Corraded HT lead

[skinnyman9000 0]

Checking the car over this morning I find I had a HT lead cap corraded that smells of coolant. No obviously external leaks, which leads me to believe it's something more serious.

 

Any ideas?

[Wullie 1]

As the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy says DON'T PANIC, think. How would coolant get from inside the engine onto the HT cap. I'm assuming that it's the connection to the plug itself. If coolant was getting into the cylinder it would have to come up past the spark plug which seems extremely unlikely and you would be getting other symptoms pertaining to a headgasket on the way out. The other way would be via the rocker cover gasket at that plug which means you would have about an inch of water sitting in beside the cams. Either way you would be losing water or overpressurising the system.

 

The only other way to get coolant into that area is from above. i.e. down from outside the engine past the plug connector. Are you sure you didn't spill anything on the head while topping up or refilling the radiator. Is there definately coolant there. Have a long slow look around the area. It's probably not as bad as you think, it's just a Corrado winding up it's owner.

[skinnyman9000 0]

Well, it was actually the garage that pointed to a possible leak.

 

I had the dizzy cap and HT leads replaced in March due to a starting problem, so i took it back to the garage that supplied the HT leads it get a replacement set under warranty. The chap had a look and suspected a leak, so im taking it to him on Weds to take a closer look. He's pointed to this as he claims the HT plug cap smells of coolant, which i dont think it does, it smells the same as the other 3 which are fine.

 

As for possible gasket failure. The engine had a full strip down and rebuild around 8k ago, so i would be pissed if it was this. But the oil is fine, no white gunk anywhere. It does use water, but no more so than any other car ive had, im talking 1/2 litre top up every 3-4months or so. The plug cap is corroded, but im beginning to wonder if the garage simply doesnt want to replace the HT leads, and wants to charge me £xxx to take a look at a 'leak'. But i haven definately not spilt anything on the engine, im very careful not to do this.

[steveo29 0]

no car uses water ...its leaking out or burning it

[skinnyman9000 0]

It runs hot, as per another thread, so its most likely burning it.

 

Tbh running a rado is beginning to turn into a full time job, german reliability my arse!

[daleyboy 0]

Its German reliability that is now around seventeen years old...........why were there no seventeen year old Austin Allegro's..?........... :shrug:

[skinnyman9000 0]

Well I went back to the garage today and told them I wasn't happy with the idea of them stripping the engine down for a fault I felt didn't exist. They weren't 100% happy with replacing the HT lead under warranty so I asked someone to take a look at it again. Luckily the mechanic to take a look was a sub contractor. Took one look at the issue and said it definitely wasn't coolant. He's convinced them to replace the leads. So this weekend going to buy some new plugs, clean up all the seating faces and fit the new leads. Hopefully this will be the end of the problem.

 

The downside is my shaken confidence in the garage. They are my local specialists and I used to take my car there for everything, except major work, then it goes to midland VW. But after this I'm going to have to think twice about using them again.

[Erny 0]

Not tryin to be a funny cu*t, but if you don't trust em for major work why waste your time takin your car there for small jobs?

Te sub-contractor sounds honest enough, take his number and take your car to him

from now on. See how that goes, end of the day you are his bread an butter, he relys you on your good recomendations

[skinnyman9000 0]

Well it has gone there for things like servicing and small repairs, when i started going the garage was owned and ran by an old german chap who used to work for VW germany, which was good enough pedigree for me!

 

I do prefer to take it to Midland VW when i can, but thats an hours drive away, whereas this place is 10mins, so its not always practical. Also, it only had the HT leads replaced there as i broke down during my lunch break and the AA came out and couldnt start the car, so i got it towed. Now seeing as how i couldnt really get it towed to cannock during lunch i took it to my local place, which is why they ended up replacing the HT leads in the first place. Normally this is obviously a job i would do myself, but it was only taken there due to the circumstances.

 

And up until this point i did trust them due to past work, but after this little stunt im concerned. So it was only this recent event that has made me question them, i wouldnt have taken it there in the first place if i was dubious.