KZN130 Cracked Cylinder Head

[MonsterSurf]

Just thought i'd post these up as its kinda interesting in a warped way :/
I've had my surf for about 6 years or so and never had a problem with it untill last winter when it suddenly used a bit of coolant.. and then a bit more.. using about a good litre on a 150 mile journey.. so not wanting to strip it down on a cold wet driveway in sub zero temperatures i stuck some 'K Seal' in, and wow it actually worked, in fact i completely forgot about the problem.. that is untill.. its ###### winter again!! Only this time it properly pressurised the expansion tank and someone pointed out that my truck was ''foaming'' and sure enough, there was ''truck puss'' streaming out from the expansion overflow lol
Anyways, i ''whipped'' the head off, and on closer inspection, it seems that there are cracks between the valves (and several on all the combustion chambers, but that's not really an issue i think) and these have obviously crept into the cooling system
New Head for me, which sucks!!
Anyways, here's some pics

i wonder if my foray into alternative fuelling helped speed up this process..
trucks on 149,000 kilomiles (neither miles or kilometres as the 33" wheels throw the milometer out lol)

[TonyN]

Good job, all 4! Normally thats a 2.4 trick.

But it has been broken for a year, so forgivable really....

I doubt your choice of fuel had much to do with it TBH.

[MonsterSurf]

TBQH i was a bit shocked as i thought the 3ltr's wernt so prone to the heads going as the 2.4's and i was expecting to just find a very breached head gasket :/ not multiple cracks on all combustion chambers, two serious cracks between valves on cylinders 2+4 and hairline cracks between 1+3 haha but we love 'em so we'll fix 'em Mind you.. i was CURSING not having diff locks when i stupidly started reversing off a steep cliff into a fast flowing gorge in the middle of the night a couple of years ago and it did the ''italian job'' thing.. except i had one rear wheel gone over so the other one was just spinning and the opposing front wheel was about 2 foot off the ground so the other one was spinning heheh not an amusing situation i had to pile everything over from the left of the truck and lean out the window with foot still on brake and girlfriend sat on the raised bonnet keepin her from goin over the edge till the 'brigade turned up with a turfer lol happy days

Ahwell, Best find a decent head now i guess, any ideas on this one? or is speak to Barry from RoughTrax? ouch £££

[TonyN]

They are no where near as bad as a 2.4, I've repeatedly got mine near the red line (but never into it) towing for years now, taken it off twice and it still shows no signs. A stock 2.4 will crack when the sun comes out.

Don't worry about the combustion chamber cracks, I did a head gasket on mine (Linda's) about 6 years ago, and they here like that then, 4 years ago or so I stripped it down to change a spun big end bearing and they still looked the same, as long as no lumps are loose it nothing much to worry about.

Having said that, it dosn't really matter to you as you'll get new ones in the new head anyway.

[MonsterSurf]

lol @ sun comes out hahah
Here, Tony, Someone mentioned that ''Stevo''?? was doing upgraded replacement heads, you know anything about this? or was it just a 2.4 thing?
And i tell ya what, im DEFINITELY going to replace the thermostat AND rad cap, event though the temperature gauge has never moved above normal OT it never occurred to me that the original temp gauge was soo shite that it may not even measure A fluctuation :/

[TonyN]

You might have read 'something' recently...

The bottom line hidden in the egos and B/S is Stevo is a selling the latest GENUINE 3.0 heads, and properly UPRATED aftermarket 2.4 heads, and has supported the forum and its members way more and for longer than is made public.

Roughtrax (And others) are selling very good AFTERMARKET 3.0 heads, and to be fairt to all sellers Ebay sells them and crap ones as well.

Personally I'd Stevo's one if had the money, Roughtrax if on a budget, and Ebay if desperate.

I honestly don't know what brand Milners are selling theses day.

[MonsterSurf]

Niceone, Thankyou for that info
Just going to try and somehow get hold of Stevo now and see if he has anything to offer i dont suppose you would have a number for him maybe you could PM?
I have just stumbled across an interesting thread on the same 1KZte Engine, with an interesting take on the exactly the same problem, with the head cracking in between the valves, i'll cut & paste what was said:
""
whilst doing a new water pump I was told of the problems that the 1kzte had with cracked heads. Worried about these revelations I spoke to an outfit that specialises in repowers and they have dealt with heaps of these and the cure is replacing the complete exhaust system with a larger ( 2 1/2 inch ) system and a bit of fiddling with the fuel pump. They also fit an engine exhaust temp sender which activates a warning light if a preset temp is reached which warns of engine overloading. They stated it was the exhaust temps getting too hot at times which causes the problem and it won't be apparent by any water temp rise
the outfit here in Kaiapoi, NZ make up their own system but would obviously be off the shelf components. No web site tho I'm afraid. They reckon the exhaust temps are much cooler with a slight increase in power. Looking thru various forums it would appear most blame the water cooling but in most cases you would certainly know if that was the case. It would overheat and even with slow response gauges etc you would see it. What you wont see is extreme exhaust temps under load which is what these guys claim is the problem""

Thats kinda interesting and does actually make sense... i already have a 2 1/2" system on mine tho..although im pretty sure the manifold/turbo and downpipe are standard...
Interesting anyways

[stormforce]

I took the head off a 3.0 yesterday as there was a problem with the bottom end.Once igot the head off number 1 piston was shot to hell and had totally buggared the head

[MonsterSurf]

I took the head off a 3.0 yesterday as there was a problem with the bottom end.Once igot the head off number 1 piston was shot to hell and had totally buggared the head

Good job clean Ali is fetching a good price