Have I still got head problems?

[terry day]

I bought my Hilux 2.4 ssx diesel in april by may it was back in the garage with cracked head syndrome. A new head was fitted and since having it back it's run like a dream, However I can't seem to keep water in the Expansion Tank evrytime I do even a short journey the water level has either dropped by a pint or gone completely.Have I got yet another cracked head? How does this expansion tank thing work??

[stormforce]

I bought my Hilux 2.4 ssx diesel in april by may it was back in the garage with cracked head syndrome. A new head was fitted and since having it back it's run like a dream, However I can't seem to keep water in the Expansion Tank evrytime I do even a short journey the water level has either dropped by a pint or gone completely.Have I got yet another cracked head? How does this expansion tank thing work??

Hi Terry have you put in a new thermostat and put on a new rad cap aswell.Also make sure there are no air locks in the sysytem aswell.Blowers on and set to hot and top up the rad with motor on tickover,then take for a spin leave to cool and check again

[BUSHWHACKER]

When the engine coolant gets hot, it 'expands' into the expansion tank. When the engine cools, i.e. switched off, the coolant is sucked back into the engine. It may be that you have an air lock in your cooling system. When topping up, make sure the engine is stone cold and the heater controls, including the rear ones if you have them, are set to hot.
Switch on engine and allow to idle up to temp, so that the thermostat opens and heat starts to come from the air vents in the cab. Check coolant level again when engine is cold and top up if required. Also, make sure there is enough coolant in the expansion tank to cover the end of the tube (two thirds full) when cold.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Dammit! I must type faster.

[skyhooked]

maybe you still have a leak somewhere? i had a similar issue with mine after the head was replaced, still losing around a pint or so

i noticed the top rad hose was weeping, and also a small pipe coming from the thermostat housing and the lower rad hose into the block was getting damp too

once these were sorted, it runs all day long and looses no water even on those really hot days we've just had. the mechanic pressure tested the system to 2bar to spot the leaks

[terry day]

this head thing is doin' my head in!!

Following all the suggestions I gratefully recieved and carried out the toppping up, ticking over, and burning my r's on the heater on a sixteen mile run. Checks last night showed the water level in the Expansion Tank to be near to what I had poured in.
I then found this morning that on initial start up I had a white cloud coming from the exhaust for about five seconds and the engine running lumpy and misfiring. Have I got a problem with the new head fitted by the Spanners! who sold me this nightmare or am I over reacting? Time is ticking away on my three months warranty, where do I go next. Would it pay me to have an independant Garage carry out a pressure test and would this show a cracked head?

[Gazbo]

I would have thought if the head or gasket is gone, then it would be cloudly all the time? Or water blasting out the cap?

[BUSHWHACKER]

Following all the suggestions I gratefully recieved and carried out the toppping up, ticking over, and burning my r's on the heater on a sixteen mile run. Checks last night showed the water level in the Expansion Tank to be near to what I had poured in.
I then found this morning that on initial start up I had a white cloud coming from the exhaust for about five seconds and the engine running lumpy and misfiring. Have I got a problem with the new head fitted by the Spanners! who sold me this nightmare or am I over reacting? Time is ticking away on my three months warranty, where do I go next. Would it pay me to have an independant Garage carry out a pressure test and would this show a cracked head?

Smoke coming from the exhaust on start-up from cold is normal, it's usually just condensation mixed with unburnt fuel from the engine cranking.
A lumpy tick-over from cold is usually one or more of the glowplugs wasn't heating properly and need replacing.
Does the engine idle smoothly after 30 secs or a couple of blips on the throttle?

[Sancho]

Could be the glow plug fuse? I think mine went pop when the head was being replaced.

[Linda]

To be honest if it was me and the warranty was running out and I was worried I'd get the compression test done anyway....

[dibnah65]

Also see my "white smoke" thread and problems...sounds very similar. In the end the problem seemed to be the garage not replacing the old knackered pipe clips with new ones...once I'd done this all leaks/smoke etc seems to be solved.

[Pika1971]

Head problems

I agree that white smoke on startup is not necessarily a sign of head problems, neither is loosing water.
When starting your truck wait until you hear the click from the engine, don't start when the dashboard light tells you, doing this can reduce white smoke at startup.
My advice would be to get a compression test as mentioned and if possible a gas test, to see if oil is getting into the cooling system, that should give you an idea if the head is buggered.
But the problem with a bust head seems to be that it is very difficult to really tell for sure because so many of the symtoms could be caused by something else, for example I was losing water, had some white smoke coming out the back, and had overheated the engine, but had relatively OK readings on both compression and gas, but when the head came off it had 3 quite large cracks in it. And since Stevo fitted a new one its been running like a dream, including 3 trips through France.

My only gamble was that once Stevo had taken the head off to take a look, it would have cost a few quid even if it hadn't been busted, but on the positive it is a chance to change the cambelt...and my head was definately knackered...

As a tip, if you are in the AA you can get them to do the compression and gas tests, I called them out twice to do this, I also feel better now about paying the years subscription...lol

[terry day]

Been back in the shop

Right chaps following advices greatfully recieved, Ive took it back to the spanners at the garage where I bought it from. They have assured me after tests that the head is ok, However they investigated the white smoke and lumpy running at cold start up, and advised me that it was now fine. They said they had run injector cleaner through the injectors and checked the glow plugs and all ok and that I should have no more problems. Guess what!!
our car park looks like the army have thrown smoke grenades in at cold start
Any ideas still!!!!
Bit of a novice myself, but could it be a dirty fuel filter problem as I had the same thing on my wife's Peugeot.
Also anyone know any good spanners in th east midlands area that know their way round these beasts!?