Thread: A blown head gaske

Originally Posted by wrex

Hi all,

Not sure if this should be in this section, but here it goes.

Around 3 weeks ago, my 94, 3.9 Disco on petrol and LPG started showing signs of a blown head gasket.
I have not had it checked yet by a mechanic, however I have spoke to a few who based on the symptoms, have advised either a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

Basically, when it’s running, it will pressurize the cooling system within the first 5 minutes. It does not overheat, however after 5 minutes of running, if you open the radiator cap, a lot of air/gas comes out which smells strongly like fuel.

I have asked at a couple of workshops, however neither show the desire to touch it and both have said that not being LR experts, it may take longer to complete. ($$$)

My question is, does anyone recommend a good LR mechanic in the Brisbane area that can do a good job at a reasonable price (ei, not a LR dealership).

- Blknight.aus, are you still looking for Landrovers that need work done on them at Amberley??

G`day wrex ,

Can`t be any help with someone to fix it .

From your description it doesn`t sound like a head gasket problem , more like it has air in it or a blockage , could be sucking air from a leak or the thermostat may be stuck or similar .

The smell may be as Andy suggests or it may just be the smell of your coolant when it turns to vapour which it must be doing to be such a short time frame for the pressure to build up .

Has it had any work done on it recently , anything replaced etc ?

Cheers

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Forgot to mention.
Turn the LPG off at the tap on the tank,and run it out on LPG before runing petrol.
If Normality returns on petrol you have isolated the issue.
Andrew

That and the first reply you posted, is very interesting!
I have never heard of it before, but when you mention it, it's certainly feasible, Andrew.
Well done

Sorry but I have not been able to get to my computer over the last few days...

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Hi Guys
Im pretty sure your converter is stuffed(the unit that warms the gas with coolant)
They leak LPG into the cooling system mimicking a head gasket failure.That fuel smell,its actually LPG smell mixing into the coolant is the giveaway.

Andrew, this is quite interesting and I will definitely test it out tomorrow and see how it goes, although the converter is only 12 months old, however worth exploring. Thanks

Originally Posted by PLR

G`day wrex ,
From your description it doesn`t sound like a head gasket problem , more like it has air in it or a blockage , could be sucking air from a leak or the thermostat may be stuck or similar .

The smell may be as Andy suggests or it may just be the smell of your coolant when it turns to vapour which it must be doing to be such a short time frame for the pressure to build up .

Has it had any work done on it recently , anything replaced etc ?

Well, the only thing I did have some problems with (which I caused myself) was the distributor, after having replaced it, I noticed the car was pinging quite a bit on LPG, two weeks after that, this problem started.


Dave... not electrcial problems, well major ones

The converter leaking LPG into your cooling system and pressurising it is very feasible, as LPG expands in volume 270 times when it changes state from liquid to vapour.