another noisy 200tdi engine... (now silenced)

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

I've got an irritating'noise coming from the top of the engine, at the back somewhere.  Worse under load, almost disappears on the overrun.  

To me it sounds like the exhaust - it's not.  

A little blow at thye manifold? Can't find one, nipped all the bolts up - no change.

A couple of mechanics have heard it and instantly said 'leaky injector' - checked that all are tight - no sign of a leak.

I suppose it could be 'chuffing' out of the head gasket at the back, but it runs the same as ever, and I'd have expected it to be constant.

Is running lean according to the mot test - which could point to an injector again, but is running at the same temp etc as always.

Suggestions before I start buying bits to try at random?

[beast5680]

i would check on the head gasket again i had one that was chuffing at the rear of the head but it was pressurising an oil way as well so it showed up more easily

[Jas278]

Headgasket..............

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

Would explain it breathing a bit heavier for the last few weeks I suppose

Any tips for changing one?  I'm assuming if I can manage 16v twin cam cr@p I can stumble through.....

[muddydisco]

I would go for head gasket had the same on a k plate 200tdi a couple of months ago.It was blowing from the back right hand corner.Took the head off and it was split.

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

No tips?

[muddysteve]

it was a piece of wee wee to do on my 110

undo the injector pipes
whip the rocker cover off and remove rocker gear
undo all the fiddly bolts holding exhaust/inlet manifold and bar away from engine
undo any pipes/wires attached to the head
undo the head bolts n lift it off

reffitting is reverse of removal

get a haynes manual its covered quite well in there but tells you to unbolt lots of stuff you dont need to.

out of interest how many miles has it done 90k 180k?

i reckon its blown between no4cyl and no8 pushrod hole

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

Ta.  135k - as far as I can tell without having had the head gasket replaced so far. (I've done 12k in the last 11 months).  Can't see the necessity for a skim - anybody disagree?

[Guardian.]

MY 200 IS EXACTLY THE SAME, ITS THE HEAD GASKET, STILL RUNS SPOT ON THOUGH SO WILL LEAVE A LITTLE WHILE LONGER BEFORE IT GETS CHANGED.
MY MAN TELLS ME ITS A VERY COMMON THING ON 200 TDI'S, THEY STILL RUN OK JUST START TO SOUND LIKE DUMP TRUCKS GOING DOWN THE ROAD EVENTUALLY.

[lenrover]

200's religiously need a head gasket every 80-90k in my experience but other than that they're pretty much bulletproof my dads disco has just over 220,000 on the clock and still going strong

[Disco Inferno]

mine went right at the back of the head, no oil or water pressurising, just went straight outside, been told that its common to go at that end as those bolts are the most difficult to tighten when the gasket is changed in car, in my case the back 2 bolts were looser than the rest.

do it sooner rather than later and you'll void the need for a skim

be prepared to do some heaving to get the bolts tightened down properly

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

Well - you were right folks!  It was the head gasket blowing straight out at the back.  All cured now - changed it on Sunday (and did the welding for the MOT - only 2 small patches - AND cooked roast dinner for the family).

If only all head gaskets were that straightforward....

And right about the Haynes too- remove the injectors, remove the glowplugs...... errrrr .......yeah.... ok.....whatever you say.....