A

Ares

New Member
After hearing what seemed to be a louder version of turbo whistle when I put my foot down I pulled off the M42 to find my engine smoking or steaming or both!

Water was empty, engine roasting and steam coming from the big hole in whats left of the thermostat plug... I put some water in the coolant filler and steam came out of the hole.

He plugged the and filled the coolant with water and when I turned it over the water came gushing back out of the filler hole.... at that point he said head gasket and I had to pay £200 for us to be taken home.

It was whistling louder than normal for about at least 20 mins before I could get to a service station so what other damage could have been done? - knackered pistons?

When it come to repairing the head... what do I get all together??
So far I'm looking at getting the gasket, gasket set and new bolts. Anything else?

Also should I get a heavy duty head gasket or standard
LVB500220 DISCOVERY 300TDI MULTI-SHIM STEEL HEAD GASKET | eBay or ERR5263 DISCOVERY 1 300TDI ELRING HEAD GASKET OEM | eBay
 
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you have to strip it first to check for overheat damage before trying to predict parts. Multi layer good so they say,james martin will clarify when he sees your post
 
pressbrake said:
you have to strip it first to check for overheat damage before trying to predict parts. Multi layer good so they say,james martin will clarify when he sees your post
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ok will do.... not looking forward to finding any more bad news! :(
 
You should definitely try to get the head compression tested to find out of there is any more damage from the gasket failure.
 
I normally take the exhaust manifold off to save disconnecting the turbo oil feed and return and the downpipe.
 
OK... AA man is a ****er!!! Head Gasket was not "blown big time" as he said. Wasn't blown at all! Bet he got commission for that one!
 
Ares said:
OK... AA man is a ****er!!! Head Gasket was not "blown big time" as he said. Wasn't blown at all! Bet he got commission for that one!
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Check what he wrote on the paperwork. If he wrote 'suspected headgasket' or 'possible headgasket' or if he ticked the box saying it needs further garage analysis you're buggered. If he just wrote 'headgasket u/s' or similar you may be able to claim.

Did the water shoot out of the expansion cap when the engine was cranked over?
 
Ares said:
OK... AA man is a ****er!!! Head Gasket was not "blown big time" as he said. Wasn't blown at all! Bet he got commission for that one!
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probably the same bloke who was called out to look at me missus motor, some sort of rattling, his fix was "....turn up the radio so you don't have to hear it..."

.....£100 well deserved...




....not
 
Yeah water shot out the filler cap ratty... Air lock I'd say?

Tronic.. they must make a fortune for feck all.

Back on track then.... The gasket is really in good condition with it all intact, the head looks pretty good according to a mechanic mate.. still need to put a straight edge over it later though. The oil was cooked and had a somewhat burnt aroma.

When I pulled over it was still running till I tuned the key off so nothing seized at the time.
 
Ares said:
Yeah water shot out the filler cap ratty... Air lock I'd say?

Tronic.. they must make a fortune for feck all.

Back on track then.... The gasket is really in good condition with it all intact, the head looks pretty good according to a mechanic mate.. still need to put a straight edge over it later though. The oil was cooked and had a somewhat burnt aroma.

When I pulled over it was still running till I tuned the key off so nothing seized at the time.
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It could be an air lock. I have to admit to using the water blowing out the header tank as a guide to seeing if a HG has failed. We write 'suspected' or 'possible' HG failure on our job sheets to cover our arses.
 
ratty said:
It could be an air lock. I have to admit to using the water blowing out the header tank as a guide to seeing if a HG has failed. We write 'suspected' or 'possible' HG failure on our job sheets to cover our arses.
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He didn't mention HG in his write up. only that water blew from the cap and a recommendation that investigation into coolant loss.

It was the "Nope, nope, head gasket blown big time". No check of the oil/water for mixing or oil leaking or anything and looking back it sounded too much like a sales pitch to get an upgrade out of us.

Maybe I'm just feeling sore about it but it was a farce all together. Took Hour and half to get a patrol to us, once HG was diagnosed 15 mins for a recovery flat bed but then he had to have his 45min break... was told another truck was 40 mins away and when he turned up it was loaded up and off we went..only to find out that he could only take us half way as his time was up or his shift was coming to an end. We then waited 40 mins for a change over to another truck and eventually got home at 5.30am. If the first guy had his break then took us it would have saved more hassle and all along we had my missus, our 3yr old and disabled mum in-law who we were picking up from hospital after a stroke on a 400 mile round trip. Nightmare!
 
Why did it overheat and airlock, low coolant?
The aa man did the right thing, cooked oil means dont drive and investigate and diesels really dont like being overheated.
 
He did the right thing telling me the head gasket had blown big time??? On that statement I went about getting the HG done. It's not like he knew the oil was cooked as he checked absolutely sod all.

Lost coolant due to the plastic thermostat cap breaking and airlocked because the guy didn't vent the air out when filling I guess?

Anyway fair play to the AA today. They'll refund the lot and the cost of the job with a mechanics report.
 
Ares said:
He did the right thing telling me the head gasket had blown big time??? On that statement I went about getting the HG done. It's not like he knew the oil was cooked as he checked absolutely sod all.

Lost coolant due to the plastic thermostat cap breaking and airlocked because the guy didn't vent the air out when filling I guess?

Anyway fair play to the AA today. They'll refund the lot and the cost of the job with a mechanics report.[/quote]

Have you just spoken to em?
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