Head gasket

:Cry::Cry:Hi guys, as title suggests the sodding HG has gone. Towing caravan up the M54. I noticed that there was no hot air coming from blowers whilst on the M6 by junc. 10. I knew there was plenty of water, header tank was checked.

About ten minutes later I saw a plume of white smoke come from the rear and pulled over. Boat loads of white clouds came form under bonnet. When I lifted the bonnet the rad. top hose had gone and was p*ssing coolant all over the engine. I only noticed a small patch of engine oil once it was moved by recovery vehicle. Then looked in header tank and found grey sludge.

What I would like to know is could this problem have been happening for a long time therefore head is probably fokked or is it possible for this to happen over a short journey meaning I might be able to save the head.

Thanks for any ideas.

Rob

**** mate not good try a search ther a few threads on here about td5 hgf

Yeah! cheers. I have been doing that all day. Just wish I had read some of them A few weeks ago. I am trying to clarify whether or not you can actually skim a td5 head. I am also considering wacking some k-seal in. Not sure whether in hope of a miracle or just so I can drive it to the repairers.

Rob

Try not to use K-seal! it wont fix the problem and it means you have to remove it all when the engine is apart. messy job! pretty sure you can skim a td5 head. its nothing special. pressure testing is also worth while.

Yes you can skim a TD5 head

Hi guys, Just wondering whether an engine recon is my best option. Starting to worry that just changing HG or having head skim will prob. just mask other potential f@@k ups later on.

Found a couple of companies who offer pick up and recon. for about £1300 inc. vat.
Is this worth it?

Any others I can look at. I am based in Birmingham.

Cheers


Rob

I feel your pain mate, mine went on Monday: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/fookin-great-hgf-183283.html

Sounds exactly like what happened to me, must be something in the brummie air! Hope you get it sorted and it doesn't hurt too much.

mastiff said:

Hi guys, Just wondering whether an engine recon is my best option. Starting to worry that just changing HG or having head skim will prob. just mask other potential f@@k ups later on.

Found a couple of companies who offer pick up and recon. for about £1300 inc. vat.
Is this worth it?

Any others I can look at. I am based in Birmingham.

Cheers


Rob

Click to expand...

I haven't rebuilt many engines cos as a breakdown mechanic it isn't the sort of thing I do on the side of the road. When I bought my 110 it had the HG gone. I decided to let the engineering company that were skimming and testing the head do the whole job (it was either £500 or £600 all in ) to save any quibles at a later date because I was nervous about getting my head skimmed.

After getting it back it was much better but still wasn't 100% right. The engineering company wouldn't believe that there was a problem with it as it kept passing sniff and compression tests (all be it on just the 4 cylinders) and I had to to pretty much tell them point blank to take the head back off and re-test the head at a higher temp. Eventually they did as I said and found that it was indeed cracked after all.

I found a good known secondhand head (again I can't remember if it was £250 or £300) but it came complete with injectors. That was 3 years ago and mine has been good since.

I'm glad I went the route I went because if I'd done the work myself (although I'm capable I'm not overly confident) I would probably have been blaming myself rather than a faulty head. As it was by keeping it all in house with the same company it made pointing the finger much easier.

I`d get it compression tested first then see what options you have after that.
Assuming it comes up with nothing that can`t be fixed properly by skimming the head I`d usually go down that route than a recon engine, at least if you fix what you have you know the condition/history of everything that hasn`t been touched ?

Righto, thanks for all advice guys. Finally got in touch with a local landy specialist near me. He is gonna do some tests and then give me the bad news.

I have to say 'cos I have used him in the past he is genuine so I hope this ain't gonna kill me. I will update next week.

Hi guys, Got the car back last monday. After compression test bloke told me that HG was fine. The oil intercooler was the problem. Also needed a new rad. and he replaced all the hoses as well.

I have had to flush the engine every day to clear out the remaining crap. It's looking good now.
COST: £1600. but still better than the HG.

A mate of mine spoke to a bloke at the LR testing track on friday and he said it can be common, especially on cars that only do short journeys. The oil doesn't get hot enough and slowly clogs up intercooler. This has probably been going on for over a year.

And explains my lack of power when trying to pull off, which has been getting better by the day.

Hope this helps someone else.

Cheers for all the help

Rob