Ducato Newbie with head gasket
- Thread starter Lenio
- Start date
Currently reading:
Ducato Newbie with head gasket
Hi lenio! What model car do you have?
Are you mechanically minded my friend , what other automotive work have you done ? .
Sounds like a Sofim engine 8140. series? Big agricultural lump I had several Iveco Dailys with those in before I retired , much easier to work on than the later DOHC 2.3 engines. As airwave says, if you are reasonably mechanically minded and sure it is the head gasket? I have had five of those, six if you include the one I put in a boat, some with quite high mileage but never had head gasket issues. If you do decide to do it, I would have the head "skimmed flat " at a good machine shop as it is aluminium, so if it did get hot it will have warped and check both the head and the block with a straight edge and a feeler gauge so you know they are flat, then if all clean and a new good quality head gasket set, new water pump, thermostat and cam belt, follow the correct head torque details, seeing your location the right amount of antifreeze
and finally most important of all fix whatever caused it to go in the first place!!! Leaking hose, blocked or leaking radiator etc.
and finally most important of all fix whatever caused it to go in the first place!!! Leaking hose, blocked or leaking radiator etc.If it is the Sofim engine with an 8140 series number possibly, Fiat,Citroen,Iveco, some Renaults etc. But obviously check visually like for like, but double check re how injectors fit . Have you seen the crack? It's pretty unusual, I would definitely want to know what caused it to overheat to that extent before reassembly. Also check block not distorted as well using a straight edge and feeler gauges after cleaning the surface also the replacement head etc. Including possibly reseat the valves and check correct valve clearances (2.8 used shims).
!998 ? around then some went to common rail (electric plugs to injector and ECUs to control etc.
As a last resort I seem to recall using a late 2.5 (early were indirect injection so no good) head to rebuild an old 2.8 engine to get out of trouble, it require some change but it was so long ago I can't remember sorry the details.
Last point before you spend any more money, have you checked for piston and cylinder bore damage or partial seizing as it got so hot?
!998 ? around then some went to common rail (electric plugs to injector and ECUs to control etc.
As a last resort I seem to recall using a late 2.5 (early were indirect injection so no good) head to rebuild an old 2.8 engine to get out of trouble, it require some change but it was so long ago I can't remember sorry the details.
Last point before you spend any more money, have you checked for piston and cylinder bore damage or partial seizing as it got so hot?
At this moment i just took cylinder head to the shop for presure check and resurface and it didnt pass presure check. I have driven 1500km since i bought this car, didnt seen any overheating, actually it was below half of temperature guage
Can you tell me why you thought the head gasket was blown in the first place, what were the symptons ? Was the expansion tank for the coolant pressurising and blowing out water, was there water in the oil or vice versa? Did they resurface the head, then pressure check. Did you see them pressure check it, I am not doubting them, I just want to know how they reached their conclusion. Normally if a head had got really hot and then cracked I would expect to physically see something, such as a hairline crack between the combustion chambers of two cylinders or between two valves. Often if a gasket has blown between two cylinders, the damage on the gasket will be obvious and occasionally you will see a hairline crack in the head in that area . Normally to crack, the head would have to get incredibly hot, either run with no water or with steam coming out so that parts of the engine reach very high temperatures. Hot water alone isn't enough, that is why engines have pressurised cooling systems so they can run at higher efficiency without damage. For every lb per square inch of pressure on the radiator cap the water will boil at 1.5 Degrees Centigrade higher I seem to recall, so a 10lb cap the water wont start to boil until it reaches 115 Degrees Centigrade. That is why the danger is when people open the radiator cap on a hot engine, it immediately starts to boil, once water becomes a gas / steam the bubbles form localised hot spots which can be much hotter than the rest of the engine and so cause damage. Conversely pouring cold water into a hot engine will crack it also!
I trust I am not over explaining, my daughters tell me I do
I trust I am not over explaining, my daughters tell me I do
