CAV coolant leak

[Dave]

Need some suggestions guys... I have coolant leaking from the right rocker/sill. Appears to be dripping from the mono behind the right front tire. Nothing viasable on the tube over the rt frt suspension. Also is wet on the rt side floor.

Is the rt side tube one pc to the rear or is there a junction I do not see? Looks like a lot of work to acccess this tube.... any suggestions??

Thanks!

 

[cal]

sir, had the exact same problem. remove the front clip, then remove the large panel that allows access to the back of the instrument cluster. look down inside the exposed area, right hand side. on my car there is a coolant line there that had split. what looks like a very difficult repair is made very easy with the panel off.
my car is sn 102
cal

 

[Pat]

The tube going through the sill is a single stainless tube and unlikely to leak but check the connection to the radiator in case that's leaking and perhaps airflow is moving the water to your sill.

I agree with CAL. I bet the leak is a hose connection to your heater box on the right side under the dash.

 

[John Oxborough]

Dave,
I built a CAV for a customer a few years ago, the coolant pipes ran down each sill(mono) section, there was a flexible jointing sleeve conecting the two part stainless pipes situated at the forward end of the sill behind the closing panel,access to this joint is difficult once the tanks are installed.
I cut two acces holes in the mono and through the g.r.p. sill in line with the hose clips to check the clip tightness in the future.
If your builder forsaw this potential problem you may be lucky and all you may need to do is access the clips and tighten them, if not its a lengthy job to access the pipes(may involve tanks out).:furious:
cheers,
John.

 

[Dave]

Thanks much for the advice. I hope to get a few minutes to do an explatory this weekend. I did check at and around the heater box and hoses. I do not see anything wet inside at all. I was hoping that was the case as opposed to the sill tube. That looks like a big job.

So, this tube that runs the length of the sill, it is one pc, no junction? I cant imagine why there would be any spliced parts enclosed and not serviceable. Does anyone have a pic or drawing of what the tube looks like on both ends?

Looks like this season is over!

Thanks again!

 

[Pat]

Unfortunately I don't have a picture but getting to the sill interior is a easy process. Once the car is chocked, jacked and the front wheel off, remove the upper access plate behind the wheel and then unscrew the self tapping screws that hold on the exterior sill cover. Once that's off you'll see the fiberglass plate that is in front of the cell. Mine was secured with silicon seal so be careful not to try to pry it open as you can crack it. I simply cut the seal with a hobby knife. Once it's off, you'll see what you've got. I've been able to replace a fuel cell in an hour and a half (four times) so it certainly can be done in an afternoon.

This is a picture (I think I got from Ian) that shows the access panel and the black fiberglass cell access cover with the sill cover removed.

One other thought, it it isn't a lot of fluid loss have you considered some stop leak such as Bars? I've heard both pros and cons of stop leak in high performance engines so you may want to get some opinions on it.

 

[Dave]

Thanks much for the pic Veek... Looks doable. Can you confirm for me that the coolant tube inside the sill has a junction and possibly the source of my leak? I will be sure to check the interior at the heater assy first.

Appreciate everyones input!

 

[Eric]

Hi Dave,

I have CAV #105 and had the same problem.

The issue was that in the sill where the coolant hard line comes through the inner fender the hose clamp was loose on the connection to the inner
soft line.

I added an extra hose clamp and tightened both.

My car had no access hole to get behind the hard line so i needed to dremel out a rectangle around the hard line and after the repair
i made a stainless plate to screw on over the hole I cut behind the front wheel at the front of the sill.

After a small but of silicon around the stainless repair all was well.

I have a pic of my repair job that I will attach in the next reply.

 

[Eric]

Dave,

Please forward your e mail and I will forward pics.

Thanks, Eric

 

[Dave]

Thanks much Eric.... PM sent!

 

[Rodolfo]

Dear all,
I have exactly the same problem.
Please let me understand how to remove the black access panel. My Mono have only some rivets and a lot of black silicon. Any image may be a big help.
Thank you
R