300tdi lost water

[seph234]

hello i took my mum and dad to the airport at 2am this morning in there 1997 300tdi es disco i cruised down to gatwick doing about 70-80mph it was fine i dropped them off i got about 1/2 a mile up the m23 and the heaters went cold i looked down at the gauges and it was in the red so i pulled over and felt the pipes   not that hot but empty so i  slowly undo the header tank and  it bubbles up quite a bit i let off all the pressure take cap off and water is low in the tank let it cool down set off get to a garage about a mile up the road take another look no water in the tank i put about 2-3 litres in giving the hoses a good sqeezing etc put the cap back on start it up and temp reads at normal just below half way i expected to stop at the next services to top the water up but the temp stayed ok all the way home the water pump to me sounds a bit sqeeky do you think it could be this and do you think the head gasket could be on its way out.  joe

[Budgie]

If the water pump has gone then look for a drip of water from under the body of the water pump. If the seal goes inside then there is a small hole in the body to let yo know!

It could be the head gasket, especially after a boiling, look for water in the oil (white mush on the dipstick & in the rocker cover) and oil in the header tank.

Also check that none of the water pipes have a small split and the same with the radiator, also make sure all the jubilee clips on the pipes are tight.

Did it loose any more water after you refilled it? It may have just been very low when you started the trip.

[seph234]

thanks budgie ive looked at it today and all hoses are ok it looks like its the water pump when it is running it is very noisy and i can see a small drip coming from the bottom of it im just hoping it hasnt done any damage from heating up, the oil looks ok and the water in the header tank looks ok. It must of been leaking for a while and just got low enough for the journey home(my luck) im going to change the pump and run it around all week and fingers crossed No other damage has been done.  joe