Thread: Changing the "P" Gasket and taking the head off

You seem to have most points covered with the head gasket changeover, the other thing I would have on hand for a quick job is a good, tested head, in case yours has developed cracks in the metal between the valve seats.
IMHO the cracks seen on most 300TDi heads around the injector ports don't seem to cause any problems.
Price for a head? Depending on the location where you are doing the job, these prices are only a suggestion? :
A recently removed head that hasn't been tested $300.
Price for a light skim, hardness and pressure test add $250.
New head without valves $900
New head assembly with valves $1200.
.

So today I've started the pull down. And after a little over two hours work the head is off and ...

... the gasket has gone in three places!

Straight out the front of #1 plus out the sides of #2 and #4 via the head stud bolt galleries.

To add insult to injury one of the little copper washer thingys has also corroded away.

Back to work!

for any extra if you havent already seen it

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...nder-head.html

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...-settings.html

I'm pleased to confirm the arrival at around 2:35pm this afternoon of a bouncing baby 300tdi.

Started first time on the key. New belts and hoses fitted too. The hardest part of putting it all back together was bleeding the cooling system.

New "P" gasket in place and water pump too. The old pump looked good but a little preventative maintenance while everything was apart seemed sensible.

Thank you for all your feedback and words of wisdom. The D'Fer rides again!

So it seems that I celebrated a little too soon. The dreaded "P"" gasket is leaking again. I'll try and re-tension today but based on the volume of fluid I suspect I'll need to give it another try.

In better news the replacement center pipe arrived and was fitted on Tuesday. The D'Fer now has a noticeable but not annoying base note. Pick up off idle and low rpm lugging clearly improved. Worth $170? Who knows. The real test will be the first time I strap the camper trailer to the back.

on my specifically calibrated hill, i had a pleasant surprise after removing the centre muffler.

So I'm becoming quite the expert at pulling the front end off my little 300tdi. Very disappointed at the metal gasket which came out warped and uneven. The metal ridge which I assume is meant to assist sealing was not evenly compressed and there was clear evidence that the Blue Hydrostuff had not done the job.

I've upped the ante and gone for Permatex Ultra Copper which is for extreme temperature and pressure. Applied per the instructions and so far, so good!

Thinking laterally I've also ****ed off the P gasket entirely thereby removing a failure point in the process.

Checking the gasket over, it had warped, the metal ridge was uneven and the black paint had cracked. Three points of failure here as a start. Had I not checked both faces for level and torqued the job myself I've have blamed dodgy mechanics.

But when I bled the system yesterday it was a piece of cake compared to the previous nightmare which suggests to me that the gasket was doomed from the start.

I'm now researching the last gasket on my to-do list. There is a rectangular fitting which the rocker cover breather hose feeds into the side of the block.

I've already replaced the gasket on the oil filter housing to block but couldn't go higher thanks to the injector pump and air conditioner compressor. But with the compressor out at the moment it looks an easy task from the top. One of the bolts appears to be extremely rusty so a good soak in WD40 is the go here. Just need to find a part number for the gasket...

Once we're leak free I can get onto the air conditioning refit.

So you used sealant instead of the gasket ?, mine is showing signs of weeping so will need to be done.