Head Gasket Leak

flman · **Posted:** Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:23 am

DOC4444 wrote:

Same reason I just cited. When you get far enough to replace the head bolts, it is not much more work to replace the HG and achieve the most likely to be successful repair. I did not want to save a little time and money, have it fail and have to take it apart all over again.

K-Seal has been working great in our Kubota diesel tractor for 5 years. Runs cooler with it, as well.

DOC

So you would not trust the k seal in the CRD?

Did the Kubota have a blown HG or just an antifreeze leak at the head gasket? Does the Kubota have an aluminum head like the CRD or cast iron.

geordi · **Posted:** Sun Aug 10, 2014 11:24 am

As an interesting aside, I think that the CRD that RacerTracer has currently is the one that had the K-seal put in the engine. His leak is actually in the heater core (confirmed by sweet tasting drain tube outflow) rather than in the head gasket. The heater core is actually a much more reasonable place to have a leak, as they are not made to the same tolerances as the head gasket.

The interesting part: His CRD is actually the quietest engine I have ever heard, and he said it became much quieter after the K-seal was used.

I have no explanation for this, other than some interaction between the K-seal and the backsides of the cylinder liners, which are in the water jackets.

I don't know if my TDI is a wet sleeve engine as well, but if K-seal quiets the engine down and makes it run smoother, that might be worth a try in the CRD anyway. Draining the system is easy enough with the drain nipple on the radiator.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 10, 2014 2:06 pm

Kubota has an iron head and no historical problem with head bolts losing torque like the KJ CRD does. Also, like most motors, I am able to check HB torque without taking half the motor apart.

The issue is whether the problem is head bolts or head gasket. Based on others experience at similar mileage, I expected to find a problem with the head crushing unevenly and resultant very uneven torque, which we did.

If you can confirm the head bolt torque is good as I could on the tractor or you have reason to believe it is OK, I would try K-Seal. It just made no sense to me to try it with the CRD.

DOC

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Looking at it closer it looks like the previous owner had tried k seal and I think it finally gave up the gave out. I have gold flakes in the overflow. So plan is to drain coolant, fill with water and dishwasher soap and clean it up. Anyone have a different cleaner they recommend?

flman · **Posted:** Tue Aug 12, 2014 7:12 pm

Dishwasher soap has bleach in it, not good for metals. Why not just try something designed for flushing cooling systems?

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

That's the recommended flush for my old truck. Helps get all the crud out. Is there a flush you like to use?

flman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 13, 2014 6:34 am

funnyman06 wrote:

That's the recommended flush for my old truck. Helps get all the crud out. Is there a flush you like to use?

Water, the CRD is not your old truck, it has an aluminum head. BTW who recommended DW soap, the truck mfr?

geordi · **Posted:** Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:19 pm

I'm guessing the one that suggested dishwasher soap (not all have bleach) was a grizzled old mechanic whose first repair job was fixing the carburetors on model T fords.

Dish soap has no place in a modern engine, no matter what is inside the bottle.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:50 pm

Dupont 7, Prestone Superflush, and Bar's 10 minute flush are all good products that can be safety used on aluminum heads.
I personally have used the first two on some import gas motors with good success!

Just remember to flush system out real good after cleaning with lots of clear water and refill with the correct 50/50 antifreeze type as the cleaners contain acid and are not designed to be left in the cooling system for any long period of time! :wink:

All of the cleaners should be available at most major parts stores or Wal-mart.

DOC4444 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:00 am

K-Seal uses copper. If you have gold flakes, something else is in there. If you check again and see it is actually copper, go to the K-Seal website and see what they suggest. They answer the phone, too.

DOC

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Flakes are copper, going to do a coolant flush and fill then check for combustion gasses. On another note, looks like my intercooler might have spilt, and my electric fan doesnt come on when the AC is running. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Alright so Ive been tearing into the jeep slowly, got the alternator out, battery out, starter out and im trying to track down a leak on that side of the engine. It appears i might have two seperate leaks, one coolant and the other oil. Starter was covered in an oily mess, and the plastic mesh that cover that power wires actually started to drip oil, but im some spots it seems also too thin to be all oil.

What on this side of the engine has oil running through it. The EGR is all exhaust, coolant, and intake? If I had to pick a spot to start at id say there is a leak at one of the metal EGR tubes that runs into the block right above the starter. But i couldnt be sure. Plan is to keep tearing things apart till something makes sense and maybe find a coolant leak in the EGR system and not the head.

Please throw ideas out at me.

Thanks!

After thought:

Could it be possible that I have a leak in the valve cover/intake gasket that is blowing oil down onto everything? Would there be enough oil in the intake to make such a mess? Charge hoses looked pretty messy but who knows.

CATCRD · **Posted:** Thu Aug 21, 2014 10:42 pm

The EGR tube typically has oil in it because of where the crankcase oil blow-by collects in the intake elbow and drips down into it. This was leaking on my wife's CRD so I plated it off.

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Oh good to know, ill take a look into that.

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Hey Guys,

Question for you. As Ive been tearing into things Ive found that I want to bypass the EGR Cooler. Jeep already have GDE Tune on it, but I want to know if most people bypass the cooler or plug the line in the head and get rid of the Y connector at the waterpump? I just purchased the Liberty Intake Elbow kit, hopefully have it by end of week, guess we will see. Also while taking apart the intake elbow i found an gasket leaking oil all over the back side of the intake, and when I pulled the EGR tube off the intake and cooler it was pretty gross inside, not sure yet if that was my issue, hopefully ill know soon enough. Crossing my fingers

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

Hey Guys,

So i finally got my intake elbow in and bypassed the EGR cooler and sadly it appears im still building up pressure in the coolant system. I cant see what looks like foam coming into the reservoir, and combustion gasses are floating out when the cap is off. So its possible the EGR cooler was bad and creating issues, but im pretty sure I have a head gasket issue as well. Also I have read mixed reviews about needing an SEGR when doing the intake elbow to combat the check engine light, I currently have a check engine light on and the only change that I have made to the system is the FCV is no longer plugged in. The jeep does have a GDE tune in it, but I still got a check engine light. Is the a normal situation or do I need to update to a newer tune because from what I have read the GDE tune should do it for me.

geordi · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2014 12:52 am

If the tune is old, Keith can update it to remove the light and the code from the system. The error itself may still be present, but the computer won't have any way to whine about it, which is just fine as a solution.

As far as the coolant pressure - sounds like you certainly do have a head gasket leak. Sorry about that, time to start thinking about that job and the ARP studs when you do it. If you aren't confident in doing that yourself, I can do the whole job for you, it will be a 2-day gig and thankfully, IDparts has everything needed to do it.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2014 12:58 am

funnyman06 wrote:

Hey Guys,

So i finally got my intake elbow in and bypassed the EGR cooler and sadly it appears im still building up pressure in the coolant system. I cant see what looks like foam coming into the reservoir, and combustion gasses are floating out when the cap is off. So its possible the EGR cooler was bad and creating issues, but im pretty sure I have a head gasket issue as well. Also I have read mixed reviews about needing an SEGR when doing the intake elbow to combat the check engine light, I currently have a check engine light on and the only change that I have made to the system is the FCV is no longer plugged in. The jeep does have a GDE tune in it, but I still got a check engine light. Is the a normal situation or do I need to update to a newer tune because from what I have read the GDE tune should do it for me.

If you have an older tune, it will trigger a CEL. A few folks have gotten an updated tune from Keith to take care of it.

flman · **Posted:** Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:52 am

funnyman06 wrote:

Hey Guys,

Question for you. As Ive been tearing into things Ive found that I want to bypass the EGR Cooler. Jeep already have GDE Tune on it, but I want to know if most people bypass the cooler or plug the line in the head and get rid of the Y connector at the waterpump? I just purchased the Liberty Intake Elbow kit, hopefully have it by end of week, guess we will see. Also while taking apart the intake elbow i found an gasket leaking oil all over the back side of the intake, and when I pulled the EGR tube off the intake and cooler it was pretty gross inside, not sure yet if that was my issue, hopefully ill know soon enough. Crossing my fingers

I did just that, bypassed cooler, plugged head and got rid of the Y. You need this plug M12x1.5 drain plug with copper washer.

Here is a write up on doing from Catcrd:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75401&p=792398#p792398

funnyman06 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 06, 2014 7:46 pm **Posts:** 180

I will certainly have to get in touch with Keith about it then, make that stupid light go away. And geordi, I will be PMing you about it.

I really wanted to plug the head, but all the hoses were fighting me and I knew getting the hose off of that one under the intake was going to be impossible with everything still together. Possibly when the intake is off Ill clean it all up.

Head Gasket Leak

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