Xant 1.9TD headgasket

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Jeffers_S13
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Xant 1.9TD headgasket

Post by Jeffers_S13 »

I believe the headgasket to have gone on my L reg Xant, as nobody has shown any interest in taking it off my hands Im prolly gonna have a go at fixing it, I have all the bits and bobs, just no enhusiasm. It seems to be fizzing at the back on the right hand side between the block and the head. I have no mayo in the oil and the car runs fine. There were tiny bubbles in header tanke before this happened for at least the last 7,000 miles, can anyone suggest whats wrong ? I think the head is cracked otherwise there'd be mayo in oil ? if water was getting into the bores.
Thanks
James
Simon Canfer
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Post by Simon Canfer »

The bubbles in header tank does suggest the head gasket has indeed gone. I had the same symptoms on a K reg ZX TD (same engine), also it pressurised the cooling system in no time. I think there must be a weak spot on the gaskets that lets some cylinder pressure into the coolant. My car still drove normally though. It's not a difficult job but I found it time consuming, search for mine (and many other people's) posts on XUD head gaskets!
Don't have the head skimmed unless it's been properly measured and shown to be warped; I wouldn';t expect them to warp unless you've had a severe overheating episode!
Simon Canfer
rg
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Post by rg »

FWIW...
My Pug 405 XUD ran for 20K+ with a "fizzing" head gasket and no obvious problems.
The leak was along the front, not the back.
It was, however, non-turbo. 0-60 the same day.
Once lifted, XUD heads seldom settle down again.
HTH
rg
oilyspanner
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Post by oilyspanner »

Get it skimmed, if possible use a Curty payen "Turbo" head gasket, its a metal one without any composition stuff on it(even if your motor is non turbo), replace the head bolts, clean everything especially bolt holes and then pay special attention to the tightening sequence and it can be fixed and be reliable again.
Stewart
John F
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Post by John F »

I always read the posts with great interest and use the advice as required, it has saved me lots of money, time and damage to the hands & temper. What does cause me some reservations is that the use of a torque wrench is never mentioned, recommended or specified.
Oilyspanner is correct, use the correct tightening sequence together with a torque wrench and there should be no problems; if you don't know the bolt/nut torque settings use the torque wrench to undo the bolt/nut setting the torque load low and slowly increase it until the bolt/nut just moves. I understand that this is fairly rough and ready but at least you have a figure to which to work and the nearest lower whole number is reasonable to use. On cylinder heads this is a must.
John F
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Post by John F »

and yes I do torque the wheel nuts!!![:D]
jeremy
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Post by jeremy »

I think you will find that tightening the head bolts is a bit more complicated than just using a torque wrench on them. I think its a 3 stage process, initialy tighten to a figure, tighten again then rotate by a certain angle. I'm deliberately not quoting figures as I have none for your engine and don't want to mislead you.
Undoing torque figures are unreliable particularily for bolts as they do not take any account of sticking, corrosion etc and assume the job was done properly in the first place. Your engine probably uses stretch bolts which may acquire a set anyway and probably shouldn't be re-used.
I suggest that a haynes or similar manual with the proper instructions for tightening your head and any subsequent re-tightening (after 500 miles?) would be money well spent.
jeremy
Taxi-Paul
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Post by Taxi-Paul »

If it's any help, here is the head settings for a 1.9 TD quoted from a haynes manual.
STAGE 1 20 Nm / 15 lbf ft
STAGE 2 60 Nm / 44 lbf ft
STAGE 3 Tighten through a further 220 degrees. There is no mention of re-tightening after 500 miles. It's always a good idea to mark each bolt in the same place after stage 2, white paint or similar, so when you do the degrees you can see exactly how far they have turned, as 220 degrees will be virtually impossible to do in one complete move.
I've got all the other settings as well if you need them, Paul.
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