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[jembo]

Hello, am new on here, I have a jeep 2.5 TD 1998.
I have just had a new clutch fitted, and now the head gasket seems to be leaking water???!!!!! Does anyone have any experiences of this, and how to fix, costs etc......
As you can tell I am female, and blonde so plain simple terms that I will understand please.
I have been advised by "a" garage that it will cost £1k worst case. I really cannot afford it, so hopefully someone will be able to tell me its just a leaking hose and a common problem....... wishful thinking maybe!!

Cheers in advance for any help!

[greggmo]

welcome to birtys bimbo. where are you located? maybe you can meet up with another jeeper in your aria who has more mechanical  knowledge than your self to have a nose at it before biting the bullet and going to a garage ££££££££££ .

[jembo]

Sounds like a good idea. Is anyone else in Gloucestershire?
Near Cirencester and Stroud.

[eastryjeep]

I assume that it is coolant on the floor that has alerted you to a leak or else you would not have mentioned hoses. However if there is nothing on the floor and the coolant level keeps falling, take it to a quik-fit type autocentre and ask them to check the coolant system. They should be able to tell you if you have combustion byproducts in the coolant itself which would be a BAD thing. They can also pressurise the cooling system when its cold to see if there are any leaks elsewhere, this obviously makes tracing leaks far easier as hot coolant tends to evaporate and get blown away by the fan.
Another idea would be to play up to the garage who did the clutch, in the best sexist manner you can muster, and ask them to put the Jeep on a hoist just to make sure nothing got pinched/trapped when they put the gearbox back in, while the thing is up in the air they might be able to identify the source of the leak for you as it may just drip on their letcerous heads!
Regarding your other post about radiator additives I personally don't hold with them (especially on diesels) as I find them more trouble than they are worth thereafter - you are also never sure when/if it will ever let go again.
How long have you had the Jeep? If its less than 3 months and you bought it from a garage, take it back and make it their problem - Sale of Goods Act and all that!

[Tank]

T D`s are prone to head gasket problems from what i have gathered in my time here.Head gasket failure normally results in some of the following although there could be more,im no expert.1) white or black smoke coming from the exhaust(failed gasket into pistons) 2) a light brown/whitish sludge inside of the filler cap or dip stick or 3) evidence of oil in the water.4) pressurization of the cooling system after often only a short time of engine running.Also you can lose water regularly with no visible signs of a leak.All probable indications of head gasket although im no mechanic and these are only my experiences and so i am open to be corrected by those that are

[tim_aka_tim]

The 2.5 TD doesn't have one head, but four, one per cylinder. The most common failure is a cracked head. Yes, it's expensive to fix, but at least it may well happen again.

[Dave69]

the 98 should have the modified heads to aleviate this problem but it still does happen. if the head hasn't been touched then there is the strong chance of you needing four seperate gaskets, you can get a one piece gasket but that requires the end plates to be machined to suit the gasket. while you are fixing one just do the complete head as it's not worth trying to fix one as all kits come as a set. while your at it pop the hydraulic lifters out and have a look for wear and it just might be worth replacing these to save the push rod jumping out of the rocker at a later date. As for cost talk to George (VM SPECIALIST) in sheffield, the number is in the suppliers section. he should give you all thr right parts needed at a cheaper price than the garage so if your not doing it yourself then it's just the labour charge.
 to be fair this job can be done in half a day but i would expect a charge of 6hrs from an independant garage or they just might try and blag a day or two hence the high cost origionally quoted.

mayonaise on the filler cap is a classic sign of head gasket failure but this also happens when the car is used for short journeys. loss of water and a seriously pressurised coolant bottle is a main example.

the job itself like all things is not that bad but the intake manifold/exhaust nuts and studs are a pain especially the one just behind the turbo as it requires very small turns due to the lack of space and thus takes time to get out

[captain cavalier]

I had mayo in the rad when the rad itself went on my cherokee.

The internal oil cooler for the autobox decided to empty itself into the rad and the rad into the box

Took 2 months three oil changes a new rad and a new autobox filter to sort it out

My driveway still bears the dexron III scars

[jeeper]

Hi.
I had a 2000 diesel XJ , which had a core plug rust thru on one of the heads. I thought the head had cracked and decided to tackle the job myself.
Once I had the heads off, I found most of the core plugs badly rusted,but I also found traces of cracking around the steel pre-combustion chamber inserts. I found a supplier of VM engine parts ( other than a main dealer ) and decided not to replace the heads, just the core plugs. This was at 60000 miles only, but 5 years old.
To replace the heads with all the gaskets and new head bolts would have cost about £1000 in part alone.

[Dave69]

this is the best place to get parts not expensive or the cheap rubbish that some places sell.

http://ccgi.vmspecialists.plus.com/rele ... f8e5e1ec5f


prices taken direct from web site


Product                              Vehicle                             Price (ex VAT)
Cylinder Head Assembly.......jeep, Frontera, Voyager........£166.00 each
Cylinder Head Gasket   1 piece (all thicknesses)..................£42.90
Head Set.............................Range Rover........................£35.00 (each)
Head Set.............................Jeep.....................................£37.00
Piston Rings........................All models.............................£90.40 (set of 4)
Piston & Liner Kit.................All models.............................£89.00 (from)
Exchange Engine.................Jeep etc.................................£1,475.00 (from)