Mine leaked from that location - it was the valley gasket. Not too difficult to replace.
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Mine leaked from that location - it was the valley gasket. Not too difficult to replace.
Philip,
I was the original poster ... and it's still not fixed. I fixed the heater O rings. That stopped the leaking in the car. didn't stop the coolant loss though. So I have been slowly working thru the issues as I have had time. As my post today indicates I have isolated everything that could be an issue and that is why my question now. I've run out of options ...
It seems tho that the comments here are leading me to the same conclusion that I was coming to ... the valley cover/ inlet manifold connection.
As soon as I have resolved it I'll let you know.
Thanks
Willem
did you change your radator overflow cap in your p38a , on my holden it was leaking water (with added steam) from radiator (not overflow as different set up ) than i got a $10 new rad cap and fixed the water loss and ran cooler again instantly / in my p38a i change the overflow bottle cap every 100,000 km automatically so can not say had that prob in that , but in holden did that and that fixed / worked .
can only try if you havent done that option yet on yours .
Wow, I apologise.Quote:
I was the original poster ... and it's still not fixed. I fixed the heater O rings.
Have you tried just tightening the rear bolts to see if it made a difference?
IFAIR you can reach them without removing the plenum, if it is not a Thor.
BTW although I understand there is a risk of delamination, to me the valley gaskets with the black stuff on them are far superior at sealing than the tin ones. I have fitted a black one to mine.
Regards Philip A
Hmmm. This has got me perplexed. From all the drawings and pics I have been able to see there is no coolant passage from the heads to the inlet manifold. As far as I can see there are not coolant passages in the inlet manifold at all. So it follows that the leak cannot come from the valley cover gasket at all. Please correct me if I am wrong with this.
But it is still coming from the back of the engine - running down both sides of the outside of the bell housing, coming from on top of the bell housing. Remember that the heater and the gas system have been bypassed so the leak is not coming from them.
This is not a small leak - it is a steady drip drip drip and will leak half a litre every day or so.
Any ideas and suggestions welcome.
Willem
There are water ports through both ends of the inlet manifold gasket, both sides. Generally only the front 2 are used, the other two allow the fitting of each head to the other bank by rotating the head lengthwise. Then the front ports become the back ports.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1305170757
And yes, they do leak, sometimes copiously.
I had coolant leaking from my gearbox a year ago!!
Turned out it was the valley gasket at the rear of the engine. A new gasket and it was all fixed.
When I removed the inlet manifold a couple of the rear bolts were not as tight as the others. That might have been all I needed to do, but by then I was deep enough in to continue with the valley gasket replacement.
Does anybody have any photos they could post to point out which are the two boltsat the rear of the inlet manifold that could be loose ?
I am following this thread with interest...
Thanks
Dave