Well Dave I think you've pointed me in the right direction!!!!!!!!
Tonight I had another look underneath and the carpet (on the garage floor) was wet. A quick inspection with newspaper showed a leak like a nosebleed. Drip....drip....drip.
A leak!!!! I'm so pleased......
it could have been a lot worse....
It's where the long pipe which passes under the nearside manifold (recently insulated with foil) meets the vertical short hose at the back of the engine. Clearly the low temperatures have contracted the metal pipe and increased the leak...........
I also presume
that when the coolant is hot it will expand the pipe and reduce the leak, probably to nothing.
This is the offending Jubillee Clip: (Screwdriver is pointing at it).
This view is after removing the air box and washer bottle (simple enough).
This is the combo I used to tighten it up........
The trouble was, that I got it tight, but it was still dripping slightly.
Then 'just another turn' stripped the worm drive. It's 40mm, and as you might expect I have a box of assorted worm drive clips, but none at 40mm. So I had to shorten the next size up, which is simple enough with a hacksaw & file. Then I undid the old clip and peeled it off. Water loss was minimal. My solution to a bad seal is to introduce a smear of grease in the joint, and I did that using the screwdriver in the first photo, making sure that it was spread all the way round, and an inch up the hose. Then I fitted the new clip. It's pretty tight, but I won't know until tomorrow if it's completely cured. I've left some newspaper underneath to monitor progress.
This is the offending clip from below:
You can see how cramped it is - but not as cramped as the top clip......
This is the view from the side. The flat metal piece is the water pump drive belt guard. The pulley is visible at the bottom.
This shows just how close the top clip is to the drive belt. It really is that close.
So finally, while we're in this location, this is where the gearbox numbers are stamped............
That's all for now. Feeling much happier.
