Looking for some advice please. I have a '96 300tdi. It overheated recently and I fitted a new head gasket. Still overheats and no heat from heater - top heater hose is dry. I've changed pump and ran a hose through it and seems clear - some heat from heater when I do this until cold water flushes through. Header tank gets pressured after engine gets HOT. Is it my worst fear - a cracked head - or ?? Any ideas appreciated. Cheers Steve
On or around Sat, 18 Nov 2006 17:01:49 -0000, "steve owen" enlightened us thusly:
did you refill it through the plug in the top of the stat housing?
You need to do that, and then you need to get it warmed up and then you need to drive it uphill for a couple of minutes at about 3500 rpm, IME. The 300 TDi is a bastard to get the water back into the heater; comes of having the top of the engine as the highest part of the circuit.
But the critical first stage is to fill it through that plug, leave the header tank lid off and watch for when the level rises inside it. I recommend buying a replacement brass plug (Beamends Richard has 'em) BEFORE trying to get the shitty black plastic one out; if you don't, there's an excellent chance that the black one will break.
If you do all this and get the heater working and it *still* overheats on the dial and you've replaced the temperature sender, and it's not losing water (key symptom of a head problem) then you probably need a new rad.
Did you check the head for flatness, and did you get it skimmed? It's not a bad idea to get it skimmed anyway.
Hi STeve,
definetely an air trap in your heater. Refill coolant through top plug on thermostat housing. Run engine till normal temp, If no waterflow check thermostat opens.... Header tank does gets pressurised, no problem there.
Joey
On or around Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:13:28 +0100, "Joey" enlightened us thusly:
Unless it's blowing water out...
getting the water to circulate in the heater on that engine is one of the most difficult I've found. Once you get it working, it's fine, unless you let the levels drop.
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