Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Markie on 29 July 2007, 15:10:27
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latest project....assumed head gasket failure....most of the symptoms displayed..
but now... im not 100% sure this is head gasket failure. Probably still is. Jamie / James etc and those of you that know or have done this job may be able to comment.
Tell tale symptoms that exist - mayo / gunk in coolant ( but its floating as opposed to being really thick gunk), some gunk under filler cap, no gunk or mayo on dipstick.....
Drove the car 15 miles ( very lesuirely drive and no idleing) no coolant loss and no overheating. Car drives fine....no performance or idle issues - although it wasnt thrashed, heaters and air con giving hot and ice cold.
More significantly for me when i have removed the cam cover there is no gunk on the top of the engine / cams - just nice coloured used oil....i must stress - no gunk at all...i expected ( as i have done one of these before) to have a head full of mayo.....
Any thoughts...pictures on next post...
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the usual floating mayo - not as bad though as some head gasket failures....
(http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n54/markiec23/DSCF3488.jpg)
intrestingly the mayo is only on one small area - thus giving impression of a bad build up ( conincidentally the oil filler cap is in this area)
(http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n54/markiec23/DSCF3486.jpg)
finally - the norm here is a complete light brown / white lather....theres no mayo here ( this is what i saw as soon as cam cover was off....note the black used oil at bottom of picture along camshaft....
(http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n54/markiec23/DSCF3487.jpg)
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All I can say is, give it a coolant flush, oil change, and see if it comes back. Also compression test it...
Usually they're more spectacular than that, but it may just be in the early days..
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All I can say is, give it a coolant flush, oil change, and see if it comes back. Also compression test it...
Usually they're more spectacular than that, but it may just be in the early days..
thats what i thought - and wanted to hear - i decided not to go ahead with my purchasing right now of the replacement gaskets/ bolts and what not.....heres hoping....although i suspect it will still be required...
still worst case - and it is in its infancy - i certainly wont need to skim the head and the liners should be okay :-/
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All I can say is, give it a coolant flush, oil change, and see if it comes back. Also compression test it...
Usually they're more spectacular than that, but it may just be in the early days..
thats what i thought - and wanted to hear - i decided not to go ahead with my purchasing right now of the replacement gaskets/ bolts and what not.....heres hoping....although i suspect it will still be required...
still worst case - and it is in its infancy - i certainly wont need to skim the head and the liners should be okay :-/
Liners will be fine, if it's driving OK
Please do a compression test though.
If the mayo comes back, it will be HGF
Note - Castrol GTX causes a bit of mayo in these beasts.....
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All I can say is, give it a coolant flush, oil change, and see if it comes back. Also compression test it...
Usually they're more spectacular than that, but it may just be in the early days..
thats what i thought - and wanted to hear - i decided not to go ahead with my purchasing right now of the replacement gaskets/ bolts and what not.....heres hoping....although i suspect it will still be required...
still worst case - and it is in its infancy - i certainly wont need to skim the head and the liners should be okay :-/
Liners will be fine, if it's driving OK
Please do a compression test though.
If the mayo comes back, it will be HGF
Note - Castrol GTX causes a bit of mayo in these beasts.....
this should be fine shouldnt it....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEALEY-CT951-ENGINE-COMPRESSION-TESTER-TEST-KIT-INC-VAT_W0QQitemZ120118817076QQihZ002QQcategoryZ30921QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
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I had the same on my daughters MGF, the symptoms where the same then every now and again it would overheat and spit loads of coolant. Suddenly it went all together so we drove to Huddersfield with a 5 gallon drum of water and loads of stops to PX it ::)
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All I can say is, give it a coolant flush, oil change, and see if it comes back. Also compression test it...
Usually they're more spectacular than that, but it may just be in the early days..
thats what i thought - and wanted to hear - i decided not to go ahead with my purchasing right now of the replacement gaskets/ bolts and what not.....heres hoping....although i suspect it will still be required...
still worst case - and it is in its infancy - i certainly wont need to skim the head and the liners should be okay :-/
Liners will be fine, if it's driving OK
Please do a compression test though.
If the mayo comes back, it will be HGF
Note - Castrol GTX causes a bit of mayo in these beasts.....
this should be fine shouldnt it....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SEALEY-CT951-ENGINE-COMPRESSION-TESTER-TEST-KIT-INC-VAT_W0QQitemZ120118817076QQihZ002QQcategoryZ30921QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
As long as it fits your plug threads ;)
Having now bought my own, maybe TB can have his back ;D ;D
Seriosuly, you're welcome to borrow mine if you don't want to buy one
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thanks for the offer James ;) :)
going to buy one though - handy thing to have.......
i think this is probably HGF to be honest, just taken top hose off and its very thick and mayo`d up.......still at an early stage perhaps....
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My 214 drove around for ages putting a small amount of sludge into the water. Decided it was probably incompatible coolants, etc. at the time. Gave it a good flush and it seemed fine. Next owner had a catastrophic HGF 2 weeks after I sold it though :-[
As you say, it's been caught early enough that it should be straightforward.
Kevin
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My 214 drove around for ages putting a small amount of sludge into the water. Decided it was probably incompatible coolants, etc. at the time. Gave it a good flush and it seemed fine. Next owner had a catastrophic HGF 2 weeks after I sold it though :-[
As you say, it's been caught early enough that it should be straightforward.
Kevin
So bearing in mind i am fixing and selling.......the devil in me suggests, coolant flush, some k seal and complete oil change.
The moraly correct bare minimum would be head gaskets, bolts, various other maifolds replaced as part of the strip down, oil and coolant flush, new oil filter ...timing belt
The correct process would also include timing belt tensioner and water pump. Along with a healthy dose of fortes bio....
I think i am going with middle option - but not untill i compression test it.... :y
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anyone know if halfords or machine mart stock a decent compression test kit.....certainly cant find anything on either website...me be more effective buying high street than paying £5 postage...
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I reckon it may be the first hint of HG... ...there is (small amount) of water in oil, and (small amount) of oil in coolant. No oil coolers, so has to be :(
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I reckon it may be the first hint of HG... ...there is (small amount) of water in oil, and (small amount) of oil in coolant. No oil coolers, so has to be :(
yep, specially after i checked its gunked up plumbing....
Jamie - i presume you ahve a cam locking tool for this engine after your recent hgf... can you tell me what make and model it is? reluctant to buy laser ( i know James had an issue recently albeit with vx laser )
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I reckon it may be the first hint of HG... ...there is (small amount) of water in oil, and (small amount) of oil in coolant. No oil coolers, so has to be :(
yep, specially after i checked its gunked up plumbing....
Jamie - i presume you ahve a cam locking tool for this engine after your recent hgf... can you tell me what make and model it is? reluctant to buy laser ( i know James had an issue recently albeit with vx laser )
I think it was draper. Want to borrow?
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I reckon it may be the first hint of HG... ...there is (small amount) of water in oil, and (small amount) of oil in coolant. No oil coolers, so has to be :(
yep, specially after i checked its gunked up plumbing....
Jamie - i presume you ahve a cam locking tool for this engine after your recent hgf... can you tell me what make and model it is? reluctant to buy laser ( i know James had an issue recently albeit with vx laser )
I think it was draper. Want to borrow?
thanks for the offer - appreciate it :) - there only a few quid so will hunt one down....if you get a chance can you check over the next few days to see if it as any codes on it? think it may be k16 ( odd that ;D)
may come back to borrow if i cant find one though.. :y
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If it helps mine had a very slight but noticeable misfire at idle when it was dumping sludge. Maybe TADTS but could be a sign. It suggests a compression test would show something if the idle was lumpy.
Certainly could use an oil change looking under that cam cover!
Kevin
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I reckon it may be the first hint of HG... ...there is (small amount) of water in oil, and (small amount) of oil in coolant. No oil coolers, so has to be :(
yep, specially after i checked its gunked up plumbing....
Jamie - i presume you ahve a cam locking tool for this engine after your recent hgf... can you tell me what make and model it is? reluctant to buy laser ( i know James had an issue recently albeit with vx laser )
I think it was draper. Want to borrow?
thanks for the offer - appreciate it :) - there only a few quid so will hunt one down....if you get a chance can you check over the next few days to see if it as any codes on it? think it may be k16 ( odd that ;D)
may come back to borrow if i cant find one though.. :y
99% certain it was http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=16498 but will check tomorrow... (remind me though!)
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My mum and dad have an MGF only done 58,000 miles, there head gasket went about 4 weeks ago. Rover garage did the job about £1100 :-[
Bloke at works son had one exactly the same, he told me that Land Rover only gave a 30,000 mile warranty with a brand new Freelander as at the time they shared the K series engine :-/
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The MGF / Elise apparently has an additional issue that the coolant pipes to the rad are very long, meaning that the engine gets shock cooled by lots of cold water as the thermostat opens.
1.8 K Freelanders need to be ragged to death to keep up with the traffic flow. A lightweight revvy 16 valver was not ideal for that vehicle, and that probably doesn't help the longevity of the engine ::)
Kevin
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If it helps mine had a very slight but noticeable misfire at idle when it was dumping sludge. Maybe TADTS but could be a sign. It suggests a compression test would show something if the idle was lumpy.
Certainly could use an oil change looking under that cam cover!
Kevin
there is a very very slight blip every 30secs, only someone like a forum member would notice it ( not Mr Joe Public ;)) but it actually idles fine in relation to revs and consistancy outwith this...
ive cleaned the cam cover and gasket and will turn it over every horur or so today and see how it behaves, i dropped both rad hoses last night and they pretty much sugested that it was HG ( thick with sludge) although the coolant was still flowing freely.
Compression tester on order, locking "kit" on order, nothing happening till Wednesday on strip down..
Of course the other side is it has ahd hgf failure and the seller hasnt had it properly cleaned / flushed but hasnt told me it went previously and assumed its gone again....long shot though.
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My mum and dad have an MGF only done 58,000 miles, there head gasket went about 4 weeks ago. Rover garage did the job about £1100 :-[
Bloke at works son had one exactly the same, he told me that Land Rover only gave a 30,000 mile warranty with a brand new Freelander as at the time they shared the K series engine :-/
thats not the worst price in the world - although on the steep side :o :o thing with the mgf is the car comes out the engine, not the engin out the car. I presume its also the vvc engined one..
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Thats first sign of head gasket failure on a K series (many miss this stage).
Remember that a K series thats had a recent head gasket change is a major selling point....and given the state its in, its a much easier job with a lot less cleaning required.
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My mum and dad have an MGF only done 58,000 miles, there head gasket went about 4 weeks ago. Rover garage did the job about £1100 :-[
:o :o :o Sorry mate but I think you were robbed. I just had a HGF on a 214, caught it early with a pressure tester I got at halfrauds and it took me about 4-5 hours + 50 quid for gaskets and bolts and about 25 to get the head skimmed.
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My mum and dad have an MGF only done 58,000 miles, there head gasket went about 4 weeks ago. Rover garage did the job about £1100 :-[
:o :o :o Sorry mate but I think you were robbed. I just had a HGF on a 214, caught it early with a pressure tester I got at halfrauds and it took me about 4-5 hours + 50 quid for gaskets and bolts and about 25 to get the head skimmed.
its a wee bit more complicated on a vvc or mgf ( ven more a vvc mgf) than a 214....however £1100 is the high side of the normal main dealer price...