TD5 Cylinder head removal - How to...

[Psimpson7]

Right, following on from my thread at the end of last week, I now have teh head off the 90 and I thought it may be useful to post the procedure for people to at least get an idea of how to do it. I managed to get it in our garage by letting the tyres down so decided to have a go at it on my own at home

I will have 3 or 4 stages to this.

1. Removal of head.
2. strip and rebuild of head
3. refitting of head.

I will also say that I have tried to capture this accuratley but I may have missed something. Be warned!:)

So lets make a start.


Remove Bonnet.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/91.jpg


Remove Fan cowl

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/92.jpg



Remove Engine cover

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/05/109.jpg


Remove intercooler pipe

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/93.jpg


Remove Radiator hoses and drain coolant.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/94.jpgRemove

Remove Breather hose

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/95.jpg


Remove Injector loom plug.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/96.jpg
Remove Rocker cover. 10mm socket is required. Also unbolt dipstick tube

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/1268.jpg

Remove Top radiator hose, and air inlet hose including AFM.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/97.jpg

Remove Turbo heat shield. 3 bolts as marked. (one into bracket mounted onto turbo may have come adrift of rivets)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/98.jpg

Remove Injector loom. Push clips on each injector and push fit round connector.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/03/778.jpg

Remove exhaust manifold. 13mm socket and ratchet with extension. May be necessary to remove rotor filter cover to get easier access.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/99.jpg

Remove water pipe

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/100.jpg

Remove wiring loom from water temp sensor, unbolt 2 clips on front of head, disconnect glow plugs, MAP sensor and any other sensors that are in this area (EGR etc) Thread loom out of inlet manifold

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/101.jpg

Remember to plug all oil pipes and turbo etc.

Disconnect fuel lines. One from fuel cooler can be connected to the one on the head as highlighted to keep it clean. I unbolted the entire fuel cooler to make disconnection easier, rather than risk breaking the clips

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/102.jpg

Remove Fan from engine, and manually rotate engine to align the 2 coloured links and pulley groove. Lock the pulley in position with a bolt down from the top. See next 2 pictures.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/103.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/104.jpg

Remove Cam chain tensioner.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/105.jpg

Remove Vacuum hose.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/106.jpg

Now remove everything highlighted here. Can shaft front cover, the bolt on the OSF corner, the nut on the NSF corner, and the allen key that is the guide for the can chain tensioner. Once you have removed the front cam shaft plug, remove the 3 bolts that hold on the cam shaft pulley.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/05/1133.jpg

Double check everything is disconnected and lift off head. I recommend an engine crane but I did it with Sams help and we lifted it off.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/28.jpg

Gasket looks perfect. Dowels have a slight amount of damage but not much.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/107.jpg

If you do decide to do this yourself be careful. Its nota ctually that difficult but, my car has no aircon and is a Defender so it is easier than an Aircon spec Defender and a fair bit easier than a Disco.

Anyway, the head gasket looks fine, and I cant see any issues with it but I will clean everything up tommorow and go from there. Still happy I have stripped it as i dont like not being 100% confident in a car.

The saga will contiue.

[justinc]

You've done well Pete, And that dowel IS a problem, as you saw there is very little room for error with the fire ring to water port distances. I would say you have caught it in time, and you will find a small leak somewhere between a water port and a fire ring. It will be hard to spot, as it won't take much to create symptoms with a turbo diesel.

:D:D

JC

[Blknight.aus]

good drills....

the aircon deefer is not much harder than the non aircon deefer its just some of the acess gets a mite tricky..

one thing I would reccomend doing slightly differently is purchasing a decent chunk of cardboard then folding and profiling it to sit over the radiator between the fan and back out over the lower half of the cowling....

Every single nut bolt, tool or anything else that I have ever dropped off the top of a td5 donk has wound up either hanging over the edge of the cowling OR down inside it...

I wish I had the time or an offsider to down tools for every job I did so I could take pics of it...

[Psimpson7]

Lol Dave, I lost one clip and it ended up in the cowl...... luckily:)

I had time to get a picture between everything as I wasnt really in a hurry.

However I did try and repair our lawnmower at the same time and have ruined that so it wasnt a fully succesful afternoon!!! damn thing ;):D

[Psimpson7]

You've done well Pete, And that dowel IS a problem, as you saw there is very little room for error with the fire ring to water port distances. I would say you have caught it in time, and you will find a small leak somewhere between a water port and a fire ring. It will be hard to spot, as it won't take much to create symptoms with a turbo diesel.

:D:D

JC

Thanks Justin:) You're right there isnt a lot of room. Luckily I didnt have that drama your customer had with the eating away of the block. Mine has always had OAT in it (well apart from the week up the cape)

I thought when it came off to start with that teh dowels hadnt got any deformation atall but after I pulled one out and span it round you could see it.

I will have a close look at it all tommorow in daylight.

Head gasket is a 1 hole one, but I will be putting in the thickest one I think.

No doubt I will bother you on the phone numerous times during this;):)

Thanks for your advice and help so far.

Rgds
Peter

[DRanged]

Top job Pete.

At least the TD5 head is a bit lighter than the Isuzu head. 2 people is definately the go.

Justin

[justinc]

Thanks Justin:) You're right there isnt a lot of room. Luckily I didnt have that drama your customer had with the eating away of the block. Mine has always had OAT in it (well apart from the week up the cape)

I thought when it came off to start with that teh dowels hadnt got any deformation atall but after I pulled one out and span it round you could see it.

I will have a close look at it all tommorow in daylight.

Head gasket is a 1 hole one, but I will be putting in the thickest one I think.

No doubt I will bother you on the phone numerous times during this;):)

Thanks for your advice and help so far.

Rgds
Peter


No worries Pete, anytime. As I said before, phone calls and questions etc are always welcome from anyone who needs help or just to bounce ideas off etc:)

The corroded block ended up in the scrap bin, as almost all the cylinders had only 1 fire ring sealing ring touching the block face. The rest of the cast iron just wasn't there!:o:o

You can see on the pic that there are a few questionable places where a leak may be found, and also where the gasket sealing ring marks have become 'blurred' as the head moved even that tiny bit, effectively losing the seal between surfaces.

Keep up the good work:)

JC

[Rosco]

................

2. strip and rebuild of head





Well done and good luck.

I didn't think item 2 was possible :confused:

Just spent a motsa on a new one .... :(

[justinc]

Well done and good luck.

I didn't think item 2 was possible :confused:

Just spent a motsa on a new one .... :(

It IS possible Rosco, although LR say it isn't. It also wholly depends on whether or not excessive (Over 8thou) warpage is present, and how soft the head has become after an overheat.

I have been told you can reliably machine up to 10thou off these head surfaces before running into strife due to lack of surface hardening and valve recess clearances. I have had them recoed in the past with no ill effects.

JC

[Psimpson7]

Hi Rosco,

It depends on what damage you have. It doesnt look like mine has suffered any damage at first look, although I iwll be getting it pressure checked.

As far as I have found out you can get away with a minimum skim (less than 10thou)

Sure JC or Blknight will add more to that.

Just out of interest how much did you pay for your new one?

Rgds
Pete

[Rosco]

Mine was cracked in the No. 1 injector pot, so no amount of shaving would have helped ... :no2:

Cost of the head ................ $3200
Cost of the head bolts ......... $420

And the list goes on and on ............. :wallbash::wallbash:

Throw in a replacement Air Flow Meter for good measure .....

All up grand total $6325.50 :BigCry:

Labour only amounted to $1320, which I guess is not bad considering.
At least I'm confident the work was done by the best in Brisvegas ...
When it comes to serious mech work .... I'm a complete bloody waste of skin, oxygen thieving luddite mongrel POS.


:angel::wasntme: :D

[justinc]

Mine was cracked in the No. 1 injector pot, so no amount of shaving would have helped ... :no2:

Cost of the head ................ $3200
Cost of the head bolts ......... $420

And the list goes on and on ............. :wallbash::wallbash:

Throw in a replacement Air Flow Meter for good measure .....

All up grand total $6325.50 :BigCry:

Labour only amounted to $1320, which I guess is not bad considering.
At least I'm confident the work was done by the best in Brisvegas ...
When it comes to serious mech work .... I'm a complete bloody waste of skin, oxygen thieving luddite mongrel POS.


:angel::wasntme: :D


Hard luck there Rosco, I feel your pain:(:(:(

JC

[Psimpson7]

Ouch.... Sorry to hear that

[Blknight.aus]

IMHO (and some of this is based off talking to some of the metal smiths that do the chemical re-hardning of aircraft parts) I wouldnt do a skim unless I had already found a place that would do a re-hardening.

heres an experiment

get a big bowl of sugar and slowly heat it till it caramelises and then let it set into a big flat plate. you should be now looking at one big chunk of very sugary candy. once its cooled to about room temp put it in the fridge.

once its cool take a metal chisel and try to push the point along the surface like you would if you were trying to cut a groove into it as if it was being machined by a mill cutter or surface grinder.

If you get it all right you should see some very fine crystalisation under and around the cut. Exactly the same thing happens when you machine some hardened metals and from what IVe been able to nut out with the metal beaters the LR head should fall into this class..

If I was going to get a td5 head machined I would first get it softened then machine it and then finally rehardened.

hopefully you wont have to worry about it...

[Rosco]

Very interesting analogy Davo :thumbsup:

[Redback]

Our head needed 9thou taken off, the mechanic said it's was too much, so we opted for another head, $2500:(

Total price for us was just over $4200:(

The old head is in the garage as a reminder (call it a very large paper weight) too keep the correct coolent and check levels and for leaks on a regular basis.

Baz.

[Head Tester]

Hey, cracking tutorial, thanks very much.

Regards

Head Tester

[scott oz]

"keep the correct coolent and check levels and for leaks on a regular basis.

Baz.
Redback what coolant were you running.

[McDisco]

Just run the regular OAT type coolant. If your worried about the head failing you should get a low coolant alarm as it usually is a drop in coolant that cooks the head. Check out Low Water Alarm Sensor (http://www.enginesaver.com.au). They sell a really easy to fit alarm for the Td5.

Also keep an eye out for discoloration of the coolant in the reservoir.

Angus

[scott oz]

I'm currently running Redline with the inhibiters in it as apposed the Redline without.

I've got an engine watchdog and am considering what other gauges I'll fit. I was looking at the engine coolant level then brother said you may be better off using a low coolant alarm on the reservoir.
Logic being that if there is a loss of coolant the reservoir will drain first
:angel::angel:

[T1G UP]

Great walkthrough there.

i'm about to remove my td5 head as i think it's dropped a cylinder. head off first then see whats what.

[Islandnomad]

In this tutorial it states that "the head gasket is a 1 hole one, but I will be putting in the thickest one I think".

I too have a one hole gasket or 1.27mm and am about to replace my head. A mechanic yesterday said that he would be putting a 3 hole or 1.35mm back in, rather than going with the existing size. Why would you do that? Just wondering which one to order from Turner's.


regards
David

[nismine01]

Hi Justin, what symptoms did you allude to here?
I seem to have fixed all coolant leaks but under load I seem to loose coolant and then get an overheating problem, ie; it only overheats when coolant is low and that only happens towing. I have replaced radiator, hoses, water pump, the thermo fan clutch is good and there are no bubbles in the coolant once the system has been bled correctly.

Regards

Mike

[Tins]

Thanks for this thread. I think I have to take mine off, not because it's leaking, but because I butchered an exhaust stud repair. The head repairer says he can fix it no worries, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts from the gurus? I'm not daunted by the nature of the job, as I've taken lots of heads off before, but I am concerned by the hardness issues BK talks about.

[Hunt family]

Right, following on from my thread at the end of last week, I now have teh head off the 90 and I thought it may be useful to post the procedure for people to at least get an idea of how to do it. I managed to get it in our garage by letting the tyres down so decided to have a go at it on my own at home

I will have 3 or 4 stages to this.

1. Removal of head.
2. strip and rebuild of head
3. refitting of head.

I will also say that I have tried to capture this accuratley but I may have missed something. Be warned!:)

So lets make a start.


Remove Bonnet.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/91.jpg


Remove Fan cowl

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/92.jpg



Remove Engine cover

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/05/109.jpg


Remove intercooler pipe

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/93.jpg


Remove Radiator hoses and drain coolant.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/94.jpgRemove

Remove Breather hose

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/95.jpg


Remove Injector loom plug.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/96.jpg
Remove Rocker cover. 10mm socket is required. Also unbolt dipstick tube

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/01/1268.jpg

Remove Top radiator hose, and air inlet hose including AFM.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/97.jpg

Remove Turbo heat shield. 3 bolts as marked. (one into bracket mounted onto turbo may have come adrift of rivets)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/98.jpg

Remove Injector loom. Push clips on each injector and push fit round connector.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/03/778.jpg

Remove exhaust manifold. 13mm socket and ratchet with extension. May be necessary to remove rotor filter cover to get easier access.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/99.jpg

Remove water pipe

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/100.jpg

Remove wiring loom from water temp sensor, unbolt 2 clips on front of head, disconnect glow plugs, MAP sensor and any other sensors that are in this area (EGR etc) Thread loom out of inlet manifold

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/101.jpg

Remember to plug all oil pipes and turbo etc.

Disconnect fuel lines. One from fuel cooler can be connected to the one on the head as highlighted to keep it clean. I unbolted the entire fuel cooler to make disconnection easier, rather than risk breaking the clips

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/102.jpg

Remove Fan from engine, and manually rotate engine to align the 2 coloured links and pulley groove. Lock the pulley in position with a bolt down from the top. See next 2 pictures.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/103.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/104.jpg

Remove Cam chain tensioner.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/105.jpg

Remove Vacuum hose.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/106.jpg

Now remove everything highlighted here. Can shaft front cover, the bolt on the OSF corner, the nut on the NSF corner, and the allen key that is the guide for the can chain tensioner. Once you have removed the front cam shaft plug, remove the 3 bolts that hold on the cam shaft pulley.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/05/1133.jpg

Double check everything is disconnected and lift off head. I recommend an engine crane but I did it with Sams help and we lifted it off.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/28.jpg

Gasket looks perfect. Dowels have a slight amount of damage but not much.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/107.jpg

If you do decide to do this yourself be careful. Its nota ctually that difficult but, my car has no aircon and is a Defender so it is easier than an Aircon spec Defender and a fair bit easier than a Disco.

Anyway, the head gasket looks fine, and I cant see any issues with it but I will clean everything up tommorow and go from there. Still happy I have stripped it as i dont like not being 100% confident in a car.

The saga will contiue.

Great write up.

I'm curious about the timing chain:
I notice that you mention securing the cam with a bolt. Is there any need to buy the pins and secure the crank, or is it safe to zip tie the chain and drop a bolt in the cam?

Also, facing the front which do I rotate the crank clock wise or anti clockwise?

[goanna_shire]

I have just a couple personal experiences from doing this job.

1. Remember to put your cam gear in your chain before you fit your nice new head gasket and torque all your new head bolts. (unless you enjoy breaking and re-riveting cam chains)

2. Make sure ALL 5 of your injector o-rings are in the correct groove. Check by making sure no leakage around each injector with rocker cover off when you turn the key on and tank pump will build pressure. (I had to drain 40L of diesel out of my engine and full intercooler and I was lucky I had the intake hose off at the time.

Stupid mistakes. (Maybe try not doing the job at night after work might help)

Brian.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Gentlemen,, Please!
This Forum is not the place for conversation,,,
by all means link/refer to it,, but please ask questions in the Technical Forum.

Thanks,, [biggrin]

[DISCOLOVETD5]

No worries Pete, anytime. As I said before, phone calls and questions etc are always welcome from anyone who needs help or just to bounce ideas off etc:)

The corroded block ended up in the scrap bin, as almost all the cylinders had only 1 fire ring sealing ring touching the block face. The rest of the cast iron just wasn't there!:o:o

You can see on the pic that there are a few questionable places where a leak may be found, and also where the gasket sealing ring marks have become 'blurred' as the head moved even that tiny bit, effectively losing the seal between surfaces.

Keep up the good work:)

JC

Thanks for the postings and kind help here. Am new here but am already finding a lot of help with my td5 discovery. My question is, is the fan supposed to be able to turn freely on its own pinion even if the nut is stationary? Also, I opened the drain plug to find the car was empty of coolant. Smoking when running and engine pretty wet at mating lines... Definitely a gasket job, right?

[DISCOLOVETD5]

Lol Dave, I lost one clip and it ended up in the cowl...... luckily:)

I had time to get a picture between everything as I wasnt really in a hurry.

However I did try and repair our lawnmower at the same time and have ruined that so it wasnt a fully succesful afternoon!!! damn thing ;):D

I still can't believe you did this job with the fan still in place. I don't think you can do this on a discovery 2 td5..