Puddle under van

[sarahandthebear]

in regards to my post the other day about our 1984 1.9 petrol 5 speed westfalia push rods that were leaking under the van. Today at work I went outside and noticed a small puddle under the van and strangely enough under the gearbox. I went under and it was not oil so I'm assuming it's coolent that is somehow dripping down onto the bottom end of the gearbox as it is wet down there. That or it's something els but for the life of me I can't seem to figure it out the leak was under the back end of the gearbox at the engine end and sat just under the box on the underside it had a bit of oil on it to any ideas what this could be. The gears work fine

[jrt]

Have you checked both coolant bottles to see if you've lost anything? Then i'd get your fingers in it to see what it is,-coolant( split pipe..could be running down the pipe from further up), clutch /brake fluid (slave cylinder leaking?), gearbox oil( smelly stuff) or engine oil. If it was a fuel leak you would have smelt it? Give everything a wipe , give it a run on the drive and with a decent light see if you can see any suspects.
David.

[sarahandthebear]

Yeah it did not have a smell as that was my first thought the gearbox oil I was also thinking slave cylinder. I did actually just come in from the van after cleaning it up so I think the old light under the van is next

[sarahandthebear]

Last night we drove home and I left a bit of cardboard under the van to see if we could catch any fluids that leaked. This morning there was nothing on the cardboard so next step is to check the coolent levels and look around for any leaks

[itchyfeet]

its not a caravelle with a heater under the rear seat is it?

fluids can run along pipes and cable and drip down elsewhere.

as said colour feel between fingers and smell is a good indicator.

yep need to get under with a torch.

[937carrera]

Last night we drove home and I left a bit of cardboard under the van to see if we could catch any fluids that leaked. This morning there was nothing on the cardboard so next step is to check the coolent levels and look around for any leaks

Are you sure the puddle wasn't there when you parked up ?

I have heard stories of people trying to diagnose leaks from other peoples vehicles.

[sarahandthebear]

Are you sure the puddle wasn't there when you parked up ?

I have heard stories of people trying to diagnose leaks from other peoples vehicles. [/quote]



yeah I always check before I leave the van. We found the leak it's coming from the bleed valve it's only very small not even noticeable until it builds up on top of the engine and drips down the side

[Dubworth]

I've recently gotten to the bottom of a mystery puddle mine made, with coolant. It turned out the ends of the steel coolant pipes had rotted and were allowing a bit to leak out. Hopefully yours will be ok, but it's worth having a look and checking their condition if you have any doubts.

[sarahandthebear]

[quote="itchyfeet"]its not a caravelle with a heater under the rear seat is it?

fluids can run along pipes and cable and drip down elsewhere.

as said colour feel between fingers and smell is a good indicator.

yep need to get under with a torch.[/quote

It's a westfalia sport I think I have found the culprit being the bleed valve

[sarahandthebear]

https://www.vwheritage.com/type-25-bus/ ... -junctions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's leaking from number 10 on the diagram only a very small amount so far

[sarahandthebear]

I've recently gotten to the bottom of a mystery puddle mine made, with coolant. It turned out the ends of the steel coolant pipes had rotted and were allowing a bit to leak out. Hopefully yours will be ok, but it's worth having a look and checking their condition if you have any doubts.

Thanks dubworth we will have a look it seems to be coming from the bleed valve