is only filled to the seam on the tank. Check the pipework attached to the expansion tank too.

Ah right! That was what I needed to know, thank you kind sir! I did get so far with this but thought I had better leave it as I did not want to damage anything. Do I need to remove the panel that shrouds the windstopper and goes behind the seats? Or will the carpet and sound deadening material just pull from behind this?

Tank and cap are all okay, no staining. The tank was filled above the seam on pick up, what would the effect be of this? Would it vent out somewhere?

Thanks for the replies.

stamford;9191 wrote: Ah right! That was what I needed to know, thank you kind sir! I did get so far with this but thought I had better leave it as I did not want to damage anything. Do I need to remove the panel that shrouds the windstopper and goes behind the seats? Or will the carpet and sound deadening material just pull from behind this?

Tank and cap are all okay, no staining. The tank was filled above the seam on pick up, what would the effect be of this? Would it vent out somewhere?

Thanks for the replies.

Not sure what bit you are on about there, the bit about 'the panel that shrouds the windstopper', howerver, in my F all I do is the above and just pull the carpet and sound deadening material from under the back of the T bar.. You will need a 10mm spanner to undo the nuts on the inspection panel. Be warned there are 3 (or should be, mine has 2) that are under the T bar and can be a right sod to get at..

David Aiketgate;9183 wrote:
pps You could lose coolant through a dodgy expansion tank cap. Is there any staining around the top of the tank? Make sure the coolant is only filled to the seam on the tank. Check the pipework attached to the expansion tank too.

was going to mention this too.

spare caps are about a fiver and can be got from flea bay or halfrauds.

it sounds like it was over filled and possibly not bled properly, it is a pressurised system so may have vented from the cap or the cap may be leaky venting coolant when it gets hot.

I would bleed it all again (there is a how to somewhere as not as straightforward as some mechanics think and the cause of many a hgf if not done properly) then if it behaves, ie correct levels of coolant/oil, no mayo, no tell tale signs of leakage, just keep an eye on it.