Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Just wondering peoples thoughts. I have a 96' 75 series cruiser tray diesel. Got it serviced today and we have noticed that bubbles are comin into the resiorvor when it is idleing.. has not got hot for a couple of years, problem then was the fan,. do you's think it would be more likely to be the head or the gasket? 2 year old radiator, new cap and has been running good. Hasn't been used as much lately either.
Any ideas let me know,
Thanks

I dont know about bubbles in the resevour...but pull the radiator cap off while the motor is running (obviously not when hot), if you see bubbles there then its a good guess that the head gasket/head has problems.

Also check the oil...if it has got a milky look to it, then that confirms head gasket/head.

Has it been using a lot of water/oil lately?

oil has been fine in colour and only uses a little.. not much at all and for water ive only done 5000 in the last 8 months so a little hard to gauge but only top it up 2 or 3 times in that time

Did they do a radiator fluid change when it was serviced? Could be some residual air pockets bein purged from the heater circuit. Take the radiator cap off while it is cool and warm it up without the radiator cap on and see if the bubbles start appearing again.

See if it uses any water over the next couple of days.

Could still be a leak from cyl-waterjacket, without involvement of the oil channels....(don't always get milky oil with a blown gasket...)

IF, IF its a problem, id say just a head gasket from sitting around doing sfa.

Just keep an eye on it, but genarally shouldnt need to add any water

Cheers

fingers crossed on the air pocket idea...that would be the best outcome!

nah didnt change the fluid so think the air pocket idea is out.. going to pull the head off i think and just hoping its the gasket now...

As a motor mechanic I've seen a few vehicles with bubbles the radiator and not had a blown gasket or cracked head. Some can be caused by air sucking in around the water pump seal but this only happens when the cooling system is not under pressure, ie with the cap off. I have a carbon monoxide sniffer that samples air releasing from the radiator, perhapes someone in your area has one. If u have a blown gasket etc at this stage and it's only a small breach it will be hard to detect just by looking once the head comes off. Even with crack testing the head for a small crack is not allways a surething. If ur only symptom is a few bubbles I'd wait and see what happens. It'll either get better(great) or worse, but at lest the problem will be easier to find. The worst thing is u pull the head off and find nothing wrong, then what? put the head back on and hope it's fixed.

Yeah thanks mate i might try and c if iwe can test it like u said.. just had a play in the shed then and it is fine no bubbles at all till it heats up then they start.. i just dont want to do nothing about it then do more damage if it gets hot and i happened to miss it for some reason.. thanks for your imput guys.. was keen for a spin on weekend but not sure now... ahh the fun and games of it all

Yes, as the gun says sometimes it might not be that obvious once you do pull the head off. A minor breach of the head gasket is not always easy to pick up particularly if you don't have much experience and not all cracks are visible to the naked eye, especially when the head is at room temperature. Not sure if you have had it anylised at a workshop, but I would first take it to a reputable shop and have them anylise the cooling system, pressure testing, and as said above, sniffing the air released from the radiator.

A good head specialist will be able to pressure test the head on the bench and do crack detection. If you do it yourself and don't have the head checked and machined (if necessary), you run the risk of not fixing the problem.

Everytime I've seen bubbles in the radiator its been a blown headgasket/cracked head. If you can swing a hammer and can take the head off yourself you can basically do the job for the cost of a gasket before doing any further damage as you say.

hey guys.. got a few blokes to have a look and most are saying early stages of gasket failer.. going to get it done by a mechanic just to save hasles and get it done rite.. thanks for the suggestions..

Before you spend any money, try a new radiator cap.

I had the same problem, and went through a whole lot of muckin' around before i changed the cap....problem fixed.

Yeah have tried a new cap the old one was buggerd and not holding pressure. That is why I don't think it was using water.