Hey all
I have a 96 Hilux with 3L-LN111 diesel engine.
For a few months I've noticed the rad overflow bottle gurggles for a while after a long drive but the temp guage stays on normal and I was losing half a litre of coolant from the rad but the bottle still had a bit in it. A few weeks ago I had a hose go - the eng over-heated a bit but it didn't run dry & seemed ok (temp gauge still stayed on ok ??? dodgy)
After a 2hr drive in the heat the other day - I hadn't checked the coolant for 500k so I pulled up - the bootle was low and gurggling away so I filled it to the line and let it rest for 1/2 hr. I then drove for 10k and stopped there for 2 hrs. I got in to drive the last 60k to home but I got about 10k and I seemed to be losing power - I thought I must be going into a big headwind. It seemed to be getting worse so I pulled over - as soon as I put my foot on the clutch the engine stalled. I stopped and the rad seemed to be dry - bottle was full - overfull. It took a couple of hour to cool enough to fill it and I put about 5l of water in. It turned over -just - real slow at first but then fired up and ran ok but pumped all the water straight out the overflow pipe- popped the lid and gushed out. With the rad cap off it hit the lid.
To cut short - I jimmied things and got home in short hops.
I've done a few things since and its settled down a bit - I can go for 20 min or so b4 having to refill the rad.
I'm hoping its just the gasket - as it seems to have been slowly getting worse.
Just wanted opinions on it being a cracked head - how can I tell the difference between gasket and head ?
All the time - except for the siezing episode - the engine has run well, starts easy, doesn't blow smoke. When I over heated a spray of oil came out apparently from the head gasket.
cheers guys