Head gasket

[Nill]

Noticed some white smoke coming from my tailpipe when I went outside this morning after starting the rover... Guess it was only a matter of time...:(

Before I order the new gaskets I want, anyone have any suggestions or comments on what has worked for them?


Neil

[Linus Tremaine]

Priority number one is to do a compression test to be sure you have a problem. Are you sure it wasnt steam?

[Nill]

yeah I pulled out the compression gauge after I saw it. Low in 2 out of 4 by 30lbs. A bit of milk on the oil cap as well...

Want to get it into a shop for a leak-down test as well.

[Jeff Aronson]

Check your antifreeze level first. If you have a blown head gasket, you'll find yourself losing coolant through the cylinders. You should also see some crystalline crap on your spark plug tips if you're burning up antifreeze. Also, if you drop oil from the dipstick and it sizzles on the manifold, that may be a sign of water/coolant from a blown/split head gasket.

Are you losing oil between the head and the block? Again, a blown gasket will often result in significant amounts of oil blowing around the engine.

The milky stuff on the oil filler cap can also show up when a car is not driven far each day. The "steam" from the exhaust can be noisture in the exhaust, too.

A leak down test will tell you about the condition of your rings, too. If you do remove the head, it's worth checking for ring and/cylinder bore wear first.

30 lbs down on two cylinders could also be a sign of valve wear. So check out possibilities before you remove the head.

Jeff

[Tim Smith]

On my last head gasket job, I found the head bolts to be somewhat loose when I pulled them. I didn't try this but couldn't help and wonder if just tightening them down again would have fixed me up for a little while longer.

[Nill]

After not sleeping last night I decided to get a new compression gauge this morning and do another check... Sure enough. I am within 7% on all 4. I did it three times just to make certain. I also did it with my old gauge, and it gave me random numbers from different cylinders each time. Maybe I dropped it one to many times eh? So now I am looking for the root of my smoke issues. I let the truck warm up and drove it around for 25 minutes to be see if the smoke persisted (not steam) and sure enough after nice and hot I am smoking still. I get a nice puff at the top of 3rd and gassing in 4th. But not white, Black. So I opened all the windows, and I get that nice rich smelling exhaust coming into the cab.

Checked my oil again, and coolant, both are doing well. So I guess I am running rich. But how, I was running beautifully a month ago? Anyone have any experience with the Rochester BV?

[Linus Tremaine]

http://expeditionlandrover.info/landRoverFAQ/FAQ_rochester.htm


jets should be something you can order from somewhere. I dont know where to send you though. what is your elevation?

around 4k suggest a 48

sea level suggest a 50

[Nill]

Yeah after a quick google I have found a mass of info, that site you listed being one of the better... But I want to know why I was running fine before, but now I am running rich. Any ideas?

[badvibes]

Yeah after a quick google I have found a mass of info, that site you listed being one of the better... But I want to know why I was running fine before, but now I am running rich. Any ideas?

Fouled plug? Change in timing? Valve adjustment needed? I run a BV and when things change it seems to be related to distributor issues. I run the old style (round top) dizzy and go thru points like grain thru a goose. Once the timing/spark begins to "change" it then seems the carb is no longer tuned optimally either. Particularly if I've just run the truck hard like a trip of 500-1000 miles in a week, by the time I get back home I need to make some timing or carb adjustments. Just spitballin here.

Jeff