Td5 Headgasket advice

**JoshV12345** · 2nd October 2021, 06:35 AM

Hey, I thought I would try for some advice on here - I have recently replaced the head gasket on my 2000 td5 defender. I followed the RAVE manual and the thread on here about the head gasket change. Bit of back story, this job was done as preventative maintenance and there were no issues before, car had never over heated or anything. I now have coolant weeping out of hoses and occasionally out of the header tank cap - the cap has been replaced and this got worse so I went back to the original cap (I think it leaked around the rubber seal). Car still doesn't overheat - runs around 86-93 depending on conditions. Can't really tell if it's using coolant or if it's just from leaking out of the hoses/cap. The weird thing is the hoses don't feel like they are over pressurising, I have checked after a long hill trying to work it as hard as possible with engine running then stopped engine (same hardness - they are firm but not rock hard). Have driven a few hours with no leaking, then the next day was driving around town for a bit came home stopped car, opened bonnet and a few drips came out of the tank cap, doesn't blow out just drips (hose was the same hardness as always). Can flog it up a hill/along the highway and no leaks, seems to be only when turning it off and leaving it for a while. I have done almost 10000K's since I did the gasket.

Head was checked for hardness, cracks, pressure tested, lightly machined etc before re-installation. I did not use any hylomar sealant on the head gasket (was I supposed to?), I checked with a few mechanic mates and they advised against it as it is a metal shim gasket, they don't need sealant (and I saw a thread on here about not using sealant). Both surfaces were meticulously cleaned, the only thing I can think of is that I didn't torque the bolts correctly (although I followed the manual and used a proper angle gauge). Not sure what could have gone wrong. Or there was possible contamination of the gasket before installing but as I said, I made sure everything was super clean.

Does anyone have any ideas, anything else I should check? I am thinking about just dropping it off to a land rover mechanic to do the job again - if I had to do this would it be ok to just lift the head off, clean surfaces and replace gasket without stripping the head down as I have already done this?

Cheers,

Josh

**Patrick110td5** · 2nd October 2021, 10:28 AM

My car does this if coolant is filled to the level line on the expansion tank, it settles about an inch below after blowing it out hoses etc like you've described. Migh be a possibility

**Blknight.aus** · 2nd October 2021, 01:48 PM

if you didnt replace the hoses thats why they are weeping, and most td5s dont like to sit at the marked level.

Ive been caught with a cap not sealing on the tank before today due to some damage to the lip and thread of the tank.

**JoshV12345** · 3rd October 2021, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by Patrick110td5

My car does this if coolant is filled to the level line on the expansion tank, it settles about an inch below after blowing it out hoses etc like you've described. Migh be a possibility

Yeah I’ve heard that, I will see how it goes and if it gets better as the level goes down.

**JoshV12345** · 3rd October 2021, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

if you didnt replace the hoses thats why they are weeping, and most td5s dont like to sit at the marked level.

All hoses and radiator have been replaced in the last 2 years, but I did change the thermostat with the head gasket, which is the main area coolant is weeping. This was weeping before the gasket change too, but now I’m getting other hoses which I haven’t touched starting to show signs of weeping.

I think I will keep driving it to see how it goes when the level drops a bit.

**Scotty85** · 23rd October 2021, 05:23 PM

I recently had this issue. Turned out to be the heater matrix... It blew not long after a few of the hoses began weeping. Now that it has been fixed, no more leaks!

**JoshV12345** · 2nd February 2022, 08:01 AM

Just a follow up to this...

I created a homemade 'pressure tester' that uses a spare expansion tank cap with a valve in it, I then connected a gauge to that so I could see how high the pressure got while driving. The max I could get it to was about 12psi and that was caning it up many hills sitting at max boost for a lot longer than I normally do (total drive around 45 mins) - does this sound high for a td5?

I read a few other threads that say it should be 7-10 psi normally but others say it should be around 14 psi. No one seems to know exactly.

I have replaced the cap with a genuine version and it is no longer leaking, but the hoses are still weeping - this seems to be worse when left overnight to cool down rather than when driving.

What are people using for hose clamps? Genuine spring style ones or worm type or t-clamps. The main areas that are leaking are the ones that I replaced with T-style clamps (the good ones) which seems weird to me unless I did them up too tight. Should I replace with the genuine spring style ones?

Cheers, Josh

**PhilipA** · 2nd February 2022, 10:41 AM

What are people using for hose clamps? Genuine spring style ones or worm type or t-clamps. The main areas that are leaking are the ones that I replaced with T-style clamps (the good ones) which seems weird to me unless I did them up too tight. Should I replace with the genuine spring style ones?

I went back to the stock type spring clamps where I could as the worm drives seemed to slacken off over time, or should I say the hoses probably compressed under them.
The spring clamps maintain pressure on the hose.
Still all of mine drooled for a while then sealed up.
I just drained and refilled mine with fresh 50/50 Nulon longlife coolant and some Truck Water Wetter.

BTW I emailed Nulon whether I could just drain the Longlife and refill with their Diesel coolant but it is a No No. You have to completely flush as they are not compatible. It's bloody expensive anyway.

It seems strange but the car seems to run cooler with the new coolant, although I haven't gone far.

I took quite a few strands ( about 1/3 ) out of my 74% void stainless mesh grill so maybe that had an effect. i have a theory that although the mesh is 74% void, it may not pass 74% air due to turbulence around the strands.
Regards PhilipA

**JoshV12345** · 3rd February 2022, 01:13 PM

Originally Posted by PhilipA

I went back to the stock type spring clamps where I could as the worm drives seemed to slacken off over time, or should I say the hoses probably compressed under them.
The spring clamps maintain pressure on the hose.
Still all of mine drooled for a while then sealed up.
I just drained and refilled mine with fresh 50/50 Nulon longlife coolant and some Truck Water Wetter.

BTW I emailed Nulon whether I could just drain the Longlife and refill with their Diesel coolant but it is a No No. You have to completely flush as they are not compatible. It's bloody expensive anyway.

It seems strange but the car seems to run cooler with the new coolant, although I haven't gone far.

I took quite a few strands ( about 1/3 ) out of my 74% void stainless mesh grill so maybe that had an effect. i have a theory that although the mesh is 74% void, it may not pass 74% air due to turbulence around the strands.
Regards PhilipA

Thanks, yeah I might give the original style clamps a go - do you know where to buy them? I got a few with my new hoses but most didn’t come with any.

**PhilipA** · 3rd February 2022, 02:41 PM

I just looked on ebay and no luck.
BTW it is much easier to remove and replace them if you have the tool.
I have 2 tools, one like pliers and the other with a long cable which is basically useless.
Regards PhilipA

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