Aw man that sucks :( at least you caught it before it got any bigger, I imagine all will be okay.

so...

Well I passed by indys earlier cause I had to get something out of the trunk but he had stepped out. The car was outside so I opened the hood and the head was off. (It was both sad and neat seeing in without the head) I tried to call him but he didn't pick up so I really don't know what's going on right now.....

i bet the head is next door being checked for warpage and/or cracks. now is the time for finger-crossing :-)

Looks like it was. Alright the sitrep is good :)

Headgakset was damaged close to #6 but the head is good and crack free :)
Apparently there was some minor damage to the head and it's getting plained at the shop. It should be be ready by tomorrow with my car repaired completely by Friday (PA here I come! :))

Thankfully my mechanic is also going to take care of a few other things that he noticed (Leaking front cover, exhaust leak)....I should ask him to check the timing chain as well for good measure.

That's some fantastic news! :D

Glad to hear it will be behind you (hopefully) by the weekend and you'll be back in business...

Make sure the shop is well aware that material removal allowances are probably pretty small on these heads. I assume they would not make this error. Come to think of it ask them if they know the limit before they start as you cannot put material back on and a compensating thicker head gasket may or may not be available for limited cuts beyond the allowable.

I find it strange to have to mention this but some people doing certain jobs just do not seem to know what they are doing these days. Every automotive machine shop usually has a recommended practice on the allowable material removal for all cylinder heads in a book.

This is so simple yet a local shop once took one of my non mercedes heads down too far. They should have called and told me the head was beyond planing.

What Barry said.

Ask what the protrusion limit is for prechamber tips. A puzzled look is not a reassuring response.

Sixto
87 300D

I would even go back further, the procedure for checking the cylinder for leaks consists of sealing the coolant circuit, presurizing the coolant circuit with air, and then submerging it in a heated tank of water to observe for evidence of bubbles!

Without that you can't be certain there are no cracks.

If it's a shop that is familiar with these heads and has the equipment you'd think they would be more forthcoming with exactly what they did to determine what they've said.

Same thing with the flatness of the cylinder head, the measurement process is specific, tell me how you measured it and what where the measurments you found, how do they compare to the specs.

This engine has already had the cylinder head replaced and now it appears there has been either a faulty installation or a defective gasket if overheating due to some other factor can be ruled out as the fundemental cause of the problem.

That's why it's always best to do your homework and then play dumb, let them convince you they know enough about the job to be trusted. I wish Fulcrum the best I know he loves his machine!

Heady gasket job was completed on Friday and I have to say it was done perfectly.


http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/4...facepalm2j.jpg

lol.. well it was 4 pages for people to think about getting a new cap. I would have bought a cap since a new one never hurts and went from there.

Congrats Fulcrum :-)

I hadn't seen a head gasket failure like that before (I spend my time with iron head vehicles :D) - Im glad I got to see one in person and try out that block tester for real.

For everyones reference, Fulcrum's coolant reservoir was not visibly bubbling, there was no coolant in oil, no oil in coolant, but there was definitely positive pressure on the system with the car running. The only way I was able to tell this was by putting the block tester on it, which forces any excess air in the cooling system to bubble up through chambers of liquid UV dye.

Even with that much pressure, there wasn't that much exhaust in the cooling system. It took more than a minute for the UV dye to turn from blue to green indicating exhaust in the cooling system. For comparison, if you put the tester near the exhaust pipe, it turns instantly.

Possibly almost miniscule leakage. Unless engine under load and even then most indications where it was not a large leakge at any time. Perhaps just a little more.
At least it appears to have been a head gasket. Nobody likes the cracked head syndrome.

The vehicle in question is a 300SDL with a 603 engine, not a 300SD with an 617 engine. The 300SDL most definitely has a completely closed coolant system with a tank in the passenger side wheel well, towards the rear of the vehicle, under the the plastic cover.

If you trace the rear hose on the expansion tank, you will find that it routes forward and then makes a 90 deg turn out through a hole in the wheel well, if it hasn't deteriorated away.

This is important to have properly plumbed, because it is a part of the coolant system, according to the service manual. If you just let the coolant spill onto the ground, the system will not function properly and you will be endlessly topping off the coolant.

There are really two expansion tanks in the 300SDL coolant system. The cap on the easily visible expansion tank on top of the wheel well is special - it functions as a pressure relief valve, as in most coolant systems, but it also allows coolant to be drawn back into the upper expansion tank from the lower expansion tank in the wheel well.