The Mitsubishi Pajero Owners Club®

[cyberstace]

Maybe your recent flush of the system has dislodged some muck causing a blockage, I would get your system flushed again in both directions with fresh water and re-fill the system with coolant.
Best to explore all cheap possible solutions before parting with the hard earned cash.

[Google]

[Lofty Scoob]

Just thought I'd update you all on the status of my Shogun. For one reason and another (mainly financial!) it sat outside my house doing nothing for 2 months, during which time the MOT and tax ran out I had it picked up and taken to a local garage where the mechanic did some tests and concurred with the AA man's diagnosis that it was head gasket failure.

According to the technical manual he uses to estimate jobs, to do the heads on a V6 Shogun the time quoted is approx 8 hrs per head which at £50 per hour equates to around £750. Then there's the skimming of both heads to be done, plus gaskets etc.

Anyway, he stripped it down and found that the head gasket was indeed blown between the centre pot and the water jacket (can't remember which side). Fortunately I found a full head gasket for sale on here, which should arrive in the next day or two. Unfortunately he also advised that my radiator is just about shot and needs replacing too . The fins towards the bottom of the radiator have corroded and are actually falling out, there was a nice little pile of them below the radiator! Oh and a couple of the exhaust manifold bolts were sheared so will need drilling and tapping.

So my questions now are:-

1. Can anyone recommend a good radiator supplier (I've read bad things about Milner's ones)
2. Whilst it's in bits, is there anything else I should ask him to check or replace?

Can't wait to get it back on the road, the kids are nattering me to death 'cos they are missing it!!

Thanks in advance,
Steve

[frog2.5]

hi just to add to your colum ive had water problems as well so ive put a new water pump on new thermostat new radiator flushed through 3 times temp now running low but the top rad pipe is hard to touch but temp normal took some water out of rad top last night and went to work 7 miles top temp cold and pipe firm ,temp guage works perfect as before the temp went neer to top but not into the red ,the thing i see is that the new rad cap is not opening and venting the pressure. going to see how is tom then get a price for the head gasket doing , also see if head needs skimming at same time.

[cavecommander]

the cap shouldnt vent till it gets to .9 bar.. at that pressure the top hose is pretty hard.. a pin hole pressure leak tween cylinder and water way.. just a teeny wheeny super minute one will cause this with no bubbles or other visible signs..

the cap is permantly venting but so slowly u cant see it.. head gaskets start to fail this way.. all the stuff u read about bubbles and gushing coolent is rubbish.. thats what happnes at the end not the beginning..

the simple pressure test the AA guy did a long way back in this thread tells the story.. wasting money on everything else is just an attempt at denial and nothing much else..

head gaskets wear out.. the very small pressure leak tween cylinder and waterway is the first signs and should be acted upon.. if not.. sooner rather than later the gasket will fail big time..

at first its just a one way leak.. some of the very high cylinder pressure finds its way into the cooling system.. the real culprit isnt usually diagnosed until the owner has replaced all the other "cheaper" possibilites.. he he

trog

[Lofty Scoob]

Gotta agree with you there trog. The mechanic who is fixing mine said exactly the same - he immediately said head gasket failure. When I questioned this and put forward some of the suggestions that have been made in this thread he simply smiled a knowing smile, then gave me the option of him repairing the problem, or wasting his time and my money until everything else had been ruled out and I accepted it was the head gasket!

Having said that, I am extremely grateful for the help and advice that has been offered here, as it gave me the confidence to question the mechanic and have faith in his abilities. Without alternative suggestions or an alternative point of view, you have to have 100% faith in your mechanic's knowledge. It is always very difficult for people to diagnose problems over the internet, without seeing the car and seeing the symptoms for themselves. But it is extremely useful and I thank everyone for their help.

[cavecommander]

i have an old saab 900 lofty.. the americans love em and there is a very busy classic saab 900 forum.. a head gasket failure to them was a 1500 dollar repair job.. to me it was a 17 quid gasket and few hours of my time..

they all firmly believed a slight overheat was the prime reason for their 200000 mile plus head gaskets to fail..

trying to tell em they had it the wrong way around was nigh on impossible.

i love forums and spend hours both reading and posting to em.. but the odd correct answer tends to get obscured by all the red herrings.. and ironically once u have the knowledge to sort one from the other u dont need to ask the question in the first place..

trog

[Lofty Scoob]

Just thought I'd post another update on this

Finally got my Shogun back on the road..................................well almost!!

Heads were skimmed and refitted with new gaskets. Replaced the water pump, cambelt, cambelt tensioner and had the radiator re-cored and refitted. Rocker covers put back on with new gaskets and everything else re-fitted to the vehicle. Started her up and......................................a huge puddle of oil appeared on the floor underneath .

Upon further investigation it became apparent that the oil was coming from the rear of the rocker cover on the passenger side. Stripped it back down to find that the new rocker cover gasket had been dislodged from the groove in the rocker cover and had folded over and split . Rocker cover gasket replaced and no more oil leak

MOT'd her, engine running for emissions tests and checking her over and........................................................temp gauge went sky high "*beeb*" thinks I - all this work and expense for nothing 'cos I'm back at square one again

Anyway, let her cool down, removed the thermostat, ran her again and now temp gauge sits bang on normal and doesn't go any higher. Tested thermostat in a pan of boiling water and it doesn't open. I instantly thought I'd just wasted a shedload of time and money doing the head gaskets when all along it was just the thermostat. But then I remembered it WAS working 'cos we'd previously checked the temp at either side of it and seen it open. Plus I've seen the blown head gasket! Anyway, been running around in her for a couple of days now problem free. Gonna replace the thermostat with a genuine Mitsi one this time (the one I had fitted earlier this year was an after-market one).

So fingers crossed everything will be fine when the new thermostat is installed. It's been a stressful few weeks but hopefully everything's sorted now 8).

Steve

[SHED]

thats how my head went

[rickladds]

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

As someone noted above, it's never easy trying to diagnose problems remotely, and smart*rse mechanics who can see, feel and hear the engine will always have the advantage and will be able to smile smugly!

However, in general the advice given on here is to always check the cheap things first - sure maybe it will be a waste of time - but maybe ......

[Lofty Scoob]