17 replies to this topic

[ThermalEvent]

Hi all, got a strange water leak and looks like a 'one off' as it's not leaking now. Engine covered 150 miles everything done by the book, cylinder head torqued after 20 min cam bed in and then after 100 miles (minispares copper HG).

All going well till I got back from the last drive, no issues driving but found the below after removing the bonnet.

Not using any noticable amount of water, not overheating and oil in good condition.

I'm thinking it's the HG allowing water to bypass but shouldn't it be leaking constantly? Very strange.

Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Has anyone seen this before?










Cheers

[sonscar]

Head gasket leak,it may have sealed with a few cycles.Clean it up and observe.If not cured new gasket needed.I personally have never had any success with copper gaskets.I was told they need a proper surface requirement but that may be rubbish.Good luck,Steve..

[MiniMadRacer]

if it all drives lovely,  and I do mean IF... suspect Water pump bearing failure.. fan sprays the water all over the place.... once parked up and cools down and of course not spinning .. no leaks...

[MiniMadRacer]

Actually, the leaks around No 4 do suspect a HG failure, so ignore my earlier comment..though the pattern is unusual

[sonikk4]

My Minispares HG leaked but nothing like that so i suspect it may be something else. As mentioned above its worth checking to see if the gland seal hole on the water pump is pushing fluid out.

 

But i would clean all of that off, run it up temp and see what happens. Mine was obvious as i could see bubbles escaping.

[Chris1275gt]

Looks like the head gasket and perhaps the cooling blades on the alternator is causing the unusual splatter around no 1 plug.

[growlerbearnz]

My first head gasket, a copper one, did that too. Only leaked at certain temperatures (i.e. never when I was actually looking at it). Switched to a BK450 and all was well. 

Curious though: what colour is your coolant when it's wet? That brown colour could be anything... I usually prefer green or pink coolant because they're distinct colours. 

[ThermalEvent]

Thanks for everyone's responses, I think I'll replace it with a BK450, frustrating as now the weathers turned and shops are closed for 2 days, would rather be driving it.

It looks to me like it's from the HG and the fan pulling air from the engine bay has pulled the spray in that direction. Might go for a drive and stay local in case anything goes south.

The coolant colour is due to some remaining citric acid in the system. Had the engine chemically clean when the machining work was completed but it didn't remove the rust deposits. Ran it for 30 mins with a citric acid mix and have been flushing it since with plain water - Will top up with coolant when I'm happy it's all out.

Edited by ThermalEvent, 30 May 2021 - 10:36 AM.

[Ethel]

Process of elimination - make a list, tick off everywhere that's leaking oil - it'll be coming from whatever's left 

[GraemeC]

I always briefly run the engine without coolant in to let everything warm up then cool down, allows
It all to settle. Then re-torque the head nuts (re-torque one by one, not just check torque).

[Tones61]

Common for a copper gasket,as said before,fit a bk450

[ThermalEvent]

Just to confirm, is it ok to re-torque a non copper HG? I'm thinking I'll replace it with a BK450 but do I only have torque it once?
Thanks for everyone's help 😀

[cal844]

Always retorque any head gasket twice (once to initially tighten, then fully heat cycle the motor with normal water and retorque once cold)

[growlerbearnz]

I always briefly run the engine without coolant in to let everything warm up then cool down, allows
It all to settle. Then re-torque the head nuts (re-torque one by one, not just check torque).

That's my standard procedure too, on anything I replace the HG on.
I run Evans Waterless Coolant in the Mini; it will wick its way through almost anything but it's especially fond of a cold, new head gasket that hasn't been heat cycled, contaminating the clean metal and ensuring it'll never seal properly. Heat cycling the engine before adding the coolant is the only way to get the gasket to seal reliably.
 

[ThermalEvent]

Just to follow this up, had the head off yesterday and found the below. It does look to me like it has been leaking from at least 2 of the water galleries.

Let's hope the new HG does a better job of sealing!

For reference the original HG (pictured) is a GEG300 from Minispares.