Topped up water a few weeks ago. Noticed damp smell coming from heater. Heater stopped giving any heat couple days ago but started again after 24hrs. No heat this morning, engine temp shot up and fan didnt kick in. No heat from heater again.
No water in radiator resivior, topped it up and water p*****d out near oil filter! There is a pipe running accross front of engine where its coming out - where it joins engine.
Is it easy to fix? How much could parts be for this? Pretty skint so any advice would be very helpful.

Jon Mason, March 2008

I just had exactly the same problem with my 1.4 clio rt. I just took it to my local garage (ABP Motorsports) and it cost me £145 inc vat & parts to fix. Was going to try it myself but it just seemed like a hassle with bleeding and flushing the coolant and this is my first car.

Typical french problem though - buying German or Eastern next!

Mark, July 2008

Dear sir

You've probably fixed [it] by now . . . (this message is at 23.13, 10th July 2008).

This is almost certainly the 1.4 Energy engine that they put in the Renault 19.

There IS a pipe of about 1"(25mm) diameter that 'plugs/pushes' into the engine block to the left - as you look under the bonnet from the front of the car.

The pipe has an O-ring running around a channel on the leftward end of this pipe which you obviously cannot see 'cos it's pushed into the engine block.

There is a small tab near where this pipe goes into the block to assist levering out with a large screw driver. These pipes rot - as did mine recently. Their noted for rusting out 'cos there just steel.

The pipe runs behind the manifold and bolts to engine block with 13mm bolt. This is the same bolt that holds the lug on the end of the dipstick tube.

There are three rubber coolant pipes that affix to three different sized ends on this steel pipe. You bet a weeks wages that all these ends wil be rotten.

The pipe is awkward to get out on account of it being in place for 10+ years. WD40 around the block end, levering the lug with as big a screwdriver as poss and wiggling the righthand end you get the beast out.

Salvage the O-ring (if intact) off of the old pipe as Renault sell the new pipe without the O-ring. Put new pipe in with some silicon rubber gasket gunge as it will help it go in and also seal the new pipe up: the block will be a bit rusty here so you need all the help you can get.

The job is far, far easier if the exhaust manifold is pulled back but I didn't do it that way despite being familiar with most jobs on the car. You'll probably end up with 1 or more broked exhaust mount studs and the possibility of having to buy a new exhaust gasket.

The coolant pipe could be got from a scrap yard but would have to be examined very carefully.

The pipe is around £24-27.00 + Vat from renault dealer which, when you look at the engineering in it, I didn't think was that bad and I'm not overly flush with dosh.

This steel pipe rotting outing out is another example of cars not having the correct coolant mix but, this pipe is doomed to eventual failure 'cos of of its mild steel construction and the location and application with which it has to work. I had thought about reconstructing one from copper pipe and plumbing fittings but that's a tad ambitious.
Graham

G.P.M., July 2008