Last year, as some will remember, my water pump failed catastrophically on my DG causing a rapid temperature rise and almost two weeks graft trying to put things right including new water pump (now in WIKI), thermostat, new rad fan switch, dalek cap, fresh oil, the odd hose, fresh antifreeze blah blah. Certain I'd killed it, this turned out not to be the case and it has pulled as well as it ever has. However, I started to get the tell-tale signs of a leak from the water jacket seal on the left hand side of the engine which has steadily got worse until I was having to top up a litre of water a day just to get to work and back - no other option.
I'm not foolish enough to attempt the rebuild at home as although I've built probably hundreds of VW engines over 35 years, waterboxers have their own weaknesses and it will be sods law that the job will just get bigger and bigger, broken studs etc so I'd planned to build another engine first and just swap them over in the Summer and THEN look at mine. But heck, its all money.
However, I decided (as my MOT was due) to do some general maintenance, fit a new air cleaner and oil filter, give the engine a clean and check all hoses. All in order. While I was in there, I undid the dalek cap and the outlet stub sheared straight off - snap. What was happening is the short stub had a small hairline crack in it on the underside (which you couldn't see) and once the water was under pressure it was trickling down the bottle out of sight and on to the engine along the water jacket seal until it dripped beneath. Judging by the break, it had been weeping for some time. I changed the cap and not a drop of water lost since.
I mention this since a fault like this is so easy to miss even if you're actually looking and the cap does become brittle after a time. Obviously if you DO have a water jacket leak, the solution is a one-way street, but worth getting the cap off and inspecting it carefully before fearing the worst. Might help someone else. For me, the relief of discovering this is immeasurable, not just financially but in general as I want my lad to have it after me.
By the way, thats now the 11th year I've sailed through the MOT. My tester is a great guy and we both go front to back when its on the lift, checking everything in detail. It saves me so much work in the longer run as he spots stuff I can't see when its on the ground and I know whats ahead of me.
Straight after me he put a small Peugeot up on the lift and let me check that. I was shocked at the poor quality of a car that compared to mine is in the flush of youth. Looked like it was all made of tin plate. Some of these hatchbacks may sail smugly past me, but ones things for sure, their ultimate destination will be Mr Scrapman. The models I've seen come and go since I've owned mine, and in comparison mines a tank.
