Oh no! Not the head gasket!

After getting the system nicely sealed and with new pump, thermostat and caps, I've finally got a headgasket failure.

Hooray! It has taken a few months to work up the chain, but after having cold coolant explode all over me during a routine check, I know I've finally made it.

All this without overheating. Just one time the coolant gets over 100*c because the fan didn't kick in.

Hopefully the engine won't need to come out to do the job nicely.

My condolences. I have nightmares about this. I feel your pain.

You now know you have made it as a Hijet owner!

Yes, thanks everyone. I'll get a nice few photos for the forum when the job is underway (next week). While this felt like an inevitable outcome, it's quite interesting and as I haven't been overheating, maybe it'll turn out alright in the end. Everyday's a schoolday, as they say.

The biggest pain is having the van off the road, but can't risk damaging anything more!

Hope everyday isnt a school day! I disliked school! Loved Uni though later in life

Questions to the forum:

Is the original head gasket Daihatsu branded ( or have the D on it)?
Does the factory fit the head with copper slip on the bolt threads?

Notice all the black by #4 cylinder -- furthest from the waterpump and furthest from airflow

Certainly looks to be a failed head gasket there, no idea on the head gasket replacement though.

Head has been skimmed but the gaskets are taking forever to arrive. I thought motor parts suppliers were pretty hot on shipping times!

The coolant pipe elbow on the top right of the last photo had to be removed for skimming. It's a press fit. Does anyone have a recommendation about putting it back to ensure it stays put? Glue? Loctite? Just shove it back in and hope for the best?

I'm certain noone gives a shit, but the engine is back together and runs. It'll get some use to prove the job has been successful this week. Judging by how things are working now, it arrived with me with an already partially failed gasket, masked by some horrible bodges.

Disassembly(3 hrs): £60
Parts and consumables: £100
Skim: £50
Reassembly (6hrs): £120

Total £330.

Given that another family member has just paid out £400 for new rear brake drums on a 10 year old Skoda, this wasn't too painful.

The worst part has been trying to get parts. You wouldn't believe.

I will update the forum eventually to confirm if things go well or not. Initial signs are promising, but time will tell.

Please update. I give a shit! I hate to use the search and only find threads that are abandoned not telling about how the story ended. Someone will be thankful in the future! (Thanks!)

Yes, updates are always welcome and I agree with Lex’s comment that it’s all good info for other users.

What was the line between 1 &2

Definitely update, please. As well as being useful to others it can be a handy reminder for yourself, as well.

Thanks everyone. If I tell my story of the van, you'll understand.

I wanted a rust free vehicle, and I paid over the odds to get one.

It came from a-z motors in Peterborough for £2000 last August, shipped on a lorry to my door. 53250 miles, no rust except stone chips.

Delivery man mumbled something about a mis-fire and they changed the coils but it was the spark plugs. etc etc. It was dark and I could barely see the van. Like blind date but without Cilla
Temp gauge didn't work. Fitted new thermostat (old one had centre missing). Waterpump started leaking. Fitted new waterpump. OK for a month or two. Noticed bleed nipple weeping. Coolant over-pressure. Fitted head gasket etc. Head had been off before: copper grease on bolts. Aftermarket gasket.
Total amount of coolant used/lost: 15 litres.
I have written down the expenses but I deliberately don't look at them.

Just completed 100 miles of mixed fast/slow hilly&flat driving. Everything seems ok so far. No leaks apparent.

Mileage is now on 55505. Hopefully I will get more than 2000 miles out of it before having to strip the engine again.

And MOT is on Thursday. Hahaha. Have barely had time to look at rest of vehicle!

verryoldman wrote:What was the line between 1 &2

Not sure. Wasn't there/noticeable when it came back from Bruno (machine shop). Didn't actually notice it at all until you pointed it out. Hopefully it is just a hair. Or maybe my head will fall into two pieces next!

gogopiaggio wrote:

Disassembly(3 hrs)
Reassembly (6hrs)

in my case i didnt use a stop watch but this is my etimation:

disassembly: 6 hrs including complete cooling system

parts & material: 200 euro ++

cleaning the pipes, cleaning all cooling system including new used radiator (sandpaper, long brushes, dremeling, highly concentrated citrus acid rust conversion phosphoric acid 60%, resurfacing hose and cap sealing areas, priming, coating... maybe 10 hrs

resurfacing gasket areas incl fixing pitting in block (cylinderhead, block, intake, waterpump, thermostat housing, outlet manifold... almost mirror polish) maybe 10 hrs

cleaning everything else (valves, pistons etc)  another lot of hours since i went to town

fixing distributor cap and other fun stuff  (coating valve cover intake manifold etc) maybe 5 hrs

but i also work quiet slowly when i am on my own

still due: little rust on the front of the oil pan removal, fluid film & perma film refresh while there is good accessability aprox 3 hrs planned


and then there will be at least one more evenig of reassembling it all...

CoolJet, your fix up job is alot more thorough than mine. I was feeling so bad about the van that we did the minimum necessary work to be sure of a good result. After varous coolant leaks (some of which are ongoing) it doesn't give much problem now. Even on a hot day, I can thrash the engine up a long climb on a hot day (without even the heater on in the cab) and immediately let it idle... the rad fan cuts in and out happily and it doesn't complain. So it has passed all the stress testing an I'll work through the weeping hose joints one by one...mostly from incorrectly sized jubilee clips or weak spring clips. However, only affects coolant performance if air gets sucked back in, which happened once, the only time the temp needle has gone over half way.

If I'd have known the result would be this good, I would have painted the top of the head like you, cooljet.
Now I'm starting to enjoy the van. Especially since a very small clutch adjustment has stopped the gears from crunching!

So I hope yours is as good. The complex radiator fan system is interesting that you're developing. Is it necessary or just precaution? I looked at the Davies Craig electric waterpumps a while ago. The benefit for this type of engine is probably there -- but the cost!

So, thanks for your positive comments and I've been grateful to have them. Sorry I'm not hot on getting back to you all but now the li'l van is back on the road it's earning its keep and keeping me busy

Glad your van is OK. Mine doing fine, too.    Been so busy since its on the road again, too.  

I opened the cap under the seat lately when the motor was cold and it was full to the top.
And you are right normally if the system is properly maintained there should be no problems.

Its when a rad cap stops working, a hose is leaking, a thermostat gets stuck, and especially if the system isnt bled correctly due to insane bleeding instructions in the manual etc...  the misery

The last time i did the gasket it never was really 100% fixed. I had about 100ml coolant loss in 1000km approx.... at some point i forgot to refill and it got completely messed up again. At that point a had driven about 60.000 km (it had 74.000 on the clock when i got it) with the quick fix without overheating once. So i cant complain too much.
I also ride the autobahn alot and conurbation traffic.

This time tis a 100% fix i guess but its also experimental with the filling of the pits in the block and the sandpaper "skimming".
So in my case its a double bottom. It wont hurt to keep the motor a bit cooler in extrem circumstances. Its intended to ease my mind in a hot day not having the heater on. And a fun project to build on.

I would also like to have a digital temperate read out in my otherwise analogue car just to analyse and play with it. So that would be a future aim and loads of other great stuff you can do with the micro controller. Also to read out other sensors but its definatly not cruitial if you have an otherwise perfectly working cooling system.

Oh yeah, it is such a nice feeling to open the cap under the seat and see the system is totally full. From when I first had the van, there was always some air before.

As for the digital readout, I have the OBDII port on mine so I can treat myself to all the figures if I want them: engine temp, rpm, speed, timing advance angle, manifold pressure, fuel flow, calculated mpg; it's all there. I got a wireless thing shipped from china and a cheap app for an old phone and it was fun to play with a bit.
Not the same as making up the sensors yourself though. You get the construction fun and the geeky data output aswell!

Yeah. Something designated for the hijet.

gasket failure detection
air in the system warning
co2 monitoring
coolant pressure ^^

Will have to install more sensors


But really... there are cool dash addons for the port, too.
Read about it here on the forum somewhere.
My car doesnt have the port, though.
Its the carborateur version

Hi there - I have been to 2 garages after my van had its first overheating attack. I nursed it back from a long trip on a stupidly hot day as no where to break down in central london. Since then replaced water / coolant and its driving locally and temp gauge remaining in usual spot. Prob seems to develop when you push the van to drive longer and then face a period of slower driving in traffic. The fan was coming on and there's fluid in the coolant / radiator reservoir. I am thinking of trying that Steel seal product... any reviews of it?

Plus - have some other issues to deal with (loose suspension, bush on front, slight leak in fuel tank).... and of course MOT soon.

Any views on Steelseal appreciated and where to possibly get a fuel tank and other bits!

M

Ok, first you need your own thread. Third, I'll tell you about steelseal later. Second, read up on here. Rad caps, filling methods, detailed progress. Don't rush it

Thanks PFM - copied message to new thread. Love your views on Steelseal as tempted. And will read the filling methods as told different ways by 2 garages so far.

gogopiaggio wrote:Oh yeah, it is such a nice feeling to open the cap under the seat and see the system is totally full. From when I first had the van, there was always some air before.

This really is the number 1 symptom of a good coolant system on a hijet. It should always be 100% full to the cap, if you're running like this then it's how it should be.

When you heat cycle them, and they end up with an air gap under the cap, its a sign of doom, and sooner or later they will spew their guts up into the header tank.

Finding out where the leaks are is vital, I always used to pressure test them with air; pump up the coolant system to a couple of bar, then watch if it drops over night. If it drops cover everything with soapy water to watch for the bubbles. Normally it's either hose clips, rotten metal coolant pipes, the radiator end caps etc. The seat where the radiator cap bottom rubber touches is important. Often they have been run with just water in them, and if the head gasket is leaking the water absorbs combustion gases which makes the water even more corrosive. This is why they always have rotten steel pipework in the coolant system. The antifreeze is a corrosion inhibitor so it is vitally important.

Good luck guys.

Thanks HighlyJetted! The archive material you have left on this forum was invaluable to my repairs.
Truth be told, I am still losing coolant and I can't work out where from specifically, just the general area. It doesn't seem to matter as the cooling circuit is always tight and full, just 100ml needed in the expansion tank every few weeks and a quick wipe of the garage floor to mop up the 2 or 3 drips every day.
It's surprising how such a simple system can hide so many gremlins.