Kzn185 3.0 coolant loss

[rollo ford]

Another thread about coolant loss!
Been running my surf to work a lot lately and it's straight onto the main road from stone cold and straight up to 60 plus mph depending how late I am!
The past couple of weeks I have noticed blue smoke from the exhaust at tick over only which has got worse with the tuns I have done the past 2 weeks,100 miles a day at 75 mph.
Last night the temp gauge crept right up yo the red but a good rev to get the water moving and it came down.
Checked the level when I got home as I had no water with me and when running the temp gauge was normal.
It took around 1 litre and the small plastic bottle was empty.
Not checked it yet today but it behaved itself all the way home except the blue smoke which smells like diesel fumes,it only smokes on tick over,not at all when under load or revved slightly.
I'm kind of swaying towards accepting the heads cracked,it's only done 110'000 miles,it's. 1996 and owe me nothing as it's never cost me much but it's a very very clean truck and I just put tyres and brakes on it so feel obliged to fix it,on top of that buying anything new is a very daunting prospect.
Can anybody add anything going by my symptoms and if it is the head can anybody recommend a temporary sealer that will last a a couple of months till I can get time to change the head for a new 1??
Also what's the best head to buy,the roughtrax £838 head or the cheaper jap parts £540 heads?
Thanks in advance,lee

[tashtego]

Sorry to hear but definitely don't put radseal or other similar crap in it as it will clog up the channels and just do more damage than good. Get a garage to do the combustion gas test but from what you say it's likely the head. Had you done the viscous fan? Are you rear heater pipes leaking ? AMC heads are the best from what I read and hear , also RT. Good luck!

[Diezel Weazel]

Have to agree with Tashtego regarding NO sealant whatsoever, n if ya Trucks otherwise Ok n ya planning on keeping it n replacing the Head, I'd go the RT Head route also.... Good Luck

16+ Years of Surfs .. n faultless to a "T" is my Yota !! So now 2 Surfs again

[rollo ford]

Checked the oil cap,slightly grey so there must be a bit of water got in there.
I will get an analyser at the weekend and check for sure but looks like a new head is in order.
Perfect timing,I was half thinking of selling and buying something smaller but I love the surf and up till now it's reliability.
Going to have a think about it,might just sell it spares or repairs if it fails the test.

[rollo ford]

How long

How long should it take roughly to swap the head?
I'm quite capable and have a decent set of tools,it doesn't look too bad to do but just wondering how long roughly it should take so I can plan when to do it.
Thanks

[Koi]

Check rad cap first and also check the rubber hose in to the expansion bottle for any holes. perished etc.
If the rad cap is past it, it may open to soon allowing to much coolant in to the expansion bottle, it overflows hence not enough water to be sucked back into the engine. Check all hoses, rad etc for any small leaks, if checking when hot any small leak may not be visible as it may be evaporating when hot.
From previous if its the head they tend to lose a lot more water than what you are describing at the moment.

Allow two days to do the head if your doing it on your own, it can be done in a day but allow two for those unexpected hiccups.

[rollo ford]

Check rad cap first and also check the rubber hose in to the expansion bottle for any holes. perished etc.
If the rad cap is past it, it may open to soon allowing to much coolant in to the expansion bottle, it overflows hence not enough water to be sucked back into the engine. Check all hoses, rad etc for any small leaks, if checking when hot any small leak may not be visible as it may be evaporating when hot.
From previous if its the head they tend to lose a lot more water than what you are describing at the moment.

Allow two days to do the head if your doing it on your own, it can be done in a day but allow two for those unexpected hiccups.

Head is defo cracked,did a sniff test on it.
2 1/2 hours spent last night and just got the head bolts to remove today then pull the head,still have to strip the studs,injectors etc but it came apart easily.
I'll add pics of cracks when the heads off if there are any.
Thanks

[tashtego]

Head is defo cracked,did a sniff test on it.
2 1/2 hours spent last night and just got the head bolts to remove today then pull the head,still have to strip the studs,injectors etc but it came apart easily.
I'll add pics of cracks when the heads off if there are any.
Thanks

Don't forget to investigate why it happened. You might need to refill or change the viscous coupling, check the thermostat is there and opens ok, radiator, rear heater hoses etc.

Otherwise it will only happen again.

Cheers

[rollo ford]

Don't forget to investigate why it happened. You might need to refill or change the viscous coupling, check the thermostat is there and opens ok, radiator, rear heater hoses etc.

Otherwise it will only happen again.

Cheers

Rear heater is disconnected,it's never got hot or ran dry.
Isn't it just 1 of those things they are prone to cracking?
Is it the viscous coupling on the fan you mean?if so how do you check it,it feels like there's resistance in it.

[tashtego]

Just search how to test the viscous fan on here or other sites. If it's a 1996 surf it's likely it needs new silicon oil, or you can get the fan assembly from RT.

The cooling system on these cars is weak so I have a feeling that if one of the components is not 100 per cent you risk head trouble, probably more likely than other similar engines.

Cheers

[rollo ford]

Just search how to test the viscous fan on here or other sites. If it's a 1996 surf it's likely it needs new silicon oil, or you can get the fan assembly from RT.

The cooling system on these cars is weak so I have a feeling that if one of the components is not 100 per cent you risk head trouble, probably more likely than other similar engines.

Cheers

Heads off,all injector spray things are cracked and cylinders 2 and 3 are cracked between the valves,I'll add pics later.
Away to price up a head,glow plugs,injectors etc.

[J i m s t e r]

May as well add a transmission cooler too.
I went belt and braces and did the rad, thermostat, rad cap...
Still putting 100 miles a day on it at motorway speeds.
Should be good for at least another 10 years