Head Gasket Failure...A Miracle Cure?....

[Aunt Trumpet]

As further development to my post here http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 68cfd2c59e

and also here...http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 68cfd2c59e

Well, after the above issues I was pretty convinced that I had either a cracked head or head gasket problem. I had most of the usual symptoms and my mates exhast gas analyser seem to confirm that there were gases in the coolant system. So as per the above thread the decision I now had to make was to try and find a "bongo friendly" garage or have a go myself. I'm not too bad with the spanners as I have rebuilt engines before, but that was in my youth many moons ago! I didn't really fancy doing it myself due to work and family commitments so I set about looking for someone else I could trust. A day or two later I received a PM from another member of this site (who wishes to remain anonymous) that was reading my post with interest and he convinced me to do some further investigations before I shelled out lots of money.

Now, his methods are quite a lot different from what is considered "the norm" and "must do's" but what did I have to lose? Also it was very interesting to read the recent thread with regards to the new way of thinking about how the cooling system works as he had it "spot on" before the thread was written.

Anyway, we started by doing a "missfire" test to see if there was water getting into the cylinders. After waiting for the initial glowplug light to go out I waited a further 10 secs for the click, ensuring that the plugs were nice and warm and then started the engine, listening for any missfire or rough idling. No problems there, after a few seconds the engine idled well with no problems.


Next came a pressure test which involved switching the engine off and connecting a garden hose to the bleed pipe and taking off the header tank cap. I turned on the hose and waited until there was a flow from the header tank, at first it gushed and filled the engine bay but then I adjusted it until there was a dribble. I then replaced the header tank cap and waited for the system to pressurise. After a couple of mins there was a steady flow from the header tank overflow pipe and I inspected the system at my leisure. Remember everything is turned off so you can hear for leaks and there is no danger of getting caught on hot pipework. This test proved fruitful as I found a number of pinhole leaks which I fixed.

Next I had to flush and bleed the system, I removed the header tank cap and as before and attached a hose to the bleed pipe. This time I adjusted the flow until I had about 1 litre of water per minute coming from the header tank. I then started the engine and got it warm by adjusting the revs accordingly. I then inspected the water coming from the header tank for exhaust bubbles, at first there were large gurggling ones but that was just the system bleeding and it soon settled down to a steady flow with only very small "micro" bubbles visable but with the odd big bubble every 4 to 5 secs apart..I suspected these to be the exhaust gases that was over-pressurising the system before. I then made sure that the system was bled fully by turning the heaters to max and revving the engine until they got hot thus clearing any air from the heater system.....this didn't happen immediately so i took it for a drive and sure enough they got hot. Unfortunately so did the Bongo after about 15 mins driving around so it was back to the drawing board.

So, what next? I had exhausted all methods of bleeding the system and I was pretty sure that I had a head problem....it was either to a garage (£1500) or try Steel Seal (£30). I opted for Steel Seal as a last chance saloon fix. I ordered it from the net and as I couldn't get to work on the bongo again for another week I also decided to order and replace the main hoses with silicone ones at the same time. Now, to the day of reconning.
The Steel Seal instructions tell you to pour it into the header tank or radiator and warm up and cool down the engine in 3 seperate cycles, but in conjunction via email with my "bongo friend" we decided to pour it straight into the head via the bleed pipe thus getting to the problem faster.

I drove it into work that night and guess what..it overheated , but the heaters were constantly cold so I obviously had some air in the heater system again. after a quick bleed using the method mentioned before I took it out for a spin. NO OVERHEAT. My wife has now been driving around again for the last month with no problems and I have taken it out on the motorway without fault.

The methods described are by no means detailed as it would bore people silly but I would like to take the opportunity to thank my anonymous Bongo mate without whom I probably would never had attempted it.

So, its up to you lot...does Steel Seal work?

[bigdaddycain]

both those links just go to the home page... Pity, i'd luv to hear about a miracle cure for a failed head gasket!

[Aunt Trumpet]

Hang on hang on!!!! i'm trying to work out how to link it....not written the post yet!!!!

patience!

[mikeonb4c]

Commmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeee Onnnnnnnnnnnn Auntie

[bigdaddycain]

Hang on hang on!!!! i'm trying to work out how to link it....not written the post yet!!!!

patience!

I'm tapping my fingers....

[Aunt Trumpet]

Blimey!!! there you go.....By the way, whilst bleeding I never got or worried about getting the bottom hose hot.

[rita]

So, its up to you lot...does Steel Seal work?

Looks like it does.. Do you still have the thermostat fitted.

[missfixit70]

Blimey!!! there you go.....By the way, whilst bleeding I never got or worried about getting the bottom hose hot.

Which means the stat didn't open while you were bleeding it. If you go for a run then leave the engine running for a few minutes, does the bottom hose get warm at all?

Glad you got it sorted, seems there's a few that have found success with steel seal, personally I think I'd be worried I was sitting on a problem waiting to go off again, but it'll be interesting to see how long it lasts & how well it survives a coolant change/flush. Fingers crossed you've sorted it

[francophile1947]

personally I think I'd be worried I was sitting on a problem waiting to go off again, but it'll be interesting to see how long it lasts & how well it survives a coolant change/flush. Fingers crossed you've sorted it

Same here Kirsty. It's not something I would normally consider but, even if it didn't survive a coolant change, £30 every two years ain't too bad Be very interesting to see what the long term effects are, as there must be a heck of a lot of good Bongos that have gone to the great scrapyard in the sky because people couldn't afford to fix them Mind you, this could cause a serious shortage of secondhand spares

[mikeonb4c]

Excellent result AT

It would be really useful/interesting to have you pop a quick update on this thread at intervals as it would then provide a 'timeline' showing that the problem is fixed, and has remained fixed. This really could be a v. useful alternative to going straight to the expense of having a new head/gasket fitted.

[missfixit70]

It is something I have been thinking about - what would I do if I had a problem thousands of miles away from home in some foreign land, okay I've got european breakdown cover, but would it be worthwhile carrying a bottle of this just in case?
I wonder how much of a mess it makes internally if you then wanted to do a proper job & do the head gasket when you got home/got the funds available?
I don't like the thought of it, but I can see there is a strong case for "needs must".

[francophile1947]

It is something I have been thinking about - what would I do if I had a problem thousands of miles away from home in some foreign land, okay I've got european breakdown cover, but would it be worthwhile carrying a bottle of this just in case?
I wonder how much of a mess it makes internally if you then wanted to do a proper job & do the head gasket when you got home/got the funds available?
I don't like the thought of it, but I can see there is a strong case for "needs must".

If it does what it says there shouldn't be any mess (unlike Radweld), it should just block the cracks - or am I being a bit too gullible

[bigdaddycain]

Well, what can i say? Your method of bleeding makes a lot of logical sense to me... after reading the linked threads thoroughly, i'm of the opinion that for £30 plus the cost of 5 litres of coolant, then what have you got to lose by trying out a dose of steel seal before you open your wallet and pour funds into a new head/gasket. even if the steel seal only buys you some time... In that time one could start to save up for a "head job", if the head never does go, then you have enough money for a decent holiday! Only time will tell if this steel seal stuff works as effectively in ALL cases... I'd follow Kirsty's advice that there should be some kind of warning to future buyers that this stuff has been employed to cure a potential head gasket fault... But in all honesty who's gonna do that? I would, but most wouldn't. Hey if this stuff works, it's even cheaper than a coolant alarm!

[francophile1947]

Hey if this stuff works, it's even cheaper than a coolant alarm!

Ah, but you'd need a coolant alarm to tell you when to put the Steel Seal in

[bigdaddycain]

If this stuff works would it matter if you overheated?