Another sore head

[Dobbslc]

I second that ^
Also check for the injector washers and glow plug seats, I didnt get one of those in the gasket set, can't remember which though.
You'll also need the gaskets for the small coolent pipes on the head under the manifold
( genuine Toyota only) and I also didn't get the exhaust down pipe one either.
Not a very good "full gasket kit" I know!
There is a metal half moon plug in the back of the head you must keep and refit with some good oil proof sealant.
I completely blanked off my egr valve at both ends with alloy plates and deleted the old vacuum hose , you can just plug it.

[Jonthefish]

Thanks guys.
I called roughtrax and they recommend extracting all the old studs and re-using. Most seem to shift ok with the two-nut approach or vice grips.

Thanks for heads-up on gaskets. I'll get on that. Likewise the wee half-moon casting.

Ordered new water pump as a precaution. Coolant was so bubbly when running was difficult to determine if circulating or not but seems as well to be sure.

Will block off the EGR - most seem to think it is a good idea and i was pretty horrified at the gunky intake (but maybe normal on td?).

I'll let you know how it all goes. Wishing I'd done the whole thing as garage just reported that they've removed rear window motor cos they couldn't close it. Was working fine before they got it and no idea if they checked the usual quick fixes before surgery. Not happy. I only put it up there to get a pre-MOT before forking out on head etc and then only let them pull the head due to lack of time. Hope it wasn't a mistake.....

[tashtego]

Hi,
Hope you are back on the road. Did you ever find out why the sniff kit didn't work?

I'm helping a friend with an overheating l200 and we're using an eBay sniff test. It shows no change in colour. However other symptoms point to a cracked head. Are these sniff tests reliable? Or are we doing something wrong? Engine is hot and no change in colour...
Cheers

[Jonthefish]

Hi Tashtego. Sorry - been off the forum for a bit. Just to wind things up:

No, I never got to the bottom of the sniff test mystery. It is like the gas in the coolant was non-combusted. Not sure if that is possible.

The truck got its Roughtrax head and has been fine since. Done 23,000 km. It heats up a little on very steep hills and I'm trying to find out why. Thinking of new radiator as the old one is leaking a bit and was full of radweld when i bought the truck. Viscous fan is fine. Will change atf when the rain stops.

Hope you got your L200 sorted ok.

[tashtego]

Great news. Definitely change the radiator and coolant asap.

The L200 back on the road too with a new radiator and thermostat.

Like you, we stuck the yellow tester in the radiator (removed cap, put tester in and then started the car) and also in the overflow tank, but no change in colour.

I'll keep the tester just in case i need it for my surf (hopefully not though!).

Pic attached.

Cheers

[Jameswallace]

Jon the fish,mcheck the viscous coupling is working properly, it should be roaring and you can see it at temo suck the shroud down (doubt it is fully operational by the sounds of it)

Re oil it with 5000 cst rc oil, and adjust the kick in temp a bit siiner before it is too hot.

Ive towed some quite heavy stuff up hill and my temp gauge has never ever moved.. So id suggest doing this before you cook your new head..

If you want, i have 2 spare viscous couplings, if you got some gear oil sent to me ill service one of my spare units, send it to you and then you send me your old one back.

[Jonthefish]

James. Many thanks for the advice and offer of help. I wondered about the viscous coupling and checked it as follows: waited for engine to get a wee bit hot on a hill, stopped, shoved a rolled up newspaper in there to try and stop it spinning. I got confetti! I couldn't get it to slip. A bit of a rough and ready test but does that not suggest it is ok?

I'm definitely keen to get to the bottom of the fluctuating temperature on steep stuff. It would be a flippin' tragedy to break the new head!

By the way, the temp never seems to change other than on very steep stuff and that includes steady motorway as well as off-road crawling.

[soramad]

When my 3ltr head went ( cracks all over) it was replaced along with new t/belt, water pump, radiator, and thermostat, the truck now runs superbly, cruises happily at 90 mph , accelerates off the line almost like a sports car considering its loaded to the gunalls with a lot of carpentry tools amongst other things.
I seriously suggest if you have an iffy rad get it changed asap.
From what I can see is that the coolant system/circuit is the achilles heel on these engines.

[Jonthefish]

Yeh - I'm definitely going to replace the radiator. Not only might it be full of radweld but it now has a very slight leak along the top seam. Just need to decide what to replace it with, as funds are tight just now.

Water pump, stat, rad cap and timing belts were all done when I did the head.

[Jonthefish]

Well I fitted a Worley radiator off ebay for £104 delivered. Also changed the ATF, which was brown and horrible.

Done about 1000 miles since and no more overheating on two of the hills where it previously got hot. Have not yet tried the 'ultimate test hills' as both are over 80 miles away.

Definite improvement. Fingers crosssed.

[Jonthefish]

To wind up this thread:
The new rad has been in for four or five months now and the cooling appears to be spot on. Done about 30,000 km since the new head went on and truck went through its latest MOT with no more than a couple of cv boots and a steering idler. Pretty happy with the old thing.

[the aviator]

Hi Jon, thank you for continuing to update your thread. So good of you as too many folk just start something and never finish .....with either outcome, negative or positive.

I've got a 3 litre TD which is not overheating , BUT is pressurising the cooling system so one ends up with rubber coolant hoses almost rock hard. Truck was sold to me with a possible head gasket issue and from reading all you have been through , am feeling a bit more confident about investing in a new head.
I see you got yours from Roughtrax so guess they are the best suppliers altho' Milners are a lot cheaper ? Any advice , comments gratefully received.

Well done on getting the whole thing sorted.

ATB, Frank

[RebelV8]

When mine went, I bought my new head from Rough Trax, first time I'd bought one. It was in an exchange basis, sent my old one back to them, they phoned me a couple days later to tell me I'd left some parts attached to the old one that I would need, they posted the bits back to me free of charge.