Head Gasket / Cracked Head.

[matthenley]

Thanks for that, Simon.

Cam belt, filter kit, thermostat and water pump added to the list. £589 spent so far, plus some tools I'll need. There's two

Anyone attempting the same job, Matt's (excellent) thread is at http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... =3&t=58441 . There's a fact sheet at http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/member ... gasket.pdf

Thanks Mikeonb4c for the heads up on Bongobits. I'll talk to them before putting an order through. I'll try and check the radiator flow. Not sure how atm?

The Laird: Glow plugs added to the (evermore extensive and expensive) list. Coolant alarm is ordered already!

On with the work...

[Titan1995]

Sounds like a re run of my Spring tasks "Last Year"

On a personal note I installed a dash mounted digital thermometer with the sensor attached to the back of the head.

I watch the read out like a hawk.

OEM Thermostat is a must.

On the tools side:
A 38mm socket is useful for turning the engine via the crank pulley nut.
Vauxhall Vectra etc. oil filter tool will do the job and cheap too.


An assistant is handy when doing the torques and angles on cylinder head bolts. One tends to get confused with some 54 operations on the bolts.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[matthenley]

Well I planned to pressure test and I guess that's what I did. Started the engine and within a few seconds I had a bulging hose followed by water from the header tank pressure valve. I don't think I'll be doing that again.



Might as well start ripping the engine to bits... Oh and I'll add another hose to the shopping list :/

[Northern Bongolow]

it may be an idea to hold off ripping it to bits just yet.
the hose shown (the bottom hose from rad) is one of the least used in the system, and certainly one of the coolest.
i would recommend getting to the bottom of whats going on first.
maybe replace the hose and a stat, then refill/bleed. measure the pressure its making by fitting a pressure gauge in the system.
if you get a leak at the hose shown any air entering will lodge in the head giving head boiling and coolant loss via the cap. this doesnt mean the heads gone though.

[matthenley]

Can do that but there's also white smoke/steam from the exhaust when starting, which would indicate coolant in the cylinders? The large pressure build up (over 1.1 bar for header valve to blow) happened after about 10 seconds of starting the engine from cold. Just gone back to the bongo (after >30 mins) and removed the header cap, which let off quite a hiss so keeping pressure.

[hammy67]

i am just getting the level rising in the header tank and constant air in the system when bleeding with the engine running think i will strip all the cooling system compleatly down and check for air leaks again before comdeming a head and gaskit fitted less than a year ago

[matthenley]

Also noticed that the glow plug light flashes a few times when it would normally go out. It is currently difficult to start, as if it's only on 3 cylinders. This clears after a few seconds.

[hammy67]

hope it all works out for you in the end if you need any advice always ask there is so much knowledge on this forum it is unbelievable

[matthenley]

Thanks Hammy67

[teenmal]

it may be an idea to hold off ripping it to bits just yet.
the hose shown (the bottom hose from rad) is one of the least used in the system, and certainly one of the coolest.
i would recommend getting to the bottom of whats going on first.
maybe replace the hose and a stat, then refill/bleed. measure the pressure its making by fitting a pressure gauge in the system.
if you get a leak at the hose shown any air entering will lodge in the head giving head boiling and coolant loss via the cap. this doesnt mean the heads gone though.

I think there is a wee clue here,QUOTE.....coolant is ejected from the bleed pipe at force, followed by exhaust gasses.

Where would you suggest that the Exhaust gasses are coming from.

[hammy67]

i can see where northern is coming from, is it exhaust gases or air being drawn into the system ending uo air locked and expanding
this is one reason that with mine i will have a gas test done on the water

[Northern Bongolow]

thanks for highlighting in red and pointing it out but i did see the clues this time round, though i have been known to put my big foot in it from time to time.
sometimes the forum works in other ways than preaching, sometimes, when you step back and think about something again it may not have been what really happened, or the true account wasnt relayed, sometimes the other view can make you revisit something.

oh and a happy new year.

[matthenley]

Thanks, Northern. Did make me think again from another angle, which is no bad thing. If there's any possibility it's not the head / gasket, the thought is worth pursuing, although I pretty sure it is the head.

As for diagnosing, I really don't like running it like this. There's no obvious leaks (other than I think into the cylinders - white smoke/stream). The water really was quite rusty though. After flushing with water from a hose pipe for 30 minutes and refilling, there's still bits floating around. I reckon radiator is likely to be blocked, or at least insides coated with rust so not as effective.

While i'm waiting for parts and tools, I'll drain and use radiator flush (Bars Flush?). I'll see what's getting warm and staying cold. Is it worth doing this in this condition? I don't think I'll get accurate results with the exhaust gasses. If I run without the header cap on is the system likely to boil at the head as it won't be under pressure? Might I be better waiting until the work is done before flushing and diagnosing? Am I asking too many questions?

A couple of weeks ago it went on a long trip with 6 people up lots of hills. I wasn't driving so don't know about the temp gauge and water level wasn't checked before the trip. This, I'm guessing is where the damage happened.

Matt

[matthenley]

Spoke to Bongobits. Assured delivery would be Friday at the latest.

Parts came to £744

[mikeonb4c]

Spoke to Bongobits. Assured delivery would be Friday at the latest.

Parts came to £744

You could hold back on buying a coolant alarm until you've got the work done successfully. And I believe you can get a combined lca/engine block temp gauge unit for a little more than the basic alarm. New rad sounds needed, maybe new heater rad also?