Slow water loss Rocky diesel

[cringedweller]

Hi all,

My Rocky diesel has developed a slow water leak of about 250ml every 2-3 days and I can't find out where it is leaking from. I've checked and nipped up all the hoses I can reach (without stripping anything out). There is no evidence of air bubbles in the water. Any ideas? Wang?

Cheers

 

[Spooner]

Cyl Head ?

 

[ian.c]

Check that your radiator cap is ok, if it's shoddy the coolant will not return from your overflow as the engine cools. The return valve is spring loaded in the centre of the cap seal and should pull out easily to check operation.

 

[cringedweller]

I was hoping that no bubbles meant cylinder head was ok, but I guess that is more for head gasket? I replaced the radiator cap and water pump had a leak so i replaced that too

 

[typhoeus]

heater hoses?, any bypass hoses?

 

[muc the truck]

Go to a radiator shop , say I think I need a new radiator . They will normally do a pressure leak down test for you if you ask nicely for free or just a small fee.
You normally find out were its going with this test.

 

[Good ole boy]

Take of your hose to overflow tank and put another hose on it into a 600mm bottle of water half full make sure that the hose is under the level of the water start it up from cold run it for ten minutes and look for bubbles coming out of the tube or strap it where you can see it and drive up a hill or as Muc the truck said radiator shop and pressure or head check it

 

[Good ole boy]

Buggered thermostat will do it to

 

[cringedweller]

Take of your hose to overflow tank and put another hose on it into a 600mm bottle of water half full make sure that the hose is under the level of the water start it up from cold run it for ten minutes and look for bubbles coming out of the tube or strap it where you can see it and drive up a hill or as Muc the truck said radiator shop and pressure or head check it

Thanks for the replies everyone, you guys are great. Good ole boy what would it mean if there was bubbles in the water when i do the bottle test? It sounds bad if there was..sounds like a pressure test would be the way to go anyways

 

[Good ole boy]

Bubbles can be leakage out of head gasket or head cracked or a hotspot in head also can be caused by buggered thermostat causeing a hot spot I believe better than a pressure test as real time under pressure uphill tells a good story hope it turns out okay

 

[cringedweller]

Yesterday under load going up a big hill she got very hot and then cooled down just as quickly and is fine under load on the flat and general driving. Now it seems as though the turbo might have crapped itself as the hill also killed go forward motion and she slowed right down to 50 and struggled

 

[MyCrazy80]

Have you found out the problem yet mate?

 

[cringedweller]

Have you found out the problem yet mate?

It's been a while and I apologise for not updating. The thermostat housing developed a pin hole right underneath in the corner and this hole eventually leaked and the housing had developed a small crack, probaly compliments of a couple of previous runs up the cape and SA. I was stuck but got hold of some 'knead it' and pressed it into the hole and into the crack for a neat finish. It has been like this for a few months now and I'm not sure how long it will last. A guy at work said he's used it and forgotten about it and it held up ok. I back flushed the radiator and fitted new gasket with goo on the thermostat. So far so good but now losing about 100ml per week

 

[muc the truck]

It's been a while and I apologise for not updating. The thermostat housing developed a pin hole right underneath in the corner and this hole eventually leaked and the housing had developed a small crack, probaly compliments of a couple of previous runs up the cape and SA. I was stuck but got hold of some 'knead it' and pressed it into the hole and into the crack for a neat finish. It has been like this for a few months now and I'm not sure how long it will last. A guy at work said he's used it and forgotten about it and it held up ok. I back flushed the radiator and fitted new gasket with goo on the thermostat. So far so good but now losing about 100ml per week

Is a new part available , if not a tig weld and a machine shop can surface grind it for you .

 

[cringedweller]

Is a new part available , if not a tig weld and a machine shop can surface grind it for you .

Thanks muc that's a great idea. I used to TIG weld a bit (got pretty good at it) but never thought of that. I found a new one at 'euro4x4parts' for 127 euro plus postage, that's more than 10% of what I paid for the whole car

 

[cringedweller]

With the exchange rate that's almost 20% of the cost of the whole car. There you go, I could swap the Rocky for 5 thermostat housings and have enough money left over for 24 bottles of nice cold beer

 

[dno67]

I'd be surprised if there wasn't a toyota or similar part that couldn't be modified and adapted
to suit.

 

[cringedweller]

I'd be surprised if there wasn't a toyota or similar part that couldn't be modified and adapted
to suit.

Yes, good one. That thought has crossed my mind about lots of difficult to source Rocky parts. Just today i stopped on the way home to get an oil filter and the numbers on the boxes on the shelf miraculously skipped mine

 

[cringedweller]

Rocky is going well now with no water leaks, i got a second hand radiator that I put in last week and is good so far. It looked like it had been re-cored at some stage but doesn't have a drain plug like the old one. I found new top and bottom radiator hoses in a box of spares I had, so I installed those with new stainless hose clamps and goo on the inside. I also changed the harmonic balancer belt and alternator belt . I had a mark on the alternator bracket from when I changed the alternator a few years ago, the old belt was stretched by 10mm. The only belt i didn't change was the little power steering belt, they didn't have one but it looked ok. Temperature has been stable so far, the real test coming in a couple of months when things really heat up.

 

[cringedweller]

Have you found out the problem yet mate?

Should have added my previous post as a response, but yes all good for now.
Cheers all