306 Coolant Leak + White Smoke

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harryd
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306 Coolant Leak + White Smoke

Post by harryd »

Hi,
My 306 1.9 D Turbo has suddenly started loosing coolant and putting out a lot of white smoke when accelerating!
I think it's probably the head gasket but is there anything else that might cause these problems? If it is the gasket, what sort of costs am I looking at for getting it replaced?
Thanks
PowerLee
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Post by PowerLee »

White smoke from a diesel means water mixed in with the fuel.
Also you mentioned the coolent level is dropping, Head gasket by the sounds of it.
Have a look at this thread on the Citroen pages, Its the same lump.
http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... C_ID=12425
harryd
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Post by harryd »

Cheers,
Garage just said more or less the same. Reckoned we were looking at £250-300 if the heads not cracked and if it is maybe £300-400 for a new one. Does that sound about right?
tonespeed1999
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Post by tonespeed1999 »

looks like they have quoted you for a recon head that is ready to fit,ie:comes with vales and cam etc.
a brand new head from peugeot is probably around £500 which comes totally bare,no valves or cam.
there price for just fitting a head gasket is very cheap.
PowerLee
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Post by PowerLee »

A cracked head is a very very RARE failure on this engine.
A head skim, new gaskets, timing belt kit & new coolent should be all thats needed, I might be tempted by fitting a new thermostat too.
tonespeed1999
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Post by tonespeed1999 »

yes,very rare for the heads to fail,i think iv changed two in 20 years!make sure you fit all new parts as listed by POWERLEE.
PowerLee
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Post by PowerLee »

Also check for any play in the tensioner pullys & water pump bearings.
Any doubt whatsoever about there condition, CHANGE THEM!
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

While the engine is in bits like that it's worth changing the coolant pump as well I recon. If the timing belt is off anyway it's easy (and an awful lot cheaper than if it fails in service).
Just out of interest.. what's the mileage on the car? I guess between 110k and 140k.
David.
harryd
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Post by harryd »

Cheers for the help guys, hope your right and it's not the head!
Current mileage is 114,000, so good guess!
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fastandfurryous
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Post by fastandfurryous »

Just about every single head gasket failure on a 1.9td engine occurs between 110k and 140k miles. I believe it is due to the differential expansion of the iron block and the aluminium head. The repeated cyclic heating and cooling of the engine actually wears the gasket out, and there's nothing that can be done about it. You'll no doubt find that the "gone" cylinder is either no.4 or no.1 (as these ones see the most effect of the differential expansion). The head gasket I removed from a U25 engine (cit CX / C25van / Talbot express) which is a very similar design to the XUD engine, was actually worn thin at one end where the previous owner had been simply filling it up with water every day for about 2 years!
There has been a lot said about the metal gaskets for these engines. If you can get one, it would be well worth fitting, as the fiberous one is almost guaranteed to fail again in another 110k to 140k miles (although this may not worry you greatly!)
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Post by kevin »

One other theory on head failure is the Pre-combustion chambers cracking and compressing the head gasket over time. Is the car poor to start?. I had the head dome on mine last december and it was a pig to start, even with new heater plugs in. After the repair was completed the car starts like new.
One more piece of advice, change the heater plugs while the head is off, No 4 plus is a lot easier to swap on the bench
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Post by yangreen »

My Dturbo had the head gasket replaced at 46k miles - just after I bought it - after I complained that the temperature gauge was reading low. Sounds like they were just pulling a fast one on the warranty! There was certainly no white smoke. I reckon they did pull a fast one because I also complained that the clutch was heavy so they changed that too! Add in the cambelt, discs, pads and numerous coolant hoses and you can see why I was pleased to buy from a dealer. Wasn't so happy returning for services but that was a different matter!
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