I love my fronty but it don't love me

Was off on deployment at the start of january and got a email from my sis (who was using my frontera) saying that the temp went to the red so she stopped and let it cool down and carried on till she could get the car home, thankfully it wasn't too far, took it to the garage and they wanted

headset = 123
head bolts = 29
Cambelt = 79
Water pump= 50
Thermostat = 39
Oil & Filter = 32
a/freeze = 10
skim = 35

Labour = 400

Vat = 160

Total = 956.89

To which my resonse was !@#$*%@^%#($%%&@!@#($!@##$&!@3741!!!!!!

so I got back off deployment and set about fixing the damn thing myself, started off with a water pump and thermostat, and compression test to check the HG, (got 16 bar on all 4) took the car for a drive round the block and temp went thru the roof again, just shy of the red, topped it up with antifreeze and tried again round the block got back and bugger me took the cap off the rad and steam, loads of if, now that sounds like HG to me, but figured i'd look around see if anyone else has any suggestions, only other thing to note is the fan blows cold, not even luke warm but bloody freezing, was going to replace the temp sensor but couldn't find the damn thing,

Oh and this might help, i've got a Frontera LWB 2.2 R reg, any suggestions other than the Head Gasket?

blimey £900 is a lot :shock:

vx i presume.
would it be possible the thermostat stuck closed & caused the overheating in the 1st place & then when you fitted a new 1 along with pump yopu still had an air lock in the system which could cause a blockage in the system ? they can be a bugger to clear sometimes
if you bleed the system at standstill & at normal running temperature are you getting more exhaust smoke than normal ? thats usually a sign of h/g failure

I wish that quote was from VX however it was from my local, good garage scheme "garage" didn't even want to consider VX at those prices, I've tried bleeding the system at normal running temp and all i get is bugger loads of steam only thing i did notice was whenever i stopped the vehicle i got loads of "smoke/steam" outta the exhaust but it quickly died down, when i bleed the system from cold start i just get the coolant coming out, no bubbles or anything, i'm flummoxed atm cause i don't want it to be a HG

Mine cost £950 when the Cam belt Tensioner went :lol:

And that was for
the head to be totally rebuilt, 16 vales cams ex ex
head bolts
Cam belt
Cam belt tensioner
Water pump
Thermostat
Oil & Filter x2
a/freeze
In let manifold strip down and clean
gasket kit
Manifold bolts
Spark plugs
and some other bits and Pisces

i would phone round get,offer cash :wink:

bloody hell, now that's a rebuild and then some, nah, ordered myself new head gasket set and bolts, 45 quid, the cambelt set was more expensive at 60 but figured if i gotta do a HG then might as well go the whole hog, got the new pump and thermostat in allready, so just down to the big bits, gonna break it down in the morning and have a look at what's what.

will do, however anyone know of a good mechanic i can get the head skimmed at, as my local is a local rip off artist, i'm in Gosport Hampshire and given that i'll have the engine in bits, won't be able to go far.

Mechanics dont do it mate, it gets sent out to a machine shop usually. :wink:

Oh awesome, that's something to look forward to and all, blimey give me my valenta diesel back any day of the week, and twice on sundays, now that i can strip rebuild and run inside of a day, look at my fronty and it's a whole differnt ballgame, it's so small and tiny compared to the valenta

Actually next question, found a company that will do me a complete CH refurb

"We undertake complete cylinder head refurbishments (pressure testing available upon request), fly-cutting and surface grinding to a high quality finish. Valves are ground and lapped to provide a perfect seat, and all valve seats are tested. "

or shall i just get em to skim it and whack the thing back in again and hope for the best??

Yup that would be the paxman valenta's (V12 four-stroke turbo-charged & intercooled diesel unit of 79 litres) used on the Type 23 Frigate's and various others trains and such lol.

And the quote i got was for the head gasket set (doesn't include any valves and so on so forth) hence the reason i think my local garage is taking me for a ride and why i'm doing the job myself, thankfully have found PCH services in pompey who will pick up my head recondition it and return it within a couple of days so waiting on a quote back from them.

Interesting thing to note is there isn't much by the way of images or info on head gasket changes or hints and tips on quicker way to do things or problems found whilst doing it, might just take some pic's and make some notes about any probs i come across or things that might be quicker or easier, if you get my drift.

If you're planning on doing the head work yourself, then any pictures, random tips, or a write-up will always be welcome. I copped out with mine, got the head stripped, then bought a 2.8, heh.
The 2.2's are somewhat prone to head issue, so the more info the better.

will definutely work on one at the end once i get the head back, have sent it off to a local machinest, he was gonna skim it for 20 quid but for 80 do the lot (valve seats, grinding and all the extras, so opted for the extras lol, if your gonna do it, it's worth doing right, am banging my head at the minute though cause i'm looking at all the parts sat in my doorstep thinking where the !#$%@%@#$^@#$@ did that part come from and what is it????? lol, otherwise i'm quiet happy had the gasket and bolts delivered today and for 45 quid i'm impressed very good quality and fantastic delivery to boot, all i need now is my new cambelt set and v-belt to pitch up and i'll start rebuilding, think the best way to go about it will be to whack the manifolds and bits on, egr and the like then drop it in tighten down add the wires and odds and ends fill her up and do the usual oil/fuel/filters have a couple of fags and see if she goes bang, when that happens i'll be back on here crying for help or boasting about my technical skills, will have to wait and see what happens lol.