E

elmagnoon

New Member
Can injector pump timing cause overheating?
My 1995 Automatic TDI300 overheated and blew the head gasket a few kilometers after doing two things;
1-Adjusting the injector pump according to Rave Manual and using proper timing tools.
The car sounded louder and may be a bit smokier (it smoked black anyways) but ran great.
2-Disconnected the AC belt and belt tensioner as I found out that the mechanic had stripped two of the bolts holding the AC belt tensioner.

Just asking for my personal peace of mind as I may get rid of the car as is.


Thanks
 
did you tune the injector pump to get more performance, if so all i can think of is that the increase in power but extra load on a failing head gasket which finished it off. as for the ac even thou it runs off the crack pulley it still seperate from the cooling size. lastly failed or failing water pump or thermostat. money would be the fuel pump tweek
 
The pump timing is just me shooting in the dark but I set it exactly as per manual and don't believe that it could be that much out if at all.

One thing I remember though is that as soon as I pulled off and popped the hood and saw the water shooting out of the expansion tank I put my hand on it and was surprised that it was cool enough to keep my hand on it unlike the top inlet radiator hose and the top bracket holding the radiator.`Can't be the thermostat as there has never been one. Could be the pump, radiator, gasket or anything else I guess.
I checked the motor oil this morning and was surprised that it has "increased" by a bit more than a liter. What would cause the false reading on the dipstick?

I have to decide whether to take it apart myself or put it on a truck to a mechanic about 700 kilometers away and have him "fix" it and break something else in the process. Any links to detailed re+re of head gasket.
 
If the expansion tank wasnt that hot it suggests either no water flow i.e. waterpump or the cooling system is getting pressurised by either headgasket or cracked head/block. Check the temp difference between hoses for waterpump, go to a local garage and ask them to do a chemical block test, this will say if HC is present in the water and if its a head gasket.

Thats not to say it isnt anything else but from your description its where i would start....
 
A couple of days ago I showed what a torque meter is and what it's for. I remember when I was shopping for a torque wrench the salesman at the hardware store laughed at me. He thought I should be lucky should they tighten up the bolts at all. Trust me they won't have a clue what a chemical block test is.

So, what's and HC and what does its presence in the water mean?
After removing the head block how do I get it "crack tested", what do they actually do?
 
they are pressure testing the head. if the pressure drops then there is a leak, ie a crack or split. Also they will test to see if the head has wrapped, if so and its within spec they will skim it to level it up again so to speak.
 
running a 300 without a stat aint a good idea. it controls a 3 way valve-
cold engine it allows pumped water thru block and head only so hot spots cant develop, when warmed up and stat opens it closes bypass loop and opens rad port allowing cooling thru block, head and rad.
running without allows water to bypass rad regardless of water temp.
does sound like head or gasket from what you've said.

where are you out of interest?
 
Thanks guys for the help and by the looks of it I will need a lot more help.

I'm in a little place called Dahab off the red sea cost of Egypt. Home of the best diving in the world, desert safaris and not bad rock climbing. Not much else.
Dahab - Google Maps



I removed the head and in the process here are my observations:

Video of the gasket: gasket.wmv - YouTube

-Water all around the rocker assembly.
-Water on injectors.
-Water everywhere on the block once the head was removed. On top of the pistons and in the piston "chambers" (not sure what they're called) when they're down.

Lots of questions here:

-Gasket had four red dots on it, is that like the four holes, meaning the thickest gasket available?
-I will get the head checked for "warpedness" and see if I can have it crack checked. Anything else?
-The thermostat is needed in hot weather also? Is there only one type?
-I removed the water pump and it looks OK, how do I check the radiator?
-The number two valve cap was smashed pretty bad and I had just replaced them all 800 kilometers ago, what does it mean and could my setting the gaps have been the cause of the overheating if I had done them wrong? would the car run very well for 800 kilometers then suddenly overheat?
-How do I know if I damaged the valves or even how do I just check the valve caps seals, springs and such for general maintenance?
-More than one mechanic told me a while back that the engine lost compression and that I at least needed rings and possible rebuild. How do I check that rings or anything else is needed no that I have the block exposed?

-The steel pipe that the radiator hose connect to and the other end is connected to a hose then supposedly to the heater core is rusty. Can I just replace it with a piece of hose?

I think that's it for now. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
elmagnoon said:
Thanks guys for the help and by the looks of it I will need a lot more help.

I'm in a little place called Dahab off the red sea cost of Egypt. Home of the best diving in the world, desert safaris and not bad rock climbing. Not much else.
Dahab - Google Maps



I removed the head and in the process here are my observations:

Video of the gasket: gasket.wmv - YouTube

-Water all around the rocker assembly.
-Water on injectors.
-Water everywhere on the block once the head was removed. On top of the pistons and in the piston "chambers" (not sure what they're called) when they're down.
Dont worry about this, its just spilt water as you split and removed the head, nothing to worry about

Lots of questions here:

-Gasket had four red dots on it, is that like the four holes, meaning the thickest gasket available? Without seeing the dots I cant be sure but sounds like it
-I will get the head checked for "warpedness" and see if I can have it crack checked. Anything else?Just give it to the engineering place and get them to do a full test, they will know what to do
-The thermostat is needed in hot weather also? Is there only one type?Thermostat is really needed for all weathers, it controls the engines temperature and is pretty vital. Not sure if theres choices, im sure someone will let us know shortly but a factors can sort this for you
-I removed the water pump and it looks OK, how do I check the radiator?Run a hose through it, if it flows out nicely it should be ok, if loads of crap comes out I would look into a replacement
-The number two valve cap was smashed pretty bad and I had just replaced them all 800 kilometers ago, what does it mean and could my setting the gaps have been the cause of the overheating if I had done them wrong? would the car run very well for 800 kilometers then suddenly overheat?if you got 800KM then I would expect it to be OK, setting the gap wrong would result in broken rockers or an underperforming engine and some noise from the engine which I assume you didn't have?
-How do I know if I damaged the valves or even how do I just check the valve caps seals, springs and such for general maintenance?ask the engineering shop to test them all (will be part of compression test), there is no real maintenance other than setting the tappets
-More than one mechanic told me a while back that the engine lost compression and that I at least needed rings and possible rebuild. How do I check that rings or anything else is needed no that I have the block exposed?Thats rubbish, other things can cause compression lost, not always rings. Check the cylinder bores for marks and scrapes, they should be perfectly clean (you should be able to see the honing marks still, lots of uniform cut marks). there are other signs of rings going, smoking is generally a major problem with worn rings as is diesel in the oil.

-The steel pipe that the radiator hose connect to and the other end is connected to a hose then supposedly to the heater core is rusty. Can I just replace it with a piece of hose?I belive its like that to keep away from manifolds, I would get the correct piece, why mess around for a few quid?

I think that's it for now. Thanks.
Click to expand...


Im not a landrover expert, these are standard answers, im sure someone will let us know of any other details
 
hmmm.....
how mechanically apt are you!

if you intend doing it yourself, recomend downloading a copy of rave, search on lz for it there's numerous links to it. (it has overhaul manual in it)

if your reliant on others, then its a matter of trust in them. you'l probabably have to trust them for compression testing and skimming the head, which you'l probably need, and recomend having it done.

edit VVV - see post 18!
head gasket 4 hole is thickest, if any doubt refit the same. piston crown can be measured, again either you need a dial test indicator (explained in rave) or trust someone to measure correctly. fitting thinner gasket will cause piston to clout head, thicker you may get a smokier engine. it dosent look original, they normally have holes in so cant explian what make you have. refit with an elring or payen gasket. (manufacturer)

radiator may be blocked or partially blocked with sediment. do you know how old it is or if its had any type of leak fix additive put in? running a hose pipe thru it wont neccesarily tell it to be a good one.

cant explain valve cap. excessive valve clearance? would rattle and underperform. maybe faulty, substandard part.

one stat, should be fitted.

the honing marks john talks of should be wavy up/down circular patterns in the cylinders, there should be no vertical markings at all.

sure james will add to this when he sees it!
 
Last edited:
Just a thought here, ok so 1 hole being the thinist then no hole is always the thickist. Just wondering if the gasket he has either hasn't had the holes punched out for whatever reason or its ment to be a no hole hence thickist one
 
alex8882 said:
Just a thought here, ok so 1 hole being the thinist then no hole is always the thickist. Just wondering if the gasket he has either hasn't had the holes punched out for whatever reason or its ment to be a no hole hence thickist one
Click to expand...
my cock up! your right, no hole is thickest, there isnt a 4 holer for 300's
(i musta been thinking of peugot 2.5 lump)
 
I'm mechanicaly apt but not automotive mechanics. That is I worked on industrial machinery and know mechanics and electric and at the same time never liked working on cars. I don't have even a basic idea how an engine works but learning quick. All said, mechanics here are incompetent and their negligence border on criminal. No such thing as an "engineering shop". I would be lucky if they can read and write. I will do any of the work that I can do using hand and basic electric tools and will have to resort to machine shops to do the skimming, testing (doubtful they know what a crack test is) and to extract the glow plugs that are ceased and broken. I also have more tools than most mechanics. A ratchet and socket set is a foreign concept to them.

I have the Rave manual and have been relying on it and this and other forums to troubleshoot an repair the car for a few months now. From a simple oil pan leak to transmission not shifting, the internet have been more help than all the mechanic I met. I removed the head in about an hour and it was quite easy following information I found on the net. The problem is, how dirty do I want to get specially if I decide to put new rings.


How is the cylinder head test for cracks? Do they plug all the holes and pump air in it and how much pressure?


Thanks for all the help.
 
the pressure test is kinda like that the head is bolted to a flat level plate on a bench and thats about all i know as i had to go before they finished the process. they are looking for a drop in pressure in the head, however i've seen the heads crack in between the inlet and exuast valves, and also inbetween each bank of of valves
 
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