I have had my series 2 alpine for a few years and have never done alot to it, just enjoyed it. Since my daughter came along 2 years ago I have not had a chance to do anything on the car. Recently I got thte car out to MOT it, it started first time and drove with a few coughs and splutters then died. Thinking it was an ignition fault I replaced the plugs, distributor cap, leads and put in electronic ignition. The car now starts on the button. The issue I now have is a severe water leak. The car has always leaked a little and I always believed it to be a weaping core plug. I replaced the visible ones but when I looked to see where the water is coming from now, it looks as if it is coming from a hole in the bottom of the bell housing. I believe the hole is the oil drain for the gearbox, which has been removed by a previous owner due to this problem. I'm sure this is not normal, so please any advise would be most appreciated, as I need to sort this out quickly due to a house move within the next month.

Hi Dave,

Your problem sounds to me like it could be the core plug at the back of the engine block that is leaking. This is not a very pleasant task as you will have to remove the gearbox and take the fly wheel off to get to it.
There are two core plugs at the back of the engine block, one central to the block and can be seen with engine in car, the other is underneath the gearbox bell housing mounting, at the top and offset to the right/drivers side. The latter would seem to be the leaky offender. Troublesome, but better than a cracked block.

Paul

There is a core plug in the rear of the engine behind the flywheel, which gets overlooked when people change the core plugs. The gearbox, clutch and flywheel have to be removed to get to it.
I found that the number 4 cylinder was surrounded by rubbish when I changed mine.
If you are going to change it, it's worth getting a bit of stiff wire and having a good poke arround inside the hole then flush it out before putting in the new core plug.

Sorry to repeat what Paul had said, but we must have been answering at the same time and i'm slow at typing

Thanks for all the advise. Is it easier to remove the engine or gear box to change the core plug?

Hi Dave,
I think the person to give you that advice is Chris as he is the font of all knowledge Alpine and will tell you how best to proceed.