Thread: Exhaust in the coolant

Cracked block? Geez.
$4k isn't too extravagant for a new long motor, though, unless it wasn't done by a reputable workshop.

--Striker.

Steve

A quick diagnosis for split block. I would have thought head gasket prior to split block. Either way not good news!

Gary

Originally Posted by mtb_gary

Steve

A quick diagnosis for split block. I would have thought head gasket prior to split block. Either way not good news!

Gary

Gary

The guy from Triumph Rover Spares said it's 99% likely to be a cracked block rather than just a head gasket.

When I add up the cost of doing a top end overhaul, the price of a reconditioned motor looks damn good!

Plus i get a motor which has had the bottom end done as well and it's a lot less work to swap a motor than to overhaul heads, cam, timing chain etc

Steve

dont just listen to their opinion. You can work it out for yourself.
Remove all the plugs. See if any pistons are steam cleaned. You will find one which is nice and clean on the top compared to the others. If it is 1,7 or 2 and 8 then it is more likely head gasket. If it is the inners on either bank then you have a crack.

The engine can be removed very quickly. Definitely DIY. Overhaul is simple DIY. If it has not been overheated then simple cheap job.

There is no water gallery adjacent to 3,5, 4,6 so any combustion gases must be travelling between the liner and the block and then through the crack into the water jacket. The greater probability in your case is head gasket.

PM me if you need more info.

Bloody hell mate. You're not having much luck of late. Feel your pain.

Further to my post - when you research the majority of cases where a p38 owner had a cracked block, no combustion gases were ever detected in the cooling system. The main symptom was loss of coolant, misfiring, and overheating.
I had a cracked block in my first p38 and I tested and retested with my CO2 detector and I never got a positive. Number 4 was steamed cleaned and I was always losing coolant.

A definitive method is to do a leak down check to see if the cooling system becomes pressurised – either by watching for bubbles etc in the overflow bottle, or coolant cascading out of the overflow bottle - or better still fit a temporary cooling system pressure gauge if you have one.
This is the equivalent of a block pressure check if there are no head gasket or valve issues that would affect the leak down.

If you decide it is headgasket you are still better to pull the engine. Dont do the gaskets with the engine in - it will take you twice as long and a lot of fiddly mucking around.
I can remove my p38 engine in 3.5 hours no probs. Anyone can do it. It is an easy engine to work on BTW.

Hi Steve,

and I reckon I've got problems. Sorry to hear of your bad notice. Can you tell me how much TRS charges for testing the gas in the coolant as you did? The reason why I ask is that I was looking about buying a kit at one of the trade suppliers in Canberra. I costs about $140 and it has several tests, but I don't yet know how many I get out of it. I'll ask that when I speak with them next week.

I also understand that several radiator businesses sell that same service so I'll ask their price. Eventually I'll try a test, especially if it gives early advice before a head gasket fails at the back of the block/heads. I thought I may have a problem when my car when the heater matrix leaked - not the o-rings - and considered it could be the head gasket

When I worked it through I thought it was unlikely as the hoses, pressure cap and even the new o-rings were holding the systems pressure, until the heater core broke. At this time it seems to me that the main reason could have been that the reinstalling of the two o-rings either damaged or stressed the core/matrix, which was then nearly 15 years old. I'll have a look when I get it out.

If you intend to rebuild your or another block, are TRS pressure testing the bare block, with or without liners? I know it's a bit of a fiddle but I seem to have read that someone has done this in Australia, as well as others in the UK and the USA.

Lastly, Steve I should say that I admired your work on your earlier and later cars. If I did that much done in that time I'd consider I may be looking for a psych assessment - sort of O/C if you understand what I'm saying - but I'm obviously rather lazy in comparison. Cheers,

Gary (another one)

X2 on not trusting them...
As per the test mentioned above RE HG vs Cracked block. See which of your pistons has had a trip to the cleaners...