[T3] water dripping on cold start

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Sun May 6 05:29:20 PDT 2012


On 5 May 2012 at 21:21, Bryon Garvin wrote:

> seems that on a cold start, I get an alarming amount of water that comes
> dripping from the engine.  I crawled under and looked around while it was
> happening.  It seemed to be spitting out at the junction at the forward end
> of the rear heat exchanger.

The "forward end of the rear heat exchanger"? That would be where the 
rear heat exchanger bolts to the exhaust port on the head. Is that 
what you mean?

> I know that water is a byproduct of combustion, but this seems like a lot.
>  Any ideas what I'm seeing?  Is there water getting into the system
> somehow?  Or is this normal but maybe some of my junctions aren't as tight
> or sealed as they should be?

It sounds like there's a bit of a leak there, but a small leak 
anywhere would not be unusual.

Since you live in a rainy area, it's possible that you're sucking in 
some rainwater that has collected in the intake area overnight, and 
has just been sucked into, and passed thru, the engine. One thing to 
check would be to make sure the drain hole in the bottom of the fan 
housing, at the center of the parting line of the housing halves, is 
clear. That hole is about 3/16" diameter and often gets clogged with 
debris in an old engine.

You can even clean this out with the engine running, if you use a 
small wooden stick, so it will just break off if it hits the fan.

It might not be coming thru the combustion chamber, it might just be 
dripping on the exhaust from the cooling passage above the exhaust 
and emerging below, where you can see it.

Or, you could just be seeing the normal amount of combustion water. 
Either way, it's not a big deal, but it's still a good idea to clean 
out that drain hole occasionally.


-- 
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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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