Matt Harris

I assumed this was the case, and that the leaks (just about every hose connection seems to have crystalline deposit) are caused by the engine overheating and the coolant system pressurising. What I don't understand is why the engine should be overheating even when the coolant level reads 'full'. Is it the case that coolant is not flowing 'round correctly or not reaching certain parts?

Just out of interest, there has never been water in the oil (nor vice versa) either now or before I had the HG fixed last time. There's blue crystalline coolant deposits around a lot of the hose connections and on the hairline cracks in the expansion tank though....

Ok thanks guys I'll try Jon Daunter.

Well it's a moot point now as the garage say that the bottom end knocking is very severe and have recommended a new lump. Given the coolant loss and overheating problems as well, I'm inclined to agree with them. Trouble is there don't seem to be that many K-series on the usual auction websites, and those that are are invariably at the other end of the country! So I guess I'm in the market for a 2nd hand 1.8 k-series engine in the S Wales / Westcountry area, if anyone's got one going spare...

Will try replacing the inlet manifold gasket and the expansion tank, but as a general point are products like K-seal, and similar that are added to the engine oil, worth trying as a temporary solution to gasket failure?

Thanks again for the replies. At the risk of getting flamed, is it worth trying K-seal or similar for a temporary solution to HGF (i.e, until I can sell it and get a TD4)?

Done a search and can't find many threads dealing with bottom end knocking, are there any threads discussing this before I start one? Ta.

Thanks for the replies. Is it inevitable that head gasket failure will lead to coolant mixing with the oil? Or is there a scenario by which the head gasket will fail but coolant will not get in and mix with the oil? The reason I ask is that before and since I've had the head gasket repaired, the oil has never been anything other than dark greeny brown (i.e. engine oil coloured.

A couple of questions I'd like your help with:- 1.8 K-series engine in 2004 Gaylander, had the head gasket repaired last year, but now starting to see coolant loss again. Drives around no problem at all. Generally, it goes from max to min over the space of about 2 weeks. There are fine cracks in the top of the coolant reservoir, but tbh these have always been there from before the CHG went last time. Haven't seen any signs of coolant on the ground underneath the engine like there were last time. Temperature gauge does not register overheating, but then again it didn't last time either. My questions are: If the head gasket has gone again, could this be caused by damage to the engine as a whole caused by previous failures? If so, I don't see the point in replacing the HG if it's just going to go every time. Is it common to have multiple head gasket failures over time? Naively I thought that one you had had it repaired once, that was it for good! Could the cracks in the coolant reservoir allow enough coolant vapour to escape to account for the coolant loss? Can anyone post a picture of what the 'gunk' in the oil looks like when the head gasket fails? My oil looks fine to me, but then I don't know what I'm looking for. Other threads have pointed to other causes of coolant loss (O ring failure etc) so I'm hoping it's one of these. The trouble is it seems to me that if you take a freelander into a garage with coolant loss then they automatically assume it's head hasket failue (rightly in most cases probably). Thanks