Thread: Failed Td5 head gasket?

I guess it comes down to, how sure are you the coolant level drop isn't from the hose leaking over the last 3-4 weeks?

Do you have factory temp gauge or after market? Any change lately?

G'day Paul.
It is a bummer when your trip gets ruined by a mechanical problem. 240K?. Maybe it's time to pull the head and check things. It depends if the car is a keeper or not. Mine is and I have gone down the road of a new AMC head and 5 new genuine injectors because of fuel dilution. Did you have your nanocom on instrument mode? If so what were the coolant temps?.
Regards
Robbo

Originally Posted by Judo

I guess it comes down to, how sure are you the coolant level drop isn't from the hose leaking over the last 3-4 weeks?

Do you have factory temp gauge or after market? Any change lately?

I check the hoses on a regular basis for signs of leaking. Most have been changed, apart from a couple that had obviously been changed by the PO. I'm using red OAT and leaks are pretty easy to spot.

There was no pre-existing signs of leaking from the hose in question when I checked yesterday.


I hook up the nanocom every couple of weeks to check how things are behaving. Last time was about a week ago as I was curious how the cooling system was handling the hot weather. I was getting 88-92 for country driving, which is same as last 12 months or so. There is no indication that it is overheating. I have a suspicion the PO might have had a hose failure at some point, so it's possible the engine was overheated prior to me purchasing, but I've done 32k with no real issues.

If there was a puddle under the car then it's unlikely to be a HG I think.
240k is around the right KM period, but if there's been no indication of overheating and it's a reasonably considerable external leak then I'd be surprised if it's a HG as I figure when the HG goes the coolant doesn't leak, it gets toasted.
I'd be looking at all your hoses, radiator, stuff like that first.
How pressurized was it? I've taken the cap off for inspections and top ups after a day or two of not driving it and there's always been a bit of pressure escaping.
Been there when I first bought it, Thankfully it was just my fuel cooler O rings that weep in the cold, and recently when I came out to find the level had dropped about 3cm!
Then I remembered my mechanic doesn't fill to the top of the tank and I'd topped it up while very hot...
Best of luck, here's hoping it's not. And if it is well then you'll have a near new Td5 when you inevitably come out the other side of it
Cheers, and fingers crossed!
Muppet

I suspect there is a small leak somewhere and the smell was the coolant getting hot as it weaped.
Have a good look at the water pump tell-tale hole for signs of weaping.
Don't forget the known little steped hose under the turbo and the fuel cooler.
The red coolant leaves a nice pink stain when the motor is cool

Let us know what you find please Paul.
Cheers, Kyle.

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

If there was a puddle under the car then it's unlikely to be a HG I think.
240k is around the right KM period, but if there's been no indication of overheating and it's a reasonably considerable external leak then I'd be surprised if it's a HG as I figure when the HG goes the coolant doesn't leak, it gets toasted.
I'd be looking at all your hoses, radiator, stuff like that first.
How pressurized was it? I've taken the cap off for inspections and top ups after a day or two of not driving it and there's always been a bit of pressure escaping.
Been there when I first bought it, Thankfully it was just my fuel cooler O rings that weep in the cold, and recently when I came out to find the level had dropped about 3cm!
Then I remembered my mechanic doesn't fill to the top of the tank and I'd topped it up while very hot...
Best of luck, here's hoping it's not. And if it is well then you'll have a near new Td5 when you inevitably come out the other side of it
Cheers, and fingers crossed!
Muppet

Like I said I might be doing the nervous nellie thing.

It could well be just a case of a leaky joiner hose. I've picked up some high pressure fuel hose to make up a replacement joiner which I'll fit in the morning and do a 20km freeway run out to my parents place to test. I'm planning on getting the cooling system pressure tested and "sniffed" on Monday morning before committing to pulling the head.

cheers
Paul

Originally Posted by alien

I suspect there is a small leak somewhere and the smell was the coolant getting hot as it weaped.
Have a good look at the water pump tell-tale hole for signs of weaping.
Don't forget the known little steped hose under the turbo and the fuel cooler.
The red coolant leaves a nice pink stain when the motor is cool

Let us know what you find please Paul.
Cheers, Kyle.

I certainly hope it isn't the water pump. I replaced the original with a LR part when I did the o-ring in the mounting bracket in December 2011.



Fuel cooler o-rings were done shortly after I changed the radiator hoses in 2011. I've fitted double o-rings at each end and it's been leak free since I did the fix.

I'll check on the little hose. I have one in the spares box so I might replace just in case.

cheers
Paul

My experience which ultimately ended in a new head gasket went like this:
A few small coolant hose leaks following replacement of them all.
Fixed those leaks with new/different clamps - those leaks stopped.
Coolant system found to be over-pressurising resulting in release of coolant through coolant tank cap pressure release valve.
The Low coolant level in tank increased when cap was loosened.
The pressure release was often considerable even after the system had cooled down.
Replaced coolant tank cap - same result.
Loss of coolant through the relief valve became common - I just topped it up for a while.
There was no coolant in oil, no steam in exhaust.
The Coolant temperature never went above the half-way mark.

Eventually I got sick of this routine and pulled the head - found partly sheared plastic dowels and evidence of a leak from No 3 cylinder into the coolant gallery.

New head gasket etc fitted - over-pressurised coolant system and coolant loss problem solved.

Moral of the story - When the system is over-pressurised the coolant will leak from the weakest point - usually a hose connection or the coolant tank cap pressure relief valve.