Update 13/10/12 - water getting in to spark plug wells

[dave5526]

Ah good to know thanks.

 

The hair dryer doesnt seem to be working - got most of the water out by poking around with a screwdriver wrapped in cloth but there are still little pools right at the bottom I can't get to with a cloth - the hairdryer has been on the plugs for about an hour and a half (moving from chamber to chamber) and still little pools in the bottom. Bit worried that water is still seeping in from somewhere now, although I can't actually see it coming in from anywhere so I guess it would have to be creeping up through the plugs if that were the case!

 

Going to leave the old plugs in with everything off (but bonnet closed) until the new leads arrive and see if the water dries up or gets worse by the end of tomorrow.

 

I guess if there's only a very small amount of water left it will fall into the engine and evaporate but want to get out as much as possible, and ideally be certain that the water hasn't leaked in from somewhere rather than got in externally from my heater matrix flushing - so if anyone could point me in the right direction on what to check that would be great

Edited October 6, 2012 by dave5526 (see edit history)

[straightsix]

Do you have access to a wet vac?

[dave5526]

Update 13/10/12

 

Last weekend I managed to pretty much dry out the tops of the old spark plugs (for anyone reading in future the best way I found was with a very small flat blade screwdriver wrapped in those blue disposable dish cloths to get right in the cracks and soak up most of the water). Have been waiting for the new leads to arrive before doing anything else so I've left the throttle body and leads off with the spark plug chambers exposed but the spark plugs still in. Come to look at the car today and there is water in there again mainly in the rearmost plug and nowhere near as much as before but the car hasn't been started since so I expect when the water pump starts it's going to fill up with coolant again from wherever it's coming from.

 

I've checked all the heater hoses above the rearmost spark plug because that's the obvious location for it to be coming from, and whilst they did feel a tiny bit damp around the ends I don't think it's enough to justify the amount of water that's in the spark plugs, plus there's no signs of water running down into the plugs.

 

It has also rained quite a bit over the last week so I did wonder if it was just rain getting in, but the area around the bonnet seal all seemed dry above the spark plugs and it's been raining earlier today.

 

Can anyone suggest where else it may be getting in from and how I check? I'm sure I remember reading about a hose which can split and leak into the spark plugs but I can't find the post now (not even sure it was this forum) and I can't see anything obvious that looks to be leaking in there.

Edited October 13, 2012 by dave5526 (see edit history)