# Preventing Alde fluid loss



## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Last year I had a problem with fluid dripping out of the pipe from the Air bleed valve (this is the brass fitting on the boiler). When I removed and stripped it, I found some rubbish in it. After clening, it was fine for a while but started weeping again lately. If anyone else is losing fluid, look behind the rear nearside wheel. If it is leaking there then the bleed valve is passing. It is a bleeding nuisance  because the fluid level in the header tank drops fairly quickly and the heating cuts out

Now for the fix..........I went to a pet shop and in the pet fish section I bought 2 items. A non return valve which is used on the aeration system for fish tanks. This prevents water from being syphoned back to the air pump. I also bought a length of the air tubing (about 4 mm diameter).

Remove the existing drain pipe from the bleed valve but leave in situ. Fit a short piece of the new tubing and fit the non return valve. Make sure you have it the right way round. You are actually using it in reverse as you want it to block the exit of any air. I have fitted the remainder of the new tubing to the other side of the non return valve and coiled it up next to the boiler. As there has been no fluid coming from the bleed valve, this may not be necessary.

If you ever need to bleed air from the system then simply disconnect the new setup and refix the original drain pipe.

After using the van a lot lately, I have not lost any fluid at all so I reckon it is a cheap and effective fix for a leaking bleed valve.


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