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Follow up Head Gasket Question......

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Hey folks, below is my original ???.

(quoted from post at 13:02:28 01/27/11) Hey folks,

Shortly after I bought my tractor 6 or 7 years ago, I replaced the headgasket because it was broke between a cylinder and the water jacket. I used no sealer or dressing)
Everything was fine. FF and a main bearing siezed last year. Local guy fixed it and since he checked the rest of the thing out, he replaced the head gasket again. He sprayed both sides of the gasket and the surface of the fead and block with a copper looking stuff. It smoked pretty good and used plenty of oil the 1st few weeks but got OK. Lately I have been going thru quite a bit of coolant. No milk or foam in motor or radiator and I pulled the oil plug and there was no coolant. There is also a messy seep around 1/4 of the head or more. Could the stuff he sprayed on be the problem? Thought HG's were supposed to be replaced dry. Think retorquing would take care of it or is it best just to clean everything up and put on a new gasket dry?

1.8 liter 3cyl diesel motor.

Thanks, Dave
Click to expand...

I didn't mention it, but when I originally changed the gasket, the problem was obvious because I had compression in the cooling system while running and it was hard starting/smoked a little at first.

This time, I'm only missing coolant (1/2 gal in 6 or so hours). No compression in the radiator, no water in oil or oil in water, and it starts and runs fine. When it's 20 degrees (tractor sets outside) I hit the glowplugs 5-7 seconds and it starts on about the first turn with no major smoke. That being the case, could my coolant loss still be a headgasket problem? Can't think of anywhere the coolant could be going though exept out the exhaust.

Thanks, Dave
 
Dave. Just a question. Could you have a bad seal at the water pump? Weep hole leaking? Bad water hose=(cracked) loose clamp on hose? Tie a loose (single cloth) at the exhaust, run it and see how muck liquid drips out. It's got to be coming from some place, and it has to leave a tell tail marks where its going.!!If there is NO Anti freeze in the oil,no blow by in the radiator, no excess liquid out the over fl;ow tube ,you have a mystery. These are the only items I can think of. Hope this helps . LOU.
 
Coolant loss could be from several locations. Use a cooling system pressure tester after you put in some coolant dye available at auto parts stores. Pump it up to the pressure specified on the cap and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. The dye also comes as a kit with yellow glasses and a black light to make the dye stand out better. I've used a single LED streamlight available in blue for detection too. Coolant leaks can fool you. You have to see the leak. If you find nothing external pull the injectors and pump it up again. Hope this helps. Gerard
 
If it's only leaking that much you might need to keep pressure on it for several hours to track the leak. I would also drain the oil and leave the plug out, just to be absolutely sure it's not getting into somewhere inside. Watch the pressure gage on the tester, if it's going down you know that antifreeze is going somewhere. If you don't find anything external, then maybe take off the valve cover, tappet cover, oil pan, etc. and look for evidence. Hope you find it and it's not too bad to fix.
 
Yea, pressurize the system. Just like any normal everyday mechanic would do. Find the leak and repair as required.

Sounds a lot simpler than taking a whole lot of well meant advise for an issue that should have taken the above tack initially.
 
Dave. just a thought. If you haven't done so, check your hose clamps and be sure they are good and tight. Although they are tight when you first put them on, they can loosen after the coolant reaches operating temperature and can seep after shut down, leaving very little trace. BTDT
C. L.
 
Anytime a cylinder head is removed for gasket replacement, especially for a leak, the head must be checked for out-of-flat and either magnafluxed or dye penetrant tested. If you don't find the source of the problem you are doomed to repeat the repair. Gerard
 
Hi Again Dave. The pressure test is a good way to find it the coolant is leaking out. never gave that a thought. Your mechanic may loan you his. Does yor tractor engine have a thermostat in use? We find that some(not most) remove the thermostat during summer. Why I don't know ,but they do. If it's operational(thermostat) run the engine till it's normal operating temp. shut it down and SLOWLY remove the radiator cap, use the tester and pressurize the system.If it's an internal leak the water/anti freeze will go down to the pan. or up in the valve cover.Other then that ,the leak has to be outside the engine SOMEWHERE.
The dye would help locate the leak. Sure don't want to ruin the engine from seizure. Let us know what you discover. Yep I'm up now. So DAM MUCH PAIN can't sleep more then 2-4 hrs. Regards LOU.
 
You said there's a messy seep around the head. I'd guess that could be all or part of the leak. You could also have a tiny leak into a cylinder(s)that wouldn't be noticeable and tiny amounts of coolant are getting blown out the exhaust. 1/2 gallon in 6 six hours isn't that bad of a leak if it's leaking in a couple different places. Dave
 
I had a 91 grand caravan that would lose anti freeze and I couldn't find where it was going. I decided not to tighten the radiator cab and a year later the source of the leak revealed itself. It was the water pump seal. The leak evaporated while the engine was running and I couldn't find it. New water pump and no more problems.
 

Soon as I get a break in the temps, I'll start by retorquing and pressurewashing and see what comes next. Guess it's possible for a WP seal also because there is no place for water to collect if I don't catch it dripping. Closer to a quart in the 5 or so hours.

Thanks, Dave
 
Hello Dave2,
Before you hit it with the pressure washer, and clean away the evidence, take a good look at
any place you think it may be leaking.
If it is external, you can do a pressure check.
Do it with the engine overnight cold.
Remeber the 10% rule. Only pressurize the system 10% above the radiator cap pressure.
Good Luck....................Guido.
 
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