problem with cracked heads

[marie Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close marie]

Hi there new to this site!!
Got a 2000 GXL Turbo diesel prado, 2 years ago had problems with it over heating, got told it had a cracked head. $1200 later wasn't the problem had to change the Radiator. Now the coolant is going into the reserve bottle & not getting sucked back & blowing it out through the bottle. Have been told the 98-2000 model prados are proned to have cracked heads. Has anyone had any problems??? We still don't know the problem yet.
Thanks :roll:

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

i moved your thread into the TD section for 90 series prados as thats what a 2000 model is.

cheers and i hope you find a resolution.

[Mick Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Mick]

Hi
Unlucky and i feel your pain.
I've replaced the head in my 2000 prado aswell - $2100 supply only with full gasket set. Don't know where you got yours for $1200, but sounds cheap (possibly nasty?)
These small deisels only usually get about 200 000 k's out of an alloy head - ford courier's, 3L patrol's - they all have this tendancy. The manufacturers put as little as possible materials in the walls of the heads to save on their costs. Hence you can't reliably machine these heads because of this fact and also the high cylinder compression of these diesels.
Anyway, if she's blowing the coolant out that's not good. Is it doing it hot or cold?
When hot - possibly water pump no good and she's boiling the coolant out?
At any temp - possibly head or head gasket?
Good idea to talk to a mechanic who has the gear to compression test a diesel if you feel it may be the head or head gasket.

All the best,
Mick

[D4D Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close D4D]

Sounds like a gasket problem, my mav was blowing all the coolant out the overflow bottle. The issue was the gasket over #6 had blown out. Worth checking compression, what gasket set did they use? $1200 is cheap for a head fix.

[MattWhite Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MattWhite]

The other reason for not making heads that are a great big lump of metal is thermal efficiency. I know everyone saves money where thay can but it is a lot more blurred than that. Will back everyone elses call and say $1200 is a lot of money it doesn't normally go very far at all on little diesels. Good luck and rather than a compression test I would suggest pressure test the radiator overnight, let it sit cold and in the morning start it up and look for mis-firing and steam from the exhaust which will indicate water in the combustion chamber. It's a shame you got stung last time but most good mechanics should be able to do a good diagnosis. Maybe be prepared to pay just for a good check, could be cheaper than fixing something not broken!

Matt

[Roktruk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Roktruk]

Yup, this is a problem, I've posted a reply to the Broken 1KZ thread. Do a search here and on lcool.org and the threads will pop up. Also search for my posts, I've posted info previoulsy.

A Google search will bring up some links - but not a lot. For some fun, type in "3 litre Patrol engine problems" and see how many hits you get!!

[JerryNZ Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close JerryNZ]

Theres been a lot of discussion on ORE (www.offroadexpress.co.nz) about the head cracking problem, the older Surf 2.4's (2-LT's) are well known for it, the later 2L-TE's are a bit better but these along with the Ikz's will still blow heads.

If you cook them this seems to be the biggest problem, a lot of people fit bigger exausts to keep them cool, regular coolant changes help too . fit an aftermarket temp guage or a temp alarm (you can get 12v ones from a refrigration place, the toyota ones have a resister in them that like to sit on the middle until it only gets really hot.

A few people over here are fitting EGT guages, truck drivers use them and learn to drive by the exaust temp instead of the revs.