Vehicle & Technical > Discovery

Head Gasket Q's

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WideEyedFox:
My '98 300TDi Discovery has started "chuffing".  It passed it's MoT just fine, and the test said he suspected it to be the exhaust manifold.

It did need some water (150ml at most) topping up, but there is no smoke from the engine when you remove the oil filler cap.  Also, no white deposits etc. on the dip stick, and (from what I can see) no oil in the water.

The only symptoms I have are the chuffing - and the fact that the cabin temperature get's very hot very quickly.  Engine temp never goes above half way though.

Took it to a local garage and the immediately said head gasket.  Said it had gone around the back, and pulled a sooty hand out as "proof".

Are there any other things I can do to be 100% sure it's the head gasket before shelling out

Saffy:
When engine is cold, why not start it up and stick your own hand around the back and note any change in the chuffing noise. Temporary remove cooling fan to cut down any turbulence and noise in the engine bay and see if you can feel the chuffing. Maybe be difficult but try and stick an  inspection mirror a behind to get a better look see. Clean the back engine between block and head and then have another look see. Get a compression test done.  that';s me out of ideas at 6am

You could always change the head gasket yourself depending on your tooling and experience.  It would likely cost you under

Frankie-Boy:
I had the same thing a couple of years ago, apparently 300Tdi's are prone to blowing the head gasket at the back so the diagnosis seems correct from what you have said, however

WideEyedFox:
Thanks for the replies - much appreciated.

I popped in to another garage this morning ("All About 4x4" in Redditch) and now the plot thickens.  :shocked:

The mechanic there reckon's it's the exhaust gasket - hence "black soot".  Obviously this is a lot cheaper than a head gasket, however how can I tell who is right?  2 people say exhaust, 1 says head gasket.

As for the

Dirt-Devil:
Hi there, from reading what has been put so far, i'd say it was the manifold gasket or a crack in the manifold due to the fact that there is a definate loss of exhaust gases, if it was the head gasket, you'd expect to find it gone between number 3 & 4 cylinder as thats the most common place for a 300 engine to blow from,

Hope this helps a bit more but from a diy point it's not too hard for it to be attempted by yourself with basic tools, it just can be a bit fiddly as there can be a lack of space.

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