Hello All,

I could do with some advice please. Was poking around the engine bay yesterday as there had been a strange smell (acrid, like rubber burning) coming through the air vents. I couldn't smell anything in the engine bay, but noticed a possible leak coming out of a small radiator located behind the O/S/F bumper. The area in question is circle number one.

A close up picture is below:

Also, there is another bit of pipe (circle number two) which is also looked wet, again possible leak? Close up below:

I can't tell if these are leaks or not, so would appreciate advice.

Cheers.

Will

Can anybody help with this one?

i don t know much about this car bud and its quite hard to tell from the pics but the pipe on the 3rd pic looks to have oil on it .

if it was mine id get some clutch / brake cleaner and give it all a good clean up take the car for a good run on a dry day then have a look see if any pipes have got wet again

Perhaps borrow a better camera or upload at a higher resolution as the combination between focus being slightly soft and the low res isn't that easy to see anything (then again it could be me, it's been a looong day).

Not sure how to solve the resolution issue as I can only upload a total of 1MB?

External image hosting?

Coolant often leaves tell-tale marks. Another method, if the system is filled with the correct pink/purple stuff, is to use a UV light, as coolant fluoresces.

Common radiator leak spots include the radiator fan switch (a washer was not fitted at manufacture, but fitting one a Skoda dealer can sell, or ptfe tape, usually sorts it.) Another point is the radiators tend to rust at the bottom corners.

Are you definitely losing coolant? I.e. level falling?

I suppose a burning clutch could be like the type of smell you describe. Usually due to poor clutch control.

Ok, So I think that what I am referring to is the Intercooler. The hose going into it is is circled below

There seems to be a lot of muck around the bottom of it - is it just crud from the road, or stuff leaking out? Coolant levels seem fine.

With regards to the smell which made me have a look under the bonnet, it occurred when driving down the motorway. Would the clutch still be a possible factor?

does the 1.4 tdi have an intercooler? i know my intercooler on the vrs is covered in oil where the connections leak but its not a problem ....

I'm assuming that it does, as referring to my Haynes manual, it's the right size and in the same place!

well if the connectors on the hoses are anything like the vrs then they will be exceptionally poor and leak out abit of oil and gunge