Cracked Block??

Bollotti · Feb 7, 2012

Hi

This is in relation to a P38 4.0 1996 model.

After spending a small fortune on having a new head gasket, skimmed head, new water pump, radiator etc. etc. I am now having a few issues.

Firstly I am losing a small amount of water, approx. a cup full every couple of days. Now this could be through one of the pipes, as I had to replace most of them when the head was done, although I cannot see any obvious signs of where this may be weeping from.

Secondly the temp guage is now only moving to the top of the blue, even on a long run. The engine seems to be running up to temp okay, heaters work fine etc. The engine used to go to 12 o'clock after about 5 minutes running before.

The system is remaining pressurised until the next day

White smoke on start up which is taking a few minutes to clear.

I am hoping that with the temp guage not working properly it may be effecting the fuel mixure, but then again I am probably clutching at straws.

If it is a cracked block, are there any decend products out there than could repair this? I have read somewhere that you can put some liquid metal into the cooling system.

Any thoughts, shoulders to cry on welcomed......

Datatek · Feb 7, 2012

Not getting up to temp is likely to be the thermostat or just possibly the viscous fan seized. Can't comment on the other problems as I know nowt about the V8 except it's a dog of an engine.

gfromleeds · Feb 7, 2012

it it is a cracked block i used halfords block sealer it worked and it says its guaranteed the life of your engine! but i wouldnt know about that as some **** nicked it and burned it out about 4 months after using it.
its wasnt expencive and its dam cheeper that a new block! so its worth a try! what have you got to lose?
just get a conformation that it is a cracked block before you put owt like this in it

gfromleeds · Feb 7, 2012

after re-reading it sounds like a small leek park it over some clean paper and run it from cold to normal temp see if it drips
then depending how bad it is you could repair or just use some radweld or similar
the white smoke is likely just condensation at this time of year
as for the temp gauge i don’t know maybe with it being so cold recently and your cooling system is effectively brand new it might not be able to get to full temp! try an old trick and put a pice of card in front of the rad to reduce to air flow and see if it heats up to 12 o'clock then, just dont let it overheat for f@~k sake

wammers · Feb 7, 2012

Vapour is normal on start up, if it clears when engine is warm there should not be a problem. Take the plugs out and look for a clean one, to set your mind at rest. If all plugs are normal you do not have a block problem.

Bollotti · Feb 7, 2012

Thanks for the replies

j the range · Feb 7, 2012

iron tite is the best thing to use if there is a good thying to put in your very poor colent flow v8, if you do use it read the bottle and follow it to the letter. best of luck..

dohan10 · Nov 30, 2012

hi

i have a 1998 rangerover p38 4.0 ltre when i start it from cold it smokes but after 5 minutes or so it clears it onley does this first thing in the morning.The problem is that i am loosing coolant ao a small scale i have to top up every 4 to 5 days it does not overheat or anything like that. My temp guage used to sit halfway but since i have had the coolant changed it just gose off the blue mark and stays their but if i am sitting in traffic it goes up a bit more but never to half way, The other problem i have is when it smokes when its cold it is leaving black marks on the pavment is this a cracked block

thanks for your help and advice

dohan

Saint.V8 · Nov 30, 2012

Water entering the engine would produce white exhaust clouds....

If it only does it first thing I would imagine it is just condensation in the exhaust system that is boiling off into steam, and after 5 minutes the exhaust is hot enough and the water has been boiled off....

If it is leaving black marks, this could be due to over fuelling or dirty exhausts....maybe burning a little bit of oil....

White Fluffy - Water condensation
Blue Smelly - Oil
Black Sooty - Fuelling

dohan10 · Nov 30, 2012

Saint.V8 said:
Water entering the engine would produce white exhaust clouds....

If it only does it first thing I would imagine it is just condensation in the exhaust system that is boiling off into steam, and after 5 minutes the exhaust is hot enough and the water has been boiled off....

If it is leaving black marks, this could be due to over fuelling or dirty exhausts....maybe burning a little bit of oil....

White Fluffy - Water condensation
Blue Smelly - Oil
Black Sooty - Fuelling

i have just got this back fron the garage and the told me the block was cracked and quoted me £5.000 to fix when i look at my exsaust it is very dirty black looking what is your opinion to fix this or find the problem and would you say the block is deffantly not cracked

cheers dohan

Saint.V8 · Nov 30, 2012

Might be an idea to get a second opinion....

Run the engine up to temp and feel the hoses, they should be firm but not solid - solid hoses indicates the cooling system is getting pressurised from somewhere.

Does it over heat??
Run Lumpy?
Lack a bit of power?

Whilst the 4.0 can suffer from cracked blocks - they aren't as common as the 4.6.

Get a sniff test done for hydrocarbons in the coolant and maybe a compression check too.

£5k is steep.....so get a second and third opinion before you decide on anything.

kevwill · Nov 30, 2012

As saintv8 says; get a second opinion.
Temp gauge running cold - sounds like thermostat is jammed open, not restricting flow when required.
After changing my headgaskets, I still had white smoke/vapour from exhausts - didn't clear until I'd done about 50 miles. Its the water vapour in the exhaust/cats burning off - plus you get more condensation in the cold weather now.
Inspect your spark plugs as wammers recommends.
If it is a cracked block you could try one of the 'magic in a bottle' fixes first.
Get a working thermostat in it first, so you can see how the engine runs/heats. Was the viscous fan coupling changed when they did the waterpump?

dohan10 · Nov 30, 2012

i have just got this back fron the garage and the told me the block was cracked and quoted me £5.000 to fix when i look at my exsaust it is very dirty black looking what is your opinion to fix this or find the problem and would you say the block is deffantly not cracked. if my thermostat is jammed open would it cause my rangerover to use water i mean i have to top it up around every 4 to 5 days

cheers dohan

Datatek · Nov 30, 2012

dohan10 said:
i have just got this back fron the garage and the told me the block was cracked and quoted me £5.000 to fix when i look at my exsaust it is very dirty black looking what is your opinion to fix this or find the problem and would you say the block is deffantly not cracked

cheers dohan

What did the garage do to establish the block is cracked? Do thay have xray eyes?? Did they strip the engine???
Sounds to me like a rip off in the making

wil2813 · Nov 30, 2012

datatek said:
what did the garage do to establish the block is cracked? Do thay have xray eyes?? Did they strip the engine???
Sounds to me like a rip off in the making

+1

klf400 · Nov 30, 2012

check your valley gasket , mine was weeping at the rear of the engine under the coil packs then trickling down the bell housing would use a mug full of water/antifreeze every 3-4 days, checked all the spark plugs they were all normal
, stripped it all down cleaned everything spotless and renewed the rocker cover gaskets at the same time . now uses no water at all

dohan10 · Nov 30, 2012

the garage onley had my car from 8.30am till 4.30 pm aqnd thats what they said it was to be honest with you i know nothing about cars i just put them in the garage to get fixed could someone tell me what the valley gasket is please and how would i know if this is the problem i have no clue what i am looking for

cheers dohan

wil2813 · Nov 30, 2012

dohan10 said:
i have just got this back fron the garage and the told me the block was cracked and quoted me £5.000 to fix when i look at my exsaust it is very dirty black looking what is your opinion to fix this or find the problem and would you say the block is deffantly not cracked. if my thermostat is jammed open would it cause my rangerover to use water i mean i have to top it up around every 4 to 5 days

cheers dohan

ive heard it all before from so called fixer uppers,i purchased a 4.6 hse about 4 years ago totally blind, i agreed a price and sent a truck to collect it from a land/range rover dogs danglers repairers,i was told engine was gone and needed replacing due to a slipped liner,they quoted 4k and wait for it quote THERE IS NOTHING WE DONT KNOW ABOUT RANGEROVERS :blah::blah::blah:
well it arrived back i fixed up what they had removed and fired it up,fair enough it did overheat but i started to look closely for obvious faults firstly i noticed it had a new waterpump fitted and they used rtv sealent

basically water was flowing back to header tank via the small hose as it should but the small hose connector on actuall header tank was blocked with sealant(only a strand) obviously caused when the waterpump was fitted,i changed header tank and :whoosh:fixed.i used it 12 months without a problem
SO DONT GIVE UP YET

kevwill · Nov 30, 2012

dohan10 said:
i have just got this back fron the garage and the told me the block was cracked and quoted me £5.000 to fix when i look at my exsaust it is very dirty black looking what is your opinion to fix this or find the problem and would you say the block is deffantly not cracked. if my thermostat is jammed open would it cause my rangerover to use water i mean i have to top it up around every 4 to 5 days

cheers dohan

No. Thermostat jammed open could well be the cause of your engine running cold which you said it was doing. You will loose water because of a leak or because an over pressurised system is forcing the water out of the expansion tank overflow.
As Datatek says, you need to find out from the garage how they know the block is cracked. Was it the same garage that did the head gaskets? Were the heads skimmed? Did they fit good quality gaskets and torque them down correctly (and in sequence)?

dohan10 · Nov 30, 2012

hello mate
the problem that you have/had did your car leave black patches on pavment when started up from cold
cheers dohan

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