VM diesel advice

[amlav]

Yep . Water only will corrodes the aluminium . Learned my lesson from a Mazda van I had. If the head gasket did not burned trough I suppose you can try to reuse it but after all the work might as well put a new one if you can . In my opinion this engines are quite robust if not over heated . Did not have any major issues with mine except water pump bearings and injector no.1 needle sensor .Bought the car at 180K now at 320k and still ok . A bit of oil here and there but nothing drastic . Oil level still ok at every 5000km change . Sorry not much help with your issue but just my 2 cents worth .... Cheers Andrei

[layback40]

Originally Posted by 2000 XJ

Hi Layback40

Thanks for your reply. I know these engines get a bad wrap! Yes this Jeep has been neglected and had only water in the cooling system when I got it. I tried chemweld but couldn’t keep water in the system even at idle it would push it all out, so I figured it was to far gone. I got in touch with VM Specialist in the UK and they have good recon’d heads for £95 and also new rocker assemblies and pushrods as they’re all worn. I’m thinking rather than taking the risk with my old heads I’ll just replace them all.
Do you know VM Specialist as a reputable company for refurbished heads? They have new ones for £190?

All the heads look identical and it doesn’t look to me like they have been off before?
I can do the scratch test for you and report back, there does seem to be a ridge around the gasket/bore perimeter on one side of No2 that looks like a crack to me however, where do they crack?

The Jeep is in pretty good nick otherwise, would be a shame to have to wreck it.
I do love a challenge!

Cheers Andrew

VM specialists get good comments on US sites. They are a dismantler that does VM only.
Cracks are most likely near injector.
If you clamp over most of the coolant holes, you can screw a tyre valve assembly into a small coolant hole & pressurize the jacket with the head in a bucket of water. The bubbles should show you if you have a leak.
Scratch test will show if the head has gone soft. Well worth doing.
You should test all heads.
A little damage around where the liner seals to the head is normal.
How tight were the head bolts? Often after overheat they have stretched & so are not as tight. It is clear you have lots of water going into that cylinder. The leak should be easy to see. Have you checked to make sure the head(s) are flat?