Engine out...

[dekhelia]

Right. After curing my cold start problems with new glow plugs, van has run fine for a bit but now won't start at all. Definitely electrical, and from searching on here it's either poor earth somewhere or a fubarred starter.

What with the fact that I'm blowing blue smoke until the engine is really stinking hot, I guess I must also be losing oil through the valve guides.

And I don't know when the cam belt was last changed. Or the coolant.

So I'm thinking ... the weather's improving ... time to take the engine out and give it a bit of an overhaul, along with cleaning up gearbox (and making what diagnosis I can re common faults reported on here), engine bay and all manner of crap.

My questions would be:

1. the engine has done 250000km - should I renew the head gasket as a matter of course?
2. should I also do piston rings? main bearings?
3. is it straightforward to time up the crank-cam-injection pump after overhaul?
4. there is no question 4. There used to be, but I've forgotten it.

Many thanks for replies!

[kit]

A clue is that it has glow plugs so we know it is diesel but that is all.

[dekhelia]

Apologies. It's a 1.6TD, JX.

[Plasticman]

at thatr milage cheaper to stick another lump in, theres a few guys on here that will have one,
mm

[dekhelia]

Hm ... not sure about 250,000km being 'high', really - it's 155,000m, give or take - and I've run motors with way more mileage than this. My current daily driver is a Merc W124 E220 with 236,000m - miles, not kms - and it runs sweet as a nut.

Also not sure that any replacement lump would be in any better fundamental condition than the one I have.

Anyway. Gonna take this one out and do some refurbing. Any major task like this is always going to have pros and cons, I figure better the devil I know.