G'day mudders,
I have an '86 BJ70 (3B + turbo). I'm 19 and this is my first 4x4. I bought an old truck because I wanted to progressively learn general mechanics, how to maintain a diesel, and get set up with enough knowledge to do my own repairs. This is my first long winded thread and I'm just a budding LC enthusiast so bare with me.
I've had it a little over 6 months and I think the head gasket's shot. I can't get 15 minutes down the road before my temp gauge rises to the danger zone. It's not a dodgy sensor or gauge either, you get out and can see steam coming from under the driver's side fender (right-hand drive in Australia). I don't transit in this Cruiser at all at the moment but when a friend and I were testing it I had to load up some water jerries because after getting too hot I'd have to pull over and let it cool off (takes ages) and top it up to make it home. And by top it up I mean I was almost sinking 7 or so liters into the radiator sometimes.
So I suspected an obstruction in water circulation somewhere; before my buddy pulled out my thermostat, all my water was being dumped from the over-flow bottle. Removing the thermostat fixed the overflow but it was still overheating. I tried flushing the radiator and didn't get any gunk, just murky water for a little but that hasn't entirely ruled out the possibility of a build up somewhere. Checked all the hoses and clamps while we were at it. We could hear a hiss from the top of the radiator so we removed the plastic that comes from the air filter housing (what is that?) to take a look and we found a split along the top tank. The new theory was that water was escaping through this crack and evaporating from the heat of the engine bay, thus causing the loss in water.
I rung up a radiator place in town and inquired about a replacement or refurb radiator / top tank to get some info. We were facilitating an inspection and possible installation and I briefly mentioned that I will have troubles making it to his shop which is over half an hour away (depending on traffic) and on the outskirts of the city. Which doesn't allow for many pull over oppurtinites. He said it sounds like a blown head gasket so before they touched the radiator they would conduct a carbon monoxide test on my exhaust to make sure.
So I think my denial is wearing off about it just being a radiator thing. I've researched some symptoms and unfortunately my car displays a few of them. Water bubbles from the pipe you feed water (which isn't directly to the radiator like normal, I'll upload a photo if that sounds confusing) while the engine runs which I've read is bad news. I have white exhaust trail which I can only notice at night when people tailgate me, I thought this was just oil burning off from my recent service. Can't detect any oil contamination though.
Would appreciate some input. I apologise if similar threads are in existence, I couldn't find them.
Thanks in advance!
I have an '86 BJ70 (3B + turbo). I'm 19 and this is my first 4x4. I bought an old truck because I wanted to progressively learn general mechanics, how to maintain a diesel, and get set up with enough knowledge to do my own repairs. This is my first long winded thread and I'm just a budding LC enthusiast so bare with me.
I've had it a little over 6 months and I think the head gasket's shot. I can't get 15 minutes down the road before my temp gauge rises to the danger zone. It's not a dodgy sensor or gauge either, you get out and can see steam coming from under the driver's side fender (right-hand drive in Australia). I don't transit in this Cruiser at all at the moment but when a friend and I were testing it I had to load up some water jerries because after getting too hot I'd have to pull over and let it cool off (takes ages) and top it up to make it home. And by top it up I mean I was almost sinking 7 or so liters into the radiator sometimes.
So I suspected an obstruction in water circulation somewhere; before my buddy pulled out my thermostat, all my water was being dumped from the over-flow bottle. Removing the thermostat fixed the overflow but it was still overheating. I tried flushing the radiator and didn't get any gunk, just murky water for a little but that hasn't entirely ruled out the possibility of a build up somewhere. Checked all the hoses and clamps while we were at it. We could hear a hiss from the top of the radiator so we removed the plastic that comes from the air filter housing (what is that?) to take a look and we found a split along the top tank. The new theory was that water was escaping through this crack and evaporating from the heat of the engine bay, thus causing the loss in water.
I rung up a radiator place in town and inquired about a replacement or refurb radiator / top tank to get some info. We were facilitating an inspection and possible installation and I briefly mentioned that I will have troubles making it to his shop which is over half an hour away (depending on traffic) and on the outskirts of the city. Which doesn't allow for many pull over oppurtinites. He said it sounds like a blown head gasket so before they touched the radiator they would conduct a carbon monoxide test on my exhaust to make sure.
So I think my denial is wearing off about it just being a radiator thing. I've researched some symptoms and unfortunately my car displays a few of them. Water bubbles from the pipe you feed water (which isn't directly to the radiator like normal, I'll upload a photo if that sounds confusing) while the engine runs which I've read is bad news. I have white exhaust trail which I can only notice at night when people tailgate me, I thought this was just oil burning off from my recent service. Can't detect any oil contamination though.
Would appreciate some input. I apologise if similar threads are in existence, I couldn't find them.
Thanks in advance!
