Pink puddle

► The driver of this 2011 Fiat Fiorino 16v Multijet had noticed a strange smell from the engine bay, then discovered a small puddle of pink liquid after leaving the vehicle parked for a short time. We confirmed this was most likely coolant due to a cooling system leak and, as the van had been standing for a while and the engine had cooled, we advised checking the coolant level before driving to the workshop. Luckily, it was not seriously low.

Once the vehicle arrived, one glance underneath confirmed that the engine had a coolant leak from the water pump. On this engine, the water pump is driven by the auxiliary drivebelt and is quite an easy job to renew.

With the new pump fitted and the cooling system refilled with fresh antifreeze, the van was ready to go back to work.

It wasn’t difficult to trace the source of the leaking coolant.