Bugger, head gasket blown ...

On or around Mon, 31 Jul 2006 07:38:15 +0100, "Paul - xxx" enlightened us thusly:

There must be a plague of it going around.

I'm wondering whether or not to get shot of our one, and buy a V8... There are a couple of nice ones on fleabay at the moment...

mind, it'll cost a bit to make the swap - a 300 TDi even in good nick with a blown head gasket is not gonna fetch big bucks. It has got a near-new exhaust though...

however, that engine has had the head replaced not that long ago. only way I'll trust it now is a full rebuild, 'cos I'd want the block out and checked properly. The price of a new engine is such that I doubt it's worth it, although that would be one way.

It was said when I got the head for it that if the head's been cooked it's a waste of time doing anything with it - summat to do with it being heat treated and cooking it spoiling the heat treatment. Anyone know if this is true?

So... any of you lot selling a nice V8 disco, 7-seat?

Austin Shackles came up with the following;:

We currently can't afford that option ... This weekend I'm supposed to tow the caravan to Stotfold, the weekend after to Skegness, the weekend after Holbeach, the weekend after Telford and a fortniught later to Tiverton. Swapping vehicles in between is bound to be fraught with problems, so I think we're just going to stump up the cash somehow.

A V8 Disco is on the list when i get a tuit though ... ;)

I'm hoping I caught ours quickly enough, I saw the gauge rising, thought it'd drop and when it didn't pulled over. Unfortunately the 'Safety Patrols' gave us a bucket of water and suggested we try to make it off the motorway (M18/M62 junction) only for it to pop within a few hundred yards.

I've heard that one before but am a little unsure as to what heat treatment a head undergoes, unless they mean the head has been warped.

On or around Mon, 31 Jul 2006 09:53:36 +0100, "Paul - xxx" enlightened us thusly:

I think the point is supposed to be that it's heat treated once it's machined. Some alloys (e.g. 6061) harden when heat treated thusly. This is all credible stuff. what I don't know is whether overheating the engine gets it hot enough to bugger the heat treatment and if so how long or how hot it has to have got.

Austin Shackles came up with the following;:

I understand now, but still don't have an answer ...

On or around Mon, 31 Jul 2006 11:26:25 +0100, "Paul - xxx" enlightened us thusly:

me neither. we need an insider who worked on TDi production...

I can't say we've had any special problems with 300Tdi heads per se, but we have had to deal with results of the "that'll do" torquing method, rather than doing it properly, and running a 300Tdi for even a short period with no water doing very interesting things to the pistons. Other than that, a skim and a new gasket has done the job ok.

Richard

I had a blown head gasket done by Ritters here in Melbourne and on the invoice was "Hardness test,Pressure test, Surface.

Not sure what it all means but the engine has not given any trouble in over a year. (touch wood).

The bill was $2600 Aussie (1040 sterling) but included new timing belt Rad flush lap in valve seats ect,ect.

Expensive? But I have peace of mind knowing the job was done quickly and very professionaly even got a loan car.

Simon Mills

On or around Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:01:17 +0100, beamendsltd enlightened us thusly:

This one had a new head and was torqued per the book. This leads me to suspect the whole engine, frankly.

I'm strongly inclined to bung a new gasket in, with a head skim if needed, and flog it. The vehicle doesn't merit a new engine or a really serious engine rebuild.

which raises a point though: I've been looking on eBay and there are one or two very nice looking 200-series V8 discos. The point here is that I've just bought (but not yet fitted) a whole new set of brakes to put on this

can I fit the vented discs and calipers for a 300 TDi to a "200" front axle, and will the later rear calipers fit on an early axle?

I suppose, in fact, there's nothing to stop me buying a "200" and swapping the axles from the 300 onto it, but it's more work.

Mind, there are a couple of rather nice 300 series V8s, too.

Bite the bullet, fit a Powerstroke 2.8, and keep it for the long term.

On a similar note I'm toying with the idea of dropping a Toyota 1KZ-TE engine into a rather dead V8 Disco that has appeared on my lawn (SWMBO permitting of course). Power and torque are a little up on the 300tdi so it should work out quite well. All the electronic controls for the injector pump were giving me indigestion but I've managed to acquire a manual pump to suit which should simplify things a bit.

On or around Tue, 01 Aug 2006 11:59:47 +1200, EMB enlightened us thusly:

Yeah, but that's more than we want to spend. This has thrown something of a spanner into the works - the plan was to do this one up and make it tidy mechanically, and so forth, and do up the body and put new rubber mats in and new steps and suchlike. That was when I though the engine was sound :-(

I'm definitely thinking V8s though. V8 on LPG, then replace the gasket on this one, with a head-skim if needed, and flog it. The parts already got for this one will fit a replacement vehicle, if the replacement is properly chosen.

Austin Shackles uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Chill dude! ;-) Could be just one of those things, had it on my VM twice (18000 miles), didn't make it a bad motor. The second time I rebuilt the engine a little more with new Pistons, big ends, Turbo recon ect etc.

If it happended again then dump it but you could get another 50,000 miles out of it once done again.. other than time it'll probably cost less than fetching an unknown flee-bay item in fuel.

Lee D

On or around Tue, 1 Aug 2006 11:29:37 +0100, "Lee_D" enlightened us thusly:

Yeah, but for the cost of doing a full rebuild we can switch to a V8 on LPG... counting the value of the existing 300 once I replace the head gasket and get it running tidy again.

I have a mint 200Tdi that I bought last year, Any use ? Its just sitting here waiting for fuel prices to rise at the moment.

Steve

On or around Tue, 01 Aug 2006 13:41:18 +0100, Steve Taylor enlightened us thusly:

I thought you were putting that in the 101? or do you mean a complete disco?

TBH, I fancy having a V8 again. Lot more fun...

if it's a complete car, then how much?

No, I've got two, the rebuild from the Corpse, and one I picked up for silly money just before Christmas, a rainy day engine. Like I said, that one can be had for a few quid and swapsies.

Steve