Dum-Dum's XLT Ranger 4x4

[Magenta Sunset]

toolstation open til 7

[procta]

looking great DUM DUM, Are you changing the tyres?

[Dum-Dum]

Well I've definitely popped the head gasket.
Heaters went cold, looked down and the temp was at the top of the gauge, wasn't going to stop on the inside lane of the A41 which at that point has little to no grass verge on the inside of a blind corner in dark and thick fog. Coasted off at the next junction was under half a mile. Let her cool, topped up the coolant and started it, it was rough as hell and the exhaust had started pouring white smoke.

Defo head gasket, if you start it with the rad cap off all the coolant is instantly pushed out the top of the rad.

Just a question now of if the HG caused the coolant block symptoms or if the coolant block caused the overheat which popped the head gasket.

[procta]

I Knew it was a ticking time bomb, could be anything dum dum that caused it to fail. I don't know much about these or the engines, but it could be due to what life its had before you got it. Wrong coolant use, water pump not working right.
What happened with the metro dum dum, who ever had the engine before me, had the head sorted out, but what they did, rather than drop the later head gasket on at the time, they just shoved the 1st generation one back on. Which would go again anyway. Why do people spend a few quid on sorting the head out but just skimp on the head gasket side. its beyond me.
At least its cheap to fix as you say and maybe easier, I am well close to 2k on mine, and the fucker still will not run right at all.

[Dum-Dum]

I Knew it was a ticking time bomb,  could be anything dum dum that caused it to fail. I don't know much about these or the engines, but it could be due to what life its had before you got it.  Wrong coolant use, water pump not working right.
What happened with the metro dum dum, who ever had the engine before me, had the head sorted out, but what they did, rather than drop the later head gasket on at the time, they just shoved the 1st generation one back on. Which would go again anyway.  Why do people spend a few quid on sorting the head out but just skimp on the head gasket side. its beyond me.  
At least its cheap to fix as you say and maybe easier, I am well close to 2k on mine, and the fucker still will not run right at all.

I've seen slightly cheaper but I really trust Milner Offroad for parts so I'm just gonna buy an entire complete new head off them with a gasket set. It's just under £400 for the head but there is peace of mind it's a brand new casting (these have a rep for cracking them) with completely clean ports, new valve seals, everything. Just sorting out moving money about so I can afford it as I'm gonna be into the gasket at least £500 by the time you factor in coolant and odds and sods.

[allye]

I've helped fit a couple Milner heads on jap 4x4's, unbelievable price! Had no issues so far. Wonder how they make money?

[Dum-Dum]

Had my truck recovered home by an ex forum member JonnyB who now runs a recovery firm.
   





Started taking my truck apart and found quite how clogged my EGR system was
   





Also found out that I have definitely cracked my head.
Yup, that's coolant in the inlet to cylinder 2!
   





And while it was apart I decided I'd clean out the inlet manifold. I used Mr Muscle oven cleaner, it does a nice job and the foam expands to fill the inside of the manifold. One can did the manifold twice but I wish I'd bought 2 cans to fill it 4 times.
   





I'm finishing taking the head off this morning as I had to pop out for a new socket for the injectors last night. Just need the injectors out the way and I can undo the 18, 12 sided head bolts.

[Matt-Rallye]

Good stuff dum dum plenty of pics please!

[Dum-Dum]

I'm not made for working on cars all day every day, 4 hours turns out to be my limit.
I'm a little further ahead than the photos show but in all honesty it'll be touch and go as to if I get it back together and running in another 4 hours tomorrow morning before leaving for work at lunch time.

Anyway I got the head off quite quickly this morning, the injectors came out nice and easy and the head bolts came away with no trouble. I cleaned up the face of the block with wet and dry on a block of wood, left it like this as I didn't think it was gonna get any better.
   




One of the many joys of the day that made a 1 minute job into a 30 minute one was removing the cam pulley. The cam shaft has a hex on it to get a spanner on, I rounded this off. I could get good purchase with the grips but not enough leverage so slid a bit of small diameter exhaust over the grips which worked. I'd never of got it done in the bay with the fact I was having to apply body weight to the exhaust and the leavers.
   




Other Joys have a press in water fitting, I don't have a press and there's no way I could get any real sort of tool on it. In the end I heated up the head and slid a big 21mm spanner round the pipe and hammered on the spanner, right pain in the arse. The other pain is removing every bloody stud out the head especially the exhaust ones that appear to have started corroding in.


Anyway head is on. All the 18 head bolts are torqued up, this was a pain in itself as there is 2 different types of bolts and they were supplied with different heads so it meant constantly swapping sockets on the breaker bar. I've than pictured got a little further, the inlet manifold is on, water inlet, injectors are in and piped up, glow plugs are in and the cam belt is on and correctly timed. I don't think it was correctly timed before (the car has had some less than brilliant mechanics work on it before) I'd counted teeth and copied what was there when I swapped the belt but now having worked out what the timing marks are I'm pretty sure that was a tooth or 2 out causing the rough idle.
   

[Eeyore]

Good work mate. Best of luck and hope you get it working okay. Its never nice to have to work to a deadline!

[Matt-Rallye]

Good progress there dum dum and nice to see you actually fixing something not just throwing in the towel and selling it

[mr_fish]

always follow with interest on your projects.

nice work, even if its been fighting back at times.

[1616six]

Fair play Chris, keep it up.

I genuinely was expecting a 'Sold it for £200, bought another one' post after the HG was confirmed

[Dum-Dum]

Good work mate. Best of luck and hope you get it working okay. Its never nice to have to work to a deadline!

I looked out the window and it's raining. I hate working on cars in the rain, it's more miserable than not having a car. I'll finish it over/after the weekend.

Good progress there dum dum and nice to see you actually fixing something not just throwing in the towel and selling it

Cheers mate, I do fix alot (although rarely something this involved) I just have alot of shit cars.

always follow with interest on your projects.

nice work, even if its been fighting back at times.

Cheers mate, hopefully this will be going somewhere and getting muddy soon.

Fair play Chris, keep it up.

I genuinely was expecting a 'Sold it for £200, bought another one' post after the HG was confirmed

It might still happen if I've somehow f*cked up this head gasket fitting. I can't see how I've got it wrong, everything is clean, gasket is the right way round head bolts torqued correctly and in the correct order.

[Dum-Dum]

Well another 4 hours on the truck today and she's back together and running!!!!!

(sort of)

   



It's leaking diesel from one of the injector lines at the pump, I hope it's cylinder 1 or 2 as getting to the other lines is a pain in the arse.
I assume this is the reason for the slight rough running.
It's also smoking slightly once it started warming up a little, I assume it was burning off any coolant left in the exhaust.
I didn't let it get up to temp, I shut it off after noticing the diesel leak but it has moved under it's own power, even if it was only far enough to turn it round.

[Danny Wideboy]

Good news.

[cully]

good going chris

[RetroPug]

Good progress!

[Dum-Dum]

Thank you gentlemen.
I think by the time I've fixed the diesel leak it'll be 12 hours all in.
If I did it again there's a couple of things I'd do differently and I reckon I could do it in 8 hours next time.

[Matt-Rallye]

good going chris

Now bring it too hereford so we can get it stuck and i'll winch you out with the superior landrover

[Dum-Dum]

good going chris

Now bring it too hereford so we can get it stuck and i'll winch you out with the superior landrover

Superior Landrover?
Don't think so.

[Eeyore]

good work chris!

[cully]

good going chris

Now bring it too hereford so we can get it stuck and i'll winch you out with the superior landrover

Superior Landrover?
Don't think so.

   

[Matt-Rallye]

hey chris how much axle articulation do you get with those torsion bars & cart springs... oh wait

[Dum-Dum]

hey chris how much axle articulation do you get with those torsion bars & cart springs... oh wait

Don't worry about that mate, it makes good forward progress even on 2 wheels.

[Dum-Dum]

It's taken me far too long to do this as it's now nearly a week since I updated it.
I got a glow plug stuck in the old head, couldn't afford a full set so I have a single bosch duraterm on cylinder 2. I will change them all at some point.
   





Whipped the spare wheel off, it's barely legal and gets in the way offroading but it's gone in the pile for the drift truck.
   





Fitted my longer rear shackles (bottom right) which was good as whoever had previously fitted new shackles with P bushes has an entirely different opinion of what tight is to me, the only reasons the nuts didn't come off was the amount of muck and corrosion in the threads.
   





New ones are on and sufficiently tight.
   





And here is the truck on 31" tyres (standard works out at 28") with 50mm of lift at the rear and 60mm lift at the front. Body lift and 32" tyres when I can afford it.
   





And a side shot. Side steps are coming off tomorrow or tuesday
   

[1616six]

Looks great Chris!

I assume the HG change was a success? All running fine now?

[Dum-Dum]

Looks great Chris!

I assume the HG change was a success? All running fine now?

Yeah, done 230 miles since with no issues but I have been gentle with it.

I do have a tappy top end noise that increases with both revs and load.
I'm tempted to investigate but I think I know what it is and if it is the case I'm not fixing it.
There was a lump on the top of no4 piston that I couldn't shift, it had made it's own dent in the valve in the old head from repeatedly hitting it. I assume this one will do the same eventually and it is going away gradually.

I meant to do something about it but the pistons don't protrude enough to get a file over it, my dermmel is shit and other than that I only have a 9" grinder. Should have tried a flap wheel in a drill but that didn't occur to me at the time.

[Dum-Dum]

Side steps are off, out of 8 bolts there was only one that wasn't rusted to the point there I couldn't even get it red hot and hammer on a socket to get it off so I cut them off.
   


I'm considering going off roading on Sunday with Burnham off roaders as they have a site less than 10 miles from here. I still haven't worked out why my free hubs aren't engaging but I've got a little closer to diagnosing it. There is 2 solenoids, one should have power when they are unlocked and the other when they are locked. The unlocked one has power but that doesn't turn off when 4wd is engaged and the other one doesn't turn on.

There is a control module but TBH it's probably cheaper for me to just wire up a switch to switch power between the solenoids. Just gotta check all the plugs on the gearbox when I get a chance and replace the vac lines and check I get vac in the appropriate places at the appropriate times.

[Matt-Rallye]

Actually looks really purposeful now dude! i'll await some muddy pics the weekend!