Mk 5 transit with poorly engine,please help

[p.o.w van]

Me transit is not very well,ive have this van which is a Mk5 1997 lwb transit over four years and never had a real probelm with it.Ive just spent alot of time and money on her,full respray and converted all the back out then she does this to me.

Last week i was driving down south and the bty warning light came so i pulled over and it over heated badly there wasnt a drop of coolant in there the adjuster arm on the alternator had broke causing the fan belt to come off,rac came out and towed me to me destination he did say though that he thinks ive been lucky and done no damage to the head( fingers crossed)

i got the arm welded the next day fitted it all back together the van ran ok but the alternator wasnt sitting correctly,called rac out again and he discovered the probelm the casing where where the alternator bolts to had worn away he did a temporary repair for me and told me what i needed to repair it.A few days after this i was driving from tidworth to manchester so i found a place in dudley who could repair it for me,cause it was at the half way point of the trip.The van drove fine all the way there.

This is the work they did,replaced oil pump housing(i think),a L shaped bracket which the bolt of the alternator also goes through,second hand alternator,new fan belt and a power steering belt,happy days i drive to the front gate and hear a noise i check it and its the alternator i get the guy over its the bearings he said itll be ok and if it packs in hell send me one free of charge,again happy days.

i drive home no probs but notice the van aint quite running right abit sluggish if you know what i mean(maybe its all the weight in the back,i just dont know)i get to me house,this is where the fun starts,theres a tight parking space outside me gaff so im tryin to squeeze the van in there everything time i get a full lock on this horrible sqeeching,grinding noise is heard,no idea what it is but only happens on full lock(damn)get to me girlfriends its doing it all the time now,i have a quick look havnt got a clue what im looking for though i also notice the coolant level is low.Its late now so i sack it till the morning.

This morning i pop the bonnet and this is what i find,

1. no coolant,fill it up run the engine theres a leak from where i dont no.

2.theres a oil leak from the large pipe on the vacuum pump.

3.i touch the steering wheel and move it left and right ,it makes that horrible noise.

Please help lads,i spend all that money and time on her and this is how she treats me,the M.O.T up the end of next month and im skint lol,all advice wecome and any transit gurus in the manchester area that would be kind enough to look at it that would be awsome,along post i know but thought id get all the details in there,many thanks.

[madmark_50484]

1. Losing coolant sign of headgasket
2. not sure
3. steering thing sounds like power steering pump

[trigger]

It may not be as bad as it sounds, these engines are bulletproof, the screeching when turning the steering wheel deffo sounds like the power steering pump, have you checked the fluid in it? the vacuum pipe leaking is this from the back of the alternator? if it is i had a van with that fault, could be split pipe or seals, have you checked to see where the water could be leaking to? if no visable signs then it could be headgasket

[Nadjenka]

I'd probably check that the belts are on properly, in line and that they are not overtightened. I'm sure someone will come on with better suggestions, but with minimal knowledge - that's what I would do. The belts shoud easily move when you press your finger on them about 4mm up and down. Or when you should be able to "twist" them about 90 degrees. That soud looks like power steering pump, but again - it could be just very tight belt Did you check your power steering fluid Also - did you check under your oil cup for any water "foam" - whitish stuff that appears in the tube if water is getting in...?

[p.o.w van]

It may not be as bad as it sounds, these engines are bulletproof, the screeching when turning the steering wheel deffo sounds like the power steering pump, have you checked the fluid in it? the vacuum pipe leaking is this from the back of the alternator? if it is i had a van with that fault, could be split pipe or seals, have you checked to see where the water could be leaking to? if no visable signs then it could be headgasket

Cheers mate,power steering oil level is just below the cold min mark,just checked the power steering belt and its too slack hopefully this is the probelm,you say check the oil in the pump or did you mean the reservoir,and where are the seals in tis pipe?

[p.o.w van]

I'd probably check that the belts are on properly, in line and that they are not overtightened. I'm sure someone will come on with better suggestions, but with minimal knowledge - that's what I would do. The belts shoud easily move when you press your finger on them about 4mm up and down. Or when you should be able to "twist" them about 90 degrees. That soud looks like power steering pump, but again - it could be just very tight belt Did you check your power steering fluid Also - did you check under your oil cup for any water "foam" - whitish stuff that appears in the tube if water is getting in...?

fan belt is good power steering belt was slack fingers crossed thats the probelm oil on the dip stick and cap are fine,oil cup did you cap mate.

[p.o.w van]

1. Losing coolant sign of headgasket
2. not sure
3. steering thing sounds like power steering pump

thank, am i correct in thinking that if it was the head gasket there would be a dramatic loss of power ,the leak seems to be coming from the plastic casing that covers the cam belt the water is dripping from just below thecrankshaft pulley do you think it could be the waterpump?

[madmark_50484]

1. Losing coolant sign of headgasket
2. not sure
3. steering thing sounds like power steering pump

thank, am i correct in thinking that if it was the head gasket there would be a dramatic loss of power ,the leak seems to be coming from the plastic casing that covers the cam belt the water is dripping from just below thecrankshaft pulley do you think it could be the waterpump?

Thats different if you know where its leaking from headgasket won't make much odds to you in the early stages its in the late stages they start giving you problems.

[p.o.w van]

1. Losing coolant sign of headgasket
2. not sure
3. steering thing sounds like power steering pump

thank, am i correct in thinking that if it was the head gasket there would be a dramatic loss of power ,the leak seems to be coming from the plastic casing that covers the cam belt the water is dripping from just below thecrankshaft pulley do you think it could be the waterpump?

Thats different if you know where its leaking from headgasket won't make much odds to you in the early stages its in the late stages they start giving you problems.

im not sure where the actual leak is from but thats where the water is dripping from,does that make sense.is there anyway to get the engine tested to see if the gasket is going.

[madmark_50484]

you could get a compression test but that could be a red herring I would suggest its not that if you know its leaking I would suggest getting the waterpump done

[p.o.w van]

you could get a compression test but that could be a red herring I would suggest its not that if you know its leaking I would suggest getting the waterpump done

right ok cheers,thats what i was thinking.i had no leaks before the alternater probelm if that garage wasnt 83 miles away id be there now asking i mean telling them to sort it.

[madmark_50484]

you could get a compression test but that could be a red herring I would suggest its not that if you know its leaking I would suggest getting the waterpump done

right ok cheers,thats what i was thinking.i had no leaks before the alternater probelm if that garage wasnt 83 miles away id be there now asking i mean telling them to sort it.

The thing is is it could have got damaged by the belt coming off although the slack power steering belt is definately a bad sign

[p.o.w van]

you could get a compression test but that could be a red herring I would suggest its not that if you know its leaking I would suggest getting the waterpump done

right ok cheers,thats what i was thinking.i had no leaks before the alternater probelm if that garage wasnt 83 miles away id be there now asking i mean telling them to sort it.

The thing is is it could have got damaged by the belt coming off although the slack power steering belt is definately a bad sign

yeah it could off,the RAC have been out twice and both times they checked the pump and said it was fine but if its gone its gone ill get a new one hopefully i can fit that meself,why is the power steering a bad sign mate.

[MinorMatt]

A loose power steering belt makes a really horrible grinding noise. It starts on full lock and gets worse as the belt gets looser

[p.o.w van]

A loose power steering belt makes a really horrible grinding noise. It starts on full lock and gets worse as the belt gets looser

cheers mate thats exactly what happened,i got new belts and a water pump today and stripped everything off i had to ill replace them tomorrow fingers crossed everything will be ok and ill be mobile again.