Many apologies - I seem to have triggered a rather sensitive spam filter

Hi all, i am a newbie and would appreciate some advice.

In November I bought a 1986 Ex-MOD Land Rover 90 Soft Top 2.5na Diesel. It had a brand new MOT and appeared to be in very good nick all round and had done very few miles over the previous 3-5 years. All seemed fine until I noticed that the front edge of the head gasket was blowing/leaking. A row of tiny bubbles could be seen on the gasket join at the front of the engine when hot. There was no overheating, nor any significant coolant loss but the coolant system did stay pressurised even when cold. Tiny bubbles could be seen in the coolant reservoir when running. I took it to a local Landy specialist who replaced the gasket, skimmed the head and also fixed the injectors which were all damp and leaking down the engine. They also replaced the ageing radiator and the non-existent fan. Needless to say it was not a cheap job! This was done in January 2015.

Long story short....I have enjoyed the Landy but was thinking of selling her and was therefore giving the vehicle a thorough clean and check last weekend. I know it is not common but until recently the vehicle had never leaked any oil at all - from anywhere. So when I noticed a growing oily mark on the drive I investigated. Not only did I discover that the injectors are leaking again - the side of the engine is wet - but I also noticed the bubbles again at the front of the head gasket - Argh!! I cannot see any bubbles in the reservoir this time.

I am sure that the very helpful garage concerned will immediately put things right free of charge, but what do you think may have caused these problems to recur? How would you advise me to handle the garage owner if they are less helpful? When I rang them the owner was on holiday but I was told ..... Blah blah cracked head....blah blah warped block. Are these not things that a garage should routinely check for when replacing a head gasket??

I would appreciate any advice! I would like to know what I am talking about when I go to the garage.

This is a 29 year old vehicle. A cracked head is not that unusual, a warped block is not that common. Given that the replacement gasket sorted things for a while, it may be just that the head was not torqued down properly. The leak from the injectors (if it is fuel) may be just the fuel unions. They can become loose in normal use. I wouldn't say that was really an issue for complaint, old vehicles do need regular checks/maintenance.
You might ask them to change the head gasket again, and ask them to do a compression check afterwards. (All of the above IMHO)

Many thanks Zeaphod
I have kept a close eye on the Land Rover - never more than a few days between checks. The injectors have been damp for a week or perhaps two but I hadn't realised that they were causing the leak on the drive until the weekend. It was a very small oil patch so I hadnt been overly worried and I understand that it may not be a massive issue - but it would surprise my that correctly fitted injectors would start leaking within 3 months of normal use. This is my concern - were the jobs done correctly?
For example, would it be normal to expect a garage to do a compression test after fitting a new head gasket? Is there any way that I can get them to prove that the bolts were torqued up correctly? I am sorry if I am displaying my ignorance but why would a cracked head blow the gasket right across the front of the engine? The small bubbles appear right along the front edge. By the way there is no evidence of oil and water mixing. If the cause of the original gasket failure was a cracked head then would this be obvious to a specialist Land Rover mechanic once it was stripped down? What about a warped block?
Many thanks for your help.

Re: Injector leak:

You might want to have a look under the bonnet with the engine running. I have with my 2.5D had more than one injector pipe fracture and this can result in some Diesel spillage when running (so what is on your drive may be leakdown from that). Could also well be a slightly loose union, or examine the top of the injector pump for fuel leaking from the throttle shaft (failed/perished O-rings there are not uncommon).

As far as the head gasket goes, first thing I'd do is retorque it. The garage that did the head gasket should have examined the head for cracks and at least taken a straightedge to it to make sure it was flat, so a warped or otherwise messed up head should have been caught at that time.

If the vehicle was badly overheated due to a colling system failure or the like it could have warped the head - but again the engineering firm doing the work should have caught that.

Alan

Injectors. Probably only one that's actually leaking. Very high pressure means that the spray goes a long way, and coats everything. Spray with brake & Clutch Cleaner until all traces of oil are gone, then start up and watch for where the leak is. A fraction of a turn on that union will almost certainly fix it.

Head. If the water is getting out of the same place as before the 'fix' it's unlikely that incorrect torquing is the problem (unless it was incorrect torquing beforehand). If it was mine, I'd do a cold pressure test on the cooling system to pinpoint the leak. Because you're not losing much coolant I'd guess that the leak is a crack (or less likely, a warp gap) leading between a water passageway and outside. This is currently just a nuisance, unlike a leak from the cylinder or an oilway. If it was small I'd probably tip a bottle of leak prevention into the radiator and see if that fixed it. If it does, that could be permanent, unless a crack gets worse - which it might well not. Leaving it unfixed isn't a good idea because water does a surprising amount of damage.

Edit: Typed (slowly) while mrchurchill was posting.

As above, the injectors should be bone dry. The washers around the unions are soft and get damaged easily. This can mean having to tighten them slightly every week or so. After changing all mine during a head rebuild, there hasn't been a drop since, and the injectors are now slightly rusty! A leak here can also mean slow starting.

Many thanks everyone.
The garage owner has agreed to check out the injectors and to repair them under warranty. He was less helpful about the head gasket, basically saying that it must be a cracked head or a warped block, which he said can both be impossible to spot when replacing the gasket. He suggested using Steel Seal. I used a bottle of K-seal before I got the gasket repaired and it was no help at all. Is it worth trying Steel Seal? It came with a hearty recommendation but is it much better than K-Seal? It is much more expensive and I will need 2 bottles - which adds up to about £60! I am thinking that I might just sell the vehicle as it is. Perhaps someone will have a 200tdi engine sitting around ready to put in once this engine dies.

boringoltennis said:

Many thanks Zeaphod
I have kept a close eye on the Land Rover - never more than a few days between checks. The injectors have been damp for a week or perhaps two but I hadn't realised that they were causing the leak on the drive until the weekend. It was a very small oil patch so I hadnt been overly worried and I understand that it may not be a massive issue - but it would surprise my that correctly fitted injectors would start leaking within 3 months of normal use. This is my concern - were the jobs done correctly?
For example, would it be normal to expect a garage to do a compression test after fitting a new head gasket? Is there any way that I can get them to prove that the bolts were torqued up correctly? I am sorry if I am displaying my ignorance but why would a cracked head blow the gasket right across the front of the engine? The small bubbles appear right along the front edge. By the way there is no evidence of oil and water mixing. If the cause of the original gasket failure was a cracked head then would this be obvious to a specialist Land Rover mechanic once it was stripped down? What about a warped block?
Many thanks for your help.

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you could put a torque wrench on all bolts you can get at it will give you an idea if done up ok ,those heads crack between the valves and across to hot spot ,fairly easy to spot, could be a poor head gasket there are lots of ****ty parts around ,where were the injectors leaking from

Hi Jamesmartin, thank you for taking the time to make some suggestions.

Unfortunately I don't have a torque-wrench but I may be able to get hold of one. Mind you, as boguing says, wouldn't it be a bit of a coincidence to have problems at the same spot in the gasket if it was caused by incorrect tightening of the bolts? I hadn't thought of this but it makes sense - same goes for the quality of the gasket. The evidence is beginning to suggest that there is a weakness in the head/block itself, perhaps a crack to the front edge of the head somewhere or perhaps a warped block. My plan at the moment is to take it back to the garage later this week and hope that the guy who did the work is there. I am hoping that he might be able to shed more light on possible solutions.

I suspect that the diesel leak will be an easy fix. Most diesel seems to be around the front injector, but they are all damp. For a brief moment I did wonder whether the bubbles at the front edge of the gasket were actually created by leaked diesel from the front injector boiling on the lip of the block. The mechanic at the garage yesterday was convinced that this was not the case, but that it was coolant under pressure.

The engine breathes quite heavily from the oil filler cap breather and there is a significant white puff of smoke on a cold start too. I understand these are signs of internal engine wear. Perhaps the next major move would be to put a better engine in, but I cannot afford to do that now.

If anything's ever gone wrong with a Land Rover, James will have seen it - and fixed it. Well worth trying his suggestion.