Head rebuild but still smoking!

Hi folks,

Just done the head gasket on our 94 300TDI 120K miles, proper job this time, had a skim, full head set, lapped the valves etc. Also bypassed the EGR, left wiring disconnected but did blank off the vacuum pipe as recommended.

She starts fine, runs ok and does not smoke from cold, but once warmed up she starts smoking / steaming like a good un. The Mrs was driving her when the head went, she swears she did not get super hot, but when the head came off 2 cylinders were full of water and a kinda white crystally scum (after being left a week or so).

I suspect that as she doesn’t smoke from cold the head isn’t leaking (wishful thinking!), but wonder why she then smokes when warmed up, the smoke / steam smells fuel heavy and I noticed a slight emulsion under the filler cap after running her for c30 mins.

I’m hoping that this is not a catastrophic head / block problem, but am at a bit of a loss. Could it be related to the EGR job or contaminated oil. Any ideas would be very welcomed

Thanks, Russ

Sounds very familiar. I replaced the re-uptake inhibitor as well as the short-shunt release activated balance leg on the passenger side.

did you get the head tested before it was skimmed, seen a couple of pajero's go like this. when the engine gets hot it opens up hairline cracks in the head

Sounds like you need to get your head sorted mate

I had the local Land Rover specialist and the engineering place give the head a once over (before skimming), but due to carbon deposits it was impossible to check thoroughly etc. The head could be cracked but if it’s not smoking from cold, where the thermostat keeps the water in the head, then doesn’t it point to something elsewhere?

Any ideas?

If there was water in the cylinders, there may be residual water in the exhaust. Try running it for a longer period to see if that will clear but keep a careful check on the temperature gauge.

have you changed your engine oil and filter? If not do it as the water left in the bores will have contaminated your oil and that could be what is now being burnt.

I agree, you should definately do an oil change.. did you get the head pressure tested b4 skimming ?

Thanks guys, I didn’t get the head pressure tested before the skim, not sure if anyone does it locally, but I did clean & check it pretty carefully and we saw nothing obvious.

I’ll do an oil & filter change today, but am not convinced as I still think it’s weird that she doesn’t smoke from cold. You’d expect residual water to gather when standing and clear on starting, whereas she runs clean and only smokes / steams when warming, presumably when the thermostat opens and lets water circulate through the rest of the engine.

If water was trapped in the exhaust, or if the oil was contaminated wouldn’t you expect her to smoke from the start. I’d be very happy to be wrong about this and will change the oil and run her up for awhile as suggested, but more from hope than expectation!

Thinking about it, the oil may only start burning when warmed after it thins out etc, anyhow no brainer, I’ll change the oil

Disco-94 said:

Thinking about it, the oil may only start burning when warmed after it thins out etc, anyhow no brainer, I’ll change the oil

Click to expand...

correct

Fingers crossed it looks like the jobs a good un, oil & filter done and considerably less smoke. Evidence of water contamination in the oil, and I’m guessing there could be residual water that will clear through with use, unless it’s normal to smoke a bit more with EGR blanked?

Anyhow, thanks for the input

The water that maybe left in the exhaust system will only start to steam once the exhaust system is up to temp. I did a 2.0 frontera sport, and that looked liked a steam train for a couple of days after i did the head gasket. Had loads of water in the exhaust system. As said before thou it should clear up shortly

Mine was smoking on start up when already warm. I checked the head visually and saw nothing. Upon getting it pressure tested it had a crack between a waterway and exhaust port which couldn't be repaired.

Thanks chaps, I'm hoping it's just residual water but am not discounting a more serious problem. I put about 70 miles on her today, with a view to getting her properly warm etc, and despite filling water and bleeding etc she still took a few litres of topping up. I suspect water wasn't reaching the matrix, as the heater blew cold to start but is warm now. The temperature did fluctuate a bit, but I didn't let her get too hot. Since the last top up it's been steady and driving well. Although was smoking again when I drove her back a minute ago, too late and dark to worry about it now but will check out tomorrow.

Generally she's driving well and pulls better low down than she ever did, probably as 7 of the 8 valves were leaking before I lapped them in and I've blanked the EGR. Time will tell but not out of the woods yet