Thread: suspected blown head gasket

AULRO member Big Jon has a garage at Mitcham, ph 8271 3949, don't know if that's sufficiently South for you. 300TDi head gaskets are pretty easy to change as there is no overhead camshaft, just pushrods and rockers to adjust after the gasket is fitted.

thankyou bee utey I had the pleasure of meeting big jon once!! such a nice man!

Having done a few there are a couple of dead give aways, rock hard cooling hoses and constant expelling of coolant and stream of bubbles even when cold, gurgling in the heater core is another one.
If the head passes a hardness test then a skim and new gaskets/bolts etc will get him back on the rd, dont overlook the condition of the radiator and viscous fan.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Having done a few there are a couple of dead give aways, rock hard cooling hoses and constant expelling of coolant and stream of bubbles even when cold, gurgling in the heater core is another one.
If the head passes a hardness test then a skim and new gaskets/bolts etc will get him back on the rd, dont overlook the condition of the radiator and viscous fan.

i thought skimming 300tdi heads was not recommended? have to set valves and everything again. if tolerances are within acceptable ranges then i would not do it.

check block for warping too. if under 2 thou, can use the steel gasket, if between 2thou and 5 thou, can use the elring gasket. over 5 thou probably been to skim block.

check the number of holes on the gasket. you can see a tab sticking out the side with holes in it. make sure you order one with the same number of holes.

i did my head gasket recently. there is heaps of info on that thread. plenty of other threads regarding head gasket as well.

if you open the expansion tank cap and watch inside it. when you start the engine, if you get lots of bubbles in there, that is one of the signs. as above people mentioned, hard hoses too.

oil in coolant, coolant in oil.

best get one of those tests done though which checks for combustion gases in coolant.

Originally Posted by Fausto79

i thought skimming 300tdi heads was not recommended? have to set valves and everything again. if tolerances are within acceptable ranges then i would not do it.

check block for warping too. if under 2 thou, can use the steel gasket, if between 2thou and 5 thou, can use the elring gasket. over 5 thou probably been to skim block.

check the number of holes on the gasket. you can see a tab sticking out the side with holes in it. make sure you order one with the same number of holes.

i did my head gasket recently. there is heaps of info on that thread. plenty of other threads regarding head gasket as well.

if you open the expansion tank cap and watch inside it. when you start the engine, if you get lots of bubbles in there, that is one of the signs. as above people mentioned, hard hoses too.

oil in coolant, coolant in oil.

best get one of those tests done though which checks for combustion gases in coolant.

Plenty on here have had them skimmed ,valves don't need to touched unless excessive skimming require.

the questions that need to be answered before I answer

Originally Posted by Epic Dragon

Has anyone who has fixed their own head gasket at home have any advice on things to look out for while it is being done?

that one are

How much do you want to spend on parts?
How much time do you want to put into it?
How confident are you on the tools?
What tools do you have access to?

Blkknight, we fixed our own head gasket on my td5 and do pretty much all of our own maintenance so pretty good on the tools and have collected most needed othrr than i need a huge torque wrench to torque up my harmonic balancer 😂 disabilities just hinder me these days

Has anyone heard of these engines having head gasket failure without any other signs? No hard over pressurized hoses. No coolant/oil mixing which i think is uncommon in landrovers anyway. Checked fan it is in good order. Thermostat was nasty LOL but new one now in. I suspect a bleeding problem and a really good bleed might solve the problem with expansion tank raised.
It is only over heating under load up big hills then returning to normal temp as soon as it is up the hill.
We did try to get the head gasket check but the local place here had no interest in doing that which is extremely frustrating.
Thankyou in advance landrovians

If the heater is still working at the top of a hill and the cooling system isn't pressurising excessively then i woukd first of all check the radiator for reduced flow ie get it rodded out. The tdi rad is too small anyway in hot temps ehen working hard so as little as a 10% blockage can cause the temp to rise when climbing hills. I've seen them actually overheat with a 20% blockage 😮

Jc