Harbor Freight 99850 Oxygen Sensor and Diesel Injection Socket Set
 

Well yes I'm still here.
My daughter totaled her 2008 Hyundai Tiburon. She is fine, a little soar. The car did well but being a $17,000 4 year old car, it did not take much to total it.

So I'm out back trying to get her 240D running. I have to remove the injectors to see if the injectors have been "steam cleaned" by a leaking head gasket. And I don't have the 27mm deep socket to remove them.
The cheapest I could find is at Performance Products for $37. Harbor Freight has the following kit. Item number 99850

Oxygen Sensor and Diesel Injection Socket Set

The 27mm socket works just fine. $49.99 or $39.99 with the 20% off coupon

So the injectors are out and I'm not really convinced the car has a head gasket leak. They all look the same except for one with a little more oil. It has been sitting for a while.

My next step will be to clean and install the injectors and then remove the glow plugs and pump some air into the cylinders while at TDC and see if the radiator bubbles.

Timing for doing this is not the best. She works in North Dallas, a 45 minute drive away, and I'm in 777 upgrade school which is a 24hour consuming school. My school is finished on 13may. She was supposed to move into her apartment on the 13th. So now, my wife is dropping her off and picking her up.

Any other recommendations for checking for a leaking head gasket without removing the head?

She did have a overheat a couple of years ago. After that it would take 1-2 months for the radiator level to drop about an inch. I was told about the cleaning of the injectors and figured I would try compressed air. Any other recommendations?

No white smoke. Runs fine. Just a lower radiator level after a month or 2and I can't find any "drips". The top of the pistons, as much as I can see, all look the same, a fine coating of black carbon. The #4 injector is the most discolored and the top of the cylinder looks dry and carbon covered.

Dave

PS I added a picture of the injectors

Check for exhaust gases in the coolant. Auto parts stores sell a kit to do it.

That should probably be my next move.

Thanks
Dave

Other option is oil analysis from someplace like Blackstone Labs.

When I had a head gasket leak in a gas engine, the radiator would get "brown mousse" floating at the top. I expect a diesel would be even gunkier. I drove it for another month one summer, refilling the radiator after each drive home since it boiled at the end of my 22 mi hwy commute (OK in morning), and that minimized the oil gunk. I junked the car since a K-car with other problems and little value. I have the mentioned "exhaust gas from radiator" chemical test kit, but I never got a positive indication with it. Can't recall if I tried it on the K-car since that problem was obvious.

Never remove the head to simply do a diagnosis.

The symptoms are as follows:

1) Oil in the coolant
2) Coolant in the oil
3) Combustion byproducts in the coolant
4) Pressure in the cooling system
5) Loss of coolant without any evidence of leaks.
6) Coolant vapor upon combustion.


1) is verified with an oil analysis
2) is obvious by the look of the expansion tank or evidence in the radiator
3) As Kerry mentioned with a cheap kit from McParts
4) is verified after the engine has been run and shutdown overnight. A high pressure in the morning is telling.
5) Requires a pressure check of the cooling system to look for any possible leak. No evidence of same, with ongoing loss of coolant is telling.
6) Once it gets serious, the white smoke will appear with the telltale sweet smell of glycol.


Good luck.

When I had a headgasket leak in my Toyota Landcruiser, I could smell hydrocarbons in my expansion tank. Sometimes you can put an emissions sniffer into the expansion tank to see if it smells hydrocarbons.

A gasket leak into the water jacket is going to give you at least an oily sheen in the radiator header tank. I really believe you have nothing to worry about - 1 to 2 inches in a couple of months is pretty good for an old car like that. An old radiator can have pin hole size leaks in the core tubes that never show up as drips, they just evaporate. The radiator cap also could be leaking slightly.

Injectors 1,2 and 3 look fine and 4 either covered in oil or the heat shield is leaking.

Well the saga continues. I have very little time over the next 2 weeks due to 777 school.
We spent Monday looking at new and used cars. But for my Daughter to get the best deal on a car, and for her sanity, I want to get the 240D running and let her use that until the right car comes along.

I bought the Lisle 75500 combustion gas leak detector. Used as directed. Removed an inch or 2 of radiator water. Started the engine. Installed the blue fluid. And it never changed color. I let it run quite a long time.

Now here is the question. I did not have to use the mity-vac to draw air thru the blue fluid as described in the directions. The radiator was bubbling thru the tester without doing anything. IS THIS NORMAL????? I have not used the tester before, just bought it. So where are the bubble coming from. Normal heating of the radiator fluid around the block? or should I be looking for something else? IF this is not normal then where is the pressure coming from. The blue fluid did not turn from blue to green/yellow as described in the directions.

Any info is appreciated.

Dave

Brought the pictures by the Mercedes dealer and Jimmy said the #4 injector probably did not have a bad seal on the heat shield.

Hmm
 

I tried to call you.
Number in the system is NA.
Send me a PM with your new number and I will call tomorrow.

.