Heater

[seatkid]

I took the head off my Alhambra, fitted 8 new valves and lifters and put the head back on again in 10 hours, and that was on my drive in January, not a fully fitted work-shop!

But then again MM is son of superman... :angry:

 

When they changed the stat, pump etc. the Fraud garage should not have released the car without testing it out thouroughly, did they fit all new parts or refit the old ones? (because they thought they were OK?)

You said....

Also I have noticed when I check the level the expansion bottle is almost full but if I release the pressure by removing the cap the water level drops!!

I take it you realize that the max level is half way up the expansion bottle..If you overfill it will blow off the excess, and you can get a vacuum. Then, when it cools, when you unscrew the cap, the water level will drop. This observation may therefore be a Red Herring....

 

you also said....

Garage has already performed a Pressure test and a chemical test both appear to have past. Alson I have noticed no heat from front or rear blowers (fans ok) plus bottom radiator pipe is cold!! any idears

Although you may possibly (now) have a head problem (has anyone ever heard of a cracked or warped TDi head? I never have...) it seems obvious to me that lack of coolant circulation was the initial problem.(cold bottom hose, rear heater...) An airlock in the heater matrix wouldn't cause engine overheating.

 

I would take their diagnosis with a large pinch of salt. It sounds to me as if they refitted a faulty water pump which has now failed completely.To check, start the engine until it is near normal temperature (not overheating), switch off. Check the 3 pipes connected to the water pump, if they are just warm or cool the pump is gone.

 

My recommendation is to ditch the Fraud garage (after you have a full [written] report of the work done to date and their findings) and go to a reputable independant and ask for a diagnosis.- don't mention anything about head problems...

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Agreed - maybe we don't hear of warped heads on diesels too much because they run cooler than petrol engines. Also warping is usually caused by too high temperature so if it's been running cool, then little risk of any warping. However, in this case, water pump failure may be the cause of the problem, so ......

 

(keep your fingers crossed)

[Guest Buddman]

If any any body else is experiencing similar symptoms to mine ...the problems was the head gasket!!! replaced for

[Masked Marauder]

The breach was between the cylinder and the coolant jacket then. There are only a few things that would cause that on a diesel, and a faulty gasket is the most likely cause, although a headbolt not stretched in properly because of oil under the shoulders could have the same effect.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

what causes a head gasket to go on a 40K 2001 Car!!!

On my previous car, a Rover 820 (with which I had very few problems) the first owner had the head gasket go at 25,000 miles and under 1 year old.

[Masked Marauder]

what causes a head gasket to go on a 40K 2001 Car!!!

On my previous car, a Rover 820 (with which I had very few problems) the first owner had the head gasket go at 25,000 miles and under 1 year old.

Rover K series engines eat head gaskets for breakfast.

 

A quality replacement (far better than those fitted at new build) is

[Andrew T]

Rover K series engines eat head gaskets for breakfast.

 

True, but the 820 used the M16 unit which was a developement of the old Montego engine, also used in the 220/420. It had a tendency to blow the coolant pipe off the the overflow tank and dump its coolant on the road. Or so I was told by the AA man who recovered me after the 420 pool car I was driving seized up on the motorway.

[DubDriver]

had same problem on '98 model TDI Passat.

 

Changed nearly all same parts that you have. Symptons were loss of coolant caused by engine pressurising cooling system blowing coolant passed expansion tank cap.

 

Stripped engine down and replaced head gasket, problem solved.

 

The problem was caused by changing faulty temp. sender unit and the resulting loss of coolant. I did not (expensive lesson learned) bleed the cooling system which caused an air lock.

 

See forums at www.tdiclub.com, these engines are very sensitive to localised 'hot spots' caused by air locks which result in head gasket failure.

[cochapman]

Rover K series engines eat head gaskets for breakfast.

I rally a Rover 200, so I've got a fair understanding of the K-series. The informed opinion now is that there are two major causes of HGF on the K. The biggest cause seems to be a loss of coolant, either through a hose failure or a failure of the gasket/o ring on the inlet manifold. Because the coolant system is low volume, this quickly leads to overheating with consequent damage to the HG and probable warped head.

 

The other reason is the head shifting on the block. Given the design, with the long head bolts running right through the engine, coupled with using plastic dowels to locate the head (what were they thing of?!!!?), allows the head to move. This slight movement again allows coolant loss with the consequent damage.

 

Yet another cause can be where there has been some overheating, which didn't cause immediate HGF, but softens the head, the liners then impact the head and cause the HGF. I've had this on a head and the indents was ~1mm!!

[seatkid]

Why are we talking about Rovers? :)

 

I had a trike once.....I was three years old at the time and.....

[cochapman]

Because of classic thread drift :)

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Strangely, I had a Rover 820 with the M16 engine before the Scenic before the Galaxy, and when I rang Rover Technical to check something, they told me that the first owner had also had the head gasket changed under warranty at about 20,000 miles within the first 12 months from first registration. Thread drift indeed !