Is this the dreaded head gasket do you thinks lads?

[jaceuk]

Sorry im not mech minded so please bear with me,Ive got a toyota Hilux surf 2,4 td on a J
last night coming home and had to toe it too get past someone,as i pulled off the Bypass i see some smoke coming out under the bonnet and the gauge is off the scale hot,hot!

it was raining and not a hot day and the car had only been a few miles

I pulled over immediately and stopped to let it cool down,the top had come off the expansion box and steam guffin out
No smoke from the exhaust at all,engine restarted fine no noise or rattles,drove slowly home 2mls,still no exhaust smoke
As i got home the engine warning light came on,i flipped the bonnet to let it cool and topped up the water levels

This model is prone to head gasket going once in its lifetime and they have little problems other than that

Today ive come too it no engine light is one ,it starts fine and the water levels ive put in have remained ,so decided to risk a run around the block
it went fine but some slight screech from what im assuming is the fan belt,not sure if there is loss of compression as i dont want to rev it too much to find out

Got back the temp got to half(normal) in just a trip round the block ,The expansion bottl lid had come off again (due to pressure im assuming)

sorry im an buffon on cars etc,do you think the head Gasket has gone ?
summary
? not sure about compression
no exhaust smoke
no oil in the water and the oil isnt runny and light,no mayo round the oil cap
belt slipping noise and top popping off the rad expasion box

comperssion and heat raising any furhter up im not sure about?, as i felt risky to go far or give it any stick
do you think its the head gasket or thermosat ,water pump?
i dont want to go to a garage and they say "oohhhh heads gone thats gone be £500"when its something not so bad
Cheers guys thanks for any help

[shokenore]

hello there,
if it is the head gasket it will be costly for a garage to repair if it is the head cracked it will be very expensive for a garage to replace.
when you said "no exhaust smoke"what did you mean?
if it was smoking before and not now had you topped up the engine oil?
can you see any signs of fresh oil or water around the head gasket area?
the pressure cap will let water thro' to the expansion bottle but there should be a bypass built into the bottle cap to allow excess water to drain away.
smoking diesels are generally caused by choked/dirty air filters cheap fuel or wear in the piston rings/valve guides
do you know what condition the fluids were in before this happened?
btw way it may have been better to post in the engine related forum?

[jaceuk]

Sorry for the incorrect forum section guys

The fluid levels were fine 5days ago but dont know since then,by no smoke i meant no cloudy swell from the exhaust(which ive seen when the head gaskets goes on some cars)exhaust fumes were as before

No fresh water or oil around the head
Thanks mate really appreciate your input,im gutted and in a bit of a worry

[shokenore]

ok then
what is the condition of your pressure cap?
if the temp guage is back where it normally sits i wouldn't think its the t/stat
i know you had to put water in did you say how much?
the whole coolant system takes around 10 litres
i think i would be flushing the radiator/coolant system refilling with glycol and and demin. water and getting a new pressure cap it is also possible that you may just have a leaky rad
my brother in law ran his surf for over 8 months without opening the bonnet!!!when it overheated he just pulled over phoned me i put in 6 litres of water that was over 4 months ago he commutes into ldn every day 140+miles a day scary/crazy!
what i'm saying is eliminate all the easy cheap solutions first

[jaceuk]

Pressure cap seems ok
Temp gauge went from all the way cold from standing to half way ,from around the block but im unsure if it would continue to rise if run for longer,i didnt dare risk it

Water prob 2 litres 3 max


I shall try the demineralised water and glycol,new cap got to be worth a go
thanks mate

[stormforce]

You can buy a block and head testing kit on ebay for about 30 notes.Its worth it too find out for sure if the head had gone or not

[lord lucan]

Sorry im not mech minded so please bear with me,Ive got a toyota Hilux surf 2,4 td on a J
last night coming home and had to toe it too get past someone,as i pulled off the Bypass i see some smoke coming out under the bonnet and the gauge is off the scale hot,hot!

it was raining and not a hot day and the car had only been a few miles

I pulled over immediately and stopped to let it cool down,the top had come off the expansion box and steam guffin out
No smoke from the exhaust at all,engine restarted fine no noise or rattles,drove slowly home 2mls,still no exhaust smoke
As i got home the engine warning light came on,i flipped the bonnet to let it cool and topped up the water lev

This model is prone to head gasket going once in its lifetime and they have little problems other than that

Today ive come too it no engine light is one ,it starts fine and the water levels ive put in have remained ,so decided to risk a run around the block
it went fine but some slight screech from what im assuming is the fan belt,not sure if there is loss of compression as i dont want to rev it too much to find out

Got back the temp got to half(normal) in just a trip round the block ,The expansion bottl lid had come off again (due to pressure im assuming)

sorry im an buffon on cars etc,do you think the head Gasket has gone ?
summary
? not sure about compression
no exhaust smoke
no oil in the water and the oil isnt runny and light,no mayo round the oil cap
belt slipping noise and top popping off the rad expasion box

comperssion and heat raising any furhter up im not sure about?, as i felt risky to go far or give it any stick
do you think its the head gasket or thermosat ,water pump?
i dont want to go to a garage and they say "oohhhh heads gone thats gone be £500"when its something not so bad
Cheers guys thanks for any help

sorry but your head is cracked

[jaceuk]

Gutted lads thanks for the help,ufff time for sit and think
what is the repair costs likely to run too?
i know you cant say for sure but a ball park figure will let me know ,if i keep it or get rid
thanks again

[BioHazard]

The price of a new head means it would be cheaper to scrap or break yours and buy another

[jaceuk]

beyond gutted uff

[BioHazard]

i take that you have had the coolant cheked for exhaust gases. A GOOD new head would have to come from a good supply as in Stevo...... http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/members_p...evo/index.html

as you can see for the same price you could get another truck at todays prices