bubbling header tank and watery exhaust

discodrivercumbria · Aug 29, 2012

i mate of mine has a td5, he showed me what he thought was the problem,
the header tank is upto the right level, took it for a spin, came back to rest on tick over, the header tank is bubbling away, turned it off, no sign of any contamination of oil, but the level of coolant has rose, he said if you try to take the coolant top off it is under pressure, but that's right then isn't it?
all looked ok, but is it early signs of a head gasket? i am no mechanic so i couldn't say, but i said i would do this to get others opinion, then at least it might shed some light on the problem or no problem!

olliedog12000 · Aug 29, 2012

Yes that's right, and that why they put the caution/warning bit on the lid so you don't burn your eyes out when opening it after a run.And That's why it is called an expansion tank so you don't blow your pipes and the head because of the pressure.

sierrafery · Aug 29, 2012

first to check in this case is the tank's cap... it must seal well and be tighten to maximum... it has 2 o-rings and a seal on it which must keep the pressure in the tank cos the system is conceived to work at 1.4 Bar, so it has a pressure release valve for excessive pressure... if there's no pressure in the system the coolant will boil at 100°C, at 1.4 bar the boiling point rises to aprox 124°C. u better make sure about this .... loan a known good cap for test or put a new one before you go further... the tank's cap is a very important part of the cooling system even if it doesnt seem so.

Pikey · Aug 29, 2012

Bubbles in ya tank & water coming out of exhaust = Head Gasket blowing into a waterway.

It's not an early sign. it's the sign...

discodrivercumbria · Aug 29, 2012

redhand said:
Bubbles in ya tank & water coming out of exhaust = Head Gasket blowing into a waterway.

It's not an early sign. it's the sign...

How do you get it checked out? as there is all sorts of diagnosis for this,
a head test? air lock etc, without being ripped off!
as i told him a td5 headgasket job is a fair bit of coin done properly!

Pikey · Aug 29, 2012

Sniff test will tell you if there's exhaust gases in the coolant.

discodrivercumbria · Aug 29, 2012

redhand said:
Sniff test will tell you if there's exhaust gases in the coolant.

but you read on here that it can be hard to detect in a diesel?

he lives near preston and doesn't know of a trust worthy garage!

bubbling header tank and watery exhaust

discodrivercumbria

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olliedog12000

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sierrafery

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Pikey

Dummy Ejection Facilitator..

discodrivercumbria

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Pikey

Dummy Ejection Facilitator..

discodrivercumbria

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