Looking for a diagnosis

i would check tappets ,you never know, if they are ok,no bent push rods or large gaps etc, then remove head ,pistons are prone for splitting, head gaskets too

jamesmartin said:

i would check tappets ,you never know, if they are ok,no bent push rods or large gaps etc, then remove head ,pistons are prone for splitting, head gaskets too

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Thanks James. You've been helpful from starter install to this new adventure.

Whilst there is knocking present I don't think this is bottom end damage - I think it's just the engine running rough and therefore it's shaking everything around.

what was the outcome then @OneZero ?

mojo247 said:

what was the outcome then @OneZero ?

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I'm still waiting for the garage to give me a call. It was in the queue all day and hopefully I'll know tomorrow

Suspected HG but the garage is conducting pressure test to confirm. This is gonna get expensive!

What did the white smoke smell of?

Like a bunch of cash dipped in disappointment . I wish I knew enough to be able to say what it was, but it did not smell like fuel to me and I can't really say if it smelled like coolant either. Keep in mind that I have driven petrol vehicles my whole life and this is my first diesel.

Edit: deleted comment, I put it on wrong thread.

Scooby22 said:

When you refitted your cyĺinder head did you use new head bolts, you are only supposed to use them once.

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19j head bolts are standard bolts you can use them a many times as you like

jamesmartin said:

19j head bolts are standard bolts you can use them a many times as you like

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Yes sorry see my edit, placed it on wrong thread, it was meant for TD5 cooling system thread.

Here is a picture of the blown HG. I was just going through the service history of the vehicle and the HG was also replaced in January 2017, six months before I purchased it. Should I assume it was just a shoddy mechanic who did the previous repair or is it a deeper issue? I'm going to have them take a look at the timing belt as well since they already have the head off and my bill is up to 700 quid with labor already.

OneZero said:

Here is a picture of the blown HG. I was just going through the service history of the vehicle and the HG was also replaced in January 2017, six months before I purchased it. Should I assume it was just a shoddy mechanic who did the previous repair or is it a deeper issue? I'm going to have them take a look at the timing belt as well since they already have the head off and my bill is up to 700 quid with labor already. View attachment 131435

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£700! I woulda Drove down from Liverpool for less than that

martys0uth said:

£700! I woulda Drove down from Liverpool for less than that

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I'll take note of that marty! I enjoy doing some work myself but this all happened two days before I had to leave for Germany for a work trip and it's probably above my level of expertise (and available tools) at this point. Thus far, they conducted a pressure test, skimmed the head, replaced HG, and replaced cambelt and tensioner.

Well, if it's all been done carefully, with new components, that's not an outlandish price for quite a bit of work. Hopefully won't need doing again for a while.

at last, I got one right!

mojo247 said:

at last, I got one right!

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Now to guess the final cost!

when mine went the first time, the garage were reluctant to take the head of until they had tried a few things and as you can imagine the cost went through the roof.

for the second time, I did it myself and took the head off straight away and hey presto!

to guess the cost; circa a grand?

Wow that went! Mine had a garage replace the head gasket when my mate had Jo, it cost him just under 700. I replaced it again few months later when for the second time. The garage that replaced it had put the new gasket over some of the old gasket, not a lot, but enough for it to have issues. I'm sure he is haunting then now. Some garages just don't do great jobs, after it was done Jo has done over 14k miles with no issues so far and it cost me about £150 to to including the tools I did not have for the job and the head skim and pressure test.

Hopefully yours will fine now.

The number is currently 879 but I am comfortable with the attention to detail that the mechanics are giving it. They sent it off yesterday to skim the head and it will hopefully be put back together by the weekend. I certainly hope this is the last of the major issues for at least a couple thousand miles!