Defender td5 with possible headgasket failure

not sure if you're NL dealer is informed enough. here are a few examples of definite HG failure

http://www.defender2.net/forum/post405401.html
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/td5-discovery-ii-hgf-head-gasket-failure.177021/

I'd get the head off, pressure tested, plastic dowels replaced with metal ones and go from there!

Head gaskets do go on td5... And the head can be skimmed... But sometimes it's better to buy another good engine to replace the old one... Td5 engines have gone down in price a lot over the last few years

Finally got the head of the engine, see picture below. Is it necessary to get the injectors etc out before sending the head to be pressure tested, hopefully not. We also saw water in the last cylinder when we took the head of. This explains the water in the engine oil I think.

unequalwolf8 said:

Finally got the head of the engine, see picture below. Is it necessary to get the injectors etc out before sending the head to be pressure tested, hopefully not. We also saw water in the last cylinder when we took the head of. This explains the water in the engine oil I think.

Click to expand...

No photo chap

Yeah sorry about that

Injectors are easy to remove. just keep note of which one is which if putting the engine back together without coding software at hand.


For water to be in the oil, it'll more than likely be a crack in the head, headgasket failure or a crack in the block. It's usually oil in the water if you have an oil cooler issue as the oil system is at a higher (or at least should be!) pressure than the coolant system

The last pot is the one where the gasket has probably failed. Stains by the water show as brown spots. Oil cooler ok since i put that in my disco 2 and didn't get any contaminated coolant for some days now. Will have head tested jan2, hopefully everything is going to be ok

Wot sort of dowles did it have?

That was a bit strange, one was plastic and other metal see pic. The plastic one is slightly deformed

Theirs your problem ! Was the 1 that's bent near pt 5 ? Just so you know wot happens put the bent 1 back in & the good 1 in & put your gasket back on ! then twist the bent 1 & you will see how much it moves & how little movement it takes to break the seal
You need to put s/steel dowles in then no more probs !

Steve

Yeah think so, are these sold or is it possible to make something similar. Somehow i do not recall the dealer offering me those to replace. Might send him a mail about it

Never come across this before as only have 200 & 300tdi,s. I cant believe that a designer has come up with the idea to replace steel dowels with plastic ones. Money saving exercise i suppose.

Mick that's how they were built And some how they get bent & start to leak at the back end
Wolf8 yes you can buy them as a replacement ! think thats were your prob lies ! But I would have head checked just to be sure

Steve

We had one little problem while getting the head of. One of the three bolts that hold the timing chain top wheel in place was dropped by me in the timing cover thingy. It has probably dropped to the bottom of the cover, any easy way to get that out?
Btw thanks for all the help, good things this forum

Can you see the bolt ?

Nope, would have otherwise lured it out somehow

Does the timing chain cover eventually open into the engine sump? I think that is easier to check for the bolt that has fallen inside?

I bought my TD5 just over 3 years ago, it had a new head fitted, first time I changed the oil there was a clump as the oil came out, it was a head dowel which had obviously been dropped and found its way down into the sump. Not sure what a bolt would do it may be too big to negotiate the drain passage and cause a blockage.
Needs some input from someone who has had one down to the block and can advise.
I have a feeling You wont relax until you get it out

it is one of the 3 bolts that hold the top sprocket of the timing chain in place

Ah I see now, yes the timing chain opening goes down to the sump, you can see the sprocket on the shaft if you look down there with a powerful light, the bolt "should" have either fallen into the bottom of the sump or it will have hung up on the chain or sprocket, can you get a magnetic pick up tool like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Dut...416731?hash=item3f71eed35b:g:BOEAAOSwg3FUoVSf
and have a fish around down the opening? might be worth a try, when the head is off you should have some room but the chain will get in the way, did you fasten up the chain to keep its correct position on the sprocket?
Goes without saying take care not to drop anything else down there while you are fishing.
Otherwise you will need to get the sump off, and get it out, I understand it can be done without removing the engine but its a tricky business best to look this up if needed.
If you have to do this check the bolt that holds the oil pump sprocket, some of them were fitted with no loctite and they can come loose with disastrous results.