Coolant blowing out!

[dumpvalve]

Peter I bought a cheap 51 plate 2.2hdi for absolutely silly money and loved the engine so much that after 220,000 I bought a 170bhp 2009 plate and love this one I just hate all the DPF stuff I personally think its the end for Diesels as the government want rid of them..

[Peter.N.]

I only run the 2.0. 8 valve, no DPF and not much else to go wrong they just don't. My old 406 was on 246k when water got into the ECU, it was cheaper for me to buy another car, so I did, cost me £400 4 years ago and is now on 205k, never broken down.

Peter

[ekjdm14]

Actually there's a good point that may help the OP emerging in this discussion, since the HDi's are a great engine with not much major to go wrong I'd imagine there's a surplus of good running engines that have outlasted their shells & as such maybe the price of a second hand complete engine would compare favourably against the HG repair. (100% agree no "snake oil" will work when the cooling system is being pressurised. If it's burning coolant or mixing oil/coolant then K-seal et-al stand a fighting chance but not in these cases).

If a complete engine was sourced for a good price then there'd be the advantage of having an "excuse" to inspect/renew the clutch, timing belt and tensioners, water pump etc while access is plentiful (timing belt kit would have to be done with a head gasket job anyhow) & at the same time building a stash of spares to hand for future use depending on how complete of an engine you got. Just a thought anyway, since it may compare favourably pricewise and leave you with more to show & a more long-term-trustworthy vehicle at the end.

[Citroen Surf Bus]

Surprise!
Steelseal claim it does work for leaks into the cooling system from the combustion chamber!

[1080]

@Richard W the method you describe is an excellent almost foolproof way to determine HG failure.
When I used to work on Citroens, I topped the radiator up. Bring it up to temperature. Have my dinner. Let the car cool down completely and any residual pressure: your head gasket's failed.
No fancy tools, detectors or extra expense. Whilst I realise that theoretically, it may not always work, but it did for me.

Regarding high-tech HG sealing products. I bought a mint XM 2.0. It only cost £150 as it needed a new head gasket. It would blow out its coolant in ten miles.
My wife was angry that I'd wasted more money. Familiar?

So tried K Seal. Not expecting it to work. Let it do its sealing 'thing' overnight. Wife needed to go to Birmingham the next day 109 miles away.
So, fully expecting us to drive a few miles and breakdown. Nope. Went there & back. Drove it 3,000 miles more. No coolant loss, even with 50/50 antifreeze. Sold it to a friend. He drove it for a similar distance without trouble.

Next car, an AX 14D. Same HG problem. Not a chance. When I dismantled the engine, there wasnt even a trace of the K-Seal...
AX=Aluminium Block. XM=Cast Iron Block is this why?
But surely worth a go. Thanks for letting me join your forum

Current Vehicle: 37,000 mls Xantia 1.9D n/a

[ekjdm14]

Welcome, another member of the NA diesel Xantia club lol. You'd beat us in a race though as you have 5 gears to select yourself low mileage too! Any pics?


I think whether K seal works or not is largely dependent on where the gasket has failed and how badly. Also on a diesel where combustion gases are breaching the water jacket, there's much higher pressures to deal with and less chance of it holding.