2.1 TD Gassy water !!, Water loss through expansion tank

[bov783]

Hi all
Wife phoned me said the waters low as the stop light has come on. Sure enough no water. I filled it up but find when i rev the engine the water level rises and then boils, although its not hot. The engine runs fine and there is no sign of oil in the water. There is no smoke. I think it's the head gasket but not sure. Is it economic to fix ? Just put new tyres on and new battery. Also just got through the mot ! Some one has said the engine must be removed as the head bolts don't clear the fire wall ??
Any advise welcome
Regards
Phil (1996 2.1 TD Auto )

[lez]

sounds like a gasket issue if it bubbles a lot when revved

but that can also be traped air being forced out then mixed up by the pump...

its one of those things you have to see to diagnose.

The head gaskets do go, but they also last well, i had a water leak on my xm taxi for a week i could not find, it would often go on a 5 mile drive with water that probably wasnt covering the head..... then as soon as the passeneger was out i;d throw 6ltrs back in and off to the next job..

the level also went up and down in mine when revved, its a design thing, nothing to worry about. (although why it does that i cant ex
plain to myself, its got the same amount of water no matter what the rpm...

This post has been edited by lez on June 03, 2011 09:30 pm

[Dieselman]

Bov. That sounds like classic head gasket failure as diesels don't mix the oil and water, just blow all the water out, due to the compression and lack of cylinder vacuum.

You can do the 2.1 head gasket in situ, I've just done my second one.

The EGR valve makes it considerably harder to do, but if you part the exhaust and lift the manifolds off with the head it will be much easier.

I left the manifolds in place and found it a struggle, but late on realised that all I needed to do was to raise the exhaust manifold to allow the head to lift off the dowels, then pull forwards.

If doing the job yourself, expect the total cost including machining an MLS gasket and new timing belt, to be in the region of £200.

This post has been edited by Dieselman on June 04, 2011 10:12 am

[Peter.N.]

Hi Phil

Not the easiest of jobs but well worth doing if the rest of the car is in good condition, the gasket usually goes at around 150,000 miles but once replaced will do another 150k, apart from that these engines are pretty well bomb proof.

Peter

[simonxm21]

economic to do if you love your xm then money isn't an issue i'd get it repaired, if you get another xm/car you could end up in the same boat, at least if you spend out and repair it you know it's done

good luck

[bov783]

Thanks for the replys much appreciated. I will give it a go there seems plenty of help about which is great. I did see a nice C 5 diesel auto on eBay for £1295.00 but it's in Essex and it may be buying trouble. You never no at that sort of price !!
Kind regards
Phil

[simonxm21]

QUOTE (bov783 @ June 05, 2011 07:09 am) 

Thanks for the replys much appreciated. I will give it a go there seems plenty of help about which is great. I did see a nice C 5 diesel auto on eBay for £1295.00 but it's in Essex and it may be buying trouble. You never no at that sort of price !!
Kind regards
Phil

don't do it! the guy i bought my xm from did exactly the same and he regrets it! it's slower and not as fun either and the c5 is from citroen self destruct ere.

admittedly i have a soft spot the estate c5's a good looking estate.

simon.

[Peter.N.]

I had considered a C5 but on the strength of what I have read on the forums decided against it, its certainly not as well made as the XM - better the devil you know ....

Peter

[bov783]

Thanks for the replys. I have decided to ditch the C5 idea and get stuck in to mine. Spent about 4 hours. I have removed all the coolers ( bottom rad hose was a baxxxrd !!). Removed all the pipes and removed the injector pipes. I think the exhaust is the next thing and then the engine mounts. Will keep you posted. Just hope I can put it back together !! Found one pipe disconected and not sure where it should go. I think its from the MAP thing under the front wing, any ideas ?

Regards
Phil

[bov783]

10.00 To 5.00 And its finaly off. Took the manifolds and turbo off in one lump. Not easy as the exaust flange only just cleared the fire wall. The gasket looks very corroded so it's likely it's that that failed.
I found it a struggle removing the water pipes, I think I will replace the clips with jubilee type. Unfortunatly there is a lot of play in the turbo and loads of oil about. Any body got any contacts in the lincoln area ??
Im not sure if I will get it back together so if anyone wants a scrapper watch this space !!
Regards
Phil

[Peter.N.]

Hi Phil

Well done, the most fiddly job I found was disconnecting the oil feed and return from the turbo. I wouldn't take to much notice of the oil in the turbo if its on the inlet side, probably coming from the engine breather system, they all have some. Same with the bearing, the last CX I had you could rattle the rotor about but it went on to do about another 100k.

Peter

[bov783]

Thanks for that Peter. I think I will take your advice on the turbo. It wasn't noisy and only smoked when the engine was pushed, which I seldom do .
You are right about the oil feeds. The bottom one is rubber so I slackened off the clip and pipe but let the pipe pull off with the head. With the engine pulled well forward the top ridged oil feet came off no problem.
Just hope I can get it all back !!
Regards
Phil

[steelcityuk]

Hi Phil,

Loads of photos here if it helps.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7328220@N02/s...57623669465131/

Keep plugging away!

Steve.

[bov783]

Thanks Steve looks like a real good job done. Am at the stage of ordering the bits. Not sure at the momment where to get the best gasket. Will change the water pump and belt. The rest I will keep as it all looks fine. I don't think I will get the head skimmed as it has cleaned up ok but will rake advice on this .
Regards
Phil
Ps I could upload photos but not sure how to do it !!

[bov783]