Head Gasket Failure

[X5-D-Sport]

Just spotted the cooling dropped by 1 pint since yesterday..
AND
there was some mucky gunk floating in the water...

Any way,
Bearing in mind the engine has 170,000 miles on it...
how long does a Head gasket generally last on a 3.0 D Sport ?

I was going to throw a couple of cans of Steal-Seal into it & hope it seals it ?

Any ideas on this ??

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5-D-Sport Salisbury"]
Just spotted the cooling dropped by 1 pint since yesterday..
AND
there was some mucky gunk floating in the water...

Any way,
Bearing in mind the engine has 170,000 miles on it...
how long does a Head gasket generally last on a 3.0 D Sport ?

I was going to throw a couple of cans of Steal-Seal into it & hope it seals it ?

Any ideas on this ??
[/quote]

Don't think I've heard of head gasket failure on one yet to be honest, must be rare. Is it overheating?

[X5Sport]

Never seen a head gasket issue reported on here either.  It ought to be possible to get at least 250k miles on a diesel these days.

[the shreksta]

Best way to be 100% sure is to get a sniff test done to test for hydrocarbons in the coolant.

Short journeys can make the oil look creamy as that's what happened with my mrs car, doesn't help with your coolant loss though.

[X5-D-Sport]

OK... here are the symptoms...

I check the fluids when ever I lift the bonnet, generally every 3 days...
The water system leaks or uses about a tea-cup full every 4 weeks....
However...
today, she lost a pint, & the level was half way down the filler expansion part or the rad... & some brownish goo appeared to be floating on the surface.... however it was 9 inches down from the filler..
Engine temperature is stable & has been since a new thermostat about 6 months ago. the old stat was partially jammed open & the engine would not reach temperature.

When the water was filled to the neck, there was no sign of this goo...!
The Oil filler was clean & no sign of the mustard coloured filth that signifies coolant in the oil.

Any way, having had head gasket failures in years past with cheap Fords etc, it seemed similar... re coolant goo slime.

Part of the reason for getting this machine was the robust diesel engine.
Tomorrow in daylight, I will check again & just hope for a simple leak some where..... & hope I get lucky.

It recently had a new thermostat + housing & gasket, so maybe a pipe has let go some where.
Will post the findings tomorrow.

Thanks for the input... keep the suggestions coming any ways.

[henrym3]

check it isn't g/b oil from failed heat exchanger at bottom of rad, I'm assuming diesel is same setup as petrol. There must be some low oil level.
When you say "when the water level was filled to the neck" I assume you don't normally fill it to the neck, 

[X5-D-Sport]

Normally only fill it so the level float just pokes out of the filler neck.

[lezmtaylor]

Is the expansion bottle ok around the seams, they tend to go at about 70-80k ? mine did, it just looked a bit wet around the seam, cleaned off and you could see it leaking.

Lez

[Huxsta]

I would second the expansion tank. If your using any water at all you have a leak of sorts. Had one go on my old e36 325. Only when hot and under load did it leak from the seam. Very hard to see at first. Use a torch to look for the glistening that water gives you. Hopefully it will be the problem.

[X5-D-Sport]

Update....
further to the two comments above re expansion tank on the side or the rad....
thos seems likely, especially as she had a good booting the evening before i noticed the low level...

it hqs since done 2 "gentle"  journeys of 5 and 85 miles & not lost a drop... so i will have a close look at the expansion tank & see if there is the tell-tale  chalky deposit..

[X5-D-Sport]

Update 2...
The expansion bottle/case appears ok, but may need to give the car a good booting to get the temperatures up to cause a leak witness mark..

All the pipes appear OK, so the expansion case concept sounds more realistic.

I/m wondering if it is worth putting a can of steel-seal in the coolant just in case it's a head gasket issue..
The Steel-Seal will just sit there any way & not block anything in theory...i think ..
Grant B

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5-D-Sport Salisbury"]
Update 2...
The expansion bottle/case appears ok, but may need to give the car a good booting to get the temperatures up to cause a leak witness mark..

All the pipes appear OK, so the expansion case concept sounds more realistic.

I/m wondering if it is worth putting a can of steel-seal in the coolant just in case it's a head gasket issue..
The Steel-Seal will just sit there any way & not block anything in theory...i think ..
Grant B
[/quote]

Just get a sniff test done, it's not expensive and it will stop the guessing game.

[X5-D-Sport]

good idea

[the shreksta]

[quote="X5-D-Sport Salisbury"]
good idea
[/quote]

It shouldn't cost much matey, at the very best it will put your mind at rest

[X5-D-Sport]

indeed - agreed.
I will arrange this before the weekend.

Thank you Shreksta