Will I shear the head stud?

[Palomino]

Among the many jobs saved up for this winter I have to cure a coolant leak, emanating from under one of the cylinder head nuts on my 2.1 DJ. It’s only a tiny seep of water which hardly affects the level in the expansion tank but its causing a build up of residue all over my nice SS exhaust where it drips down.

I’m thinking it might be possible to remove the nut, re-seal the washer and torque it down again, but I am fearful of shearing the stud in the process if corroded. The engine is only 7 years old (37,000) and has to the best of my knowledge had the coolant mix properly maintained at the correct intervals, certainly in the past 2+ years that I’ve owned the van, so theoretically corrosion will be minimal.

Could anyone suggest what are my chances of getting away with this? Would be grateful for advice.
Thanks in advance.

Phil

[Ian Hulley]

The DJ is more likely to have the better head studs, alongside known good anti-freeze protection as well ... I'd be giving it a go personally if it causes you that much concern

Ian

[kevtherev]

Agreed
The horror stories are from pre 86 vans and unloved ones

[itchyfeet]

There isn't a washer you need the correct sealant
I have a tube with enough left for a nut from my last head job ( ) its elring so top quality
If you want it pm me with address tonight and I'll post it tomorrow

[Palomino]

Cheers mate, that's kind of you. I'll PM you, but no rush as I won't be doing the job for a while yet.

Thanks Ian and Kev too. Now just a matter of plucking up courage to put a big wrench on that nut and undoing it.

Phil

[blacky]

Just a thought but would it be poss to drill down one side of the nut and fit a new one ?

[Ian Hulley]

would it be poss to drill down one side of the nut and fit a new one ?

Far more scope for 'ooopsthatsfuktititis' I would've thought ?

Ian

[jrt]

I was just wondering about the outcome of your problem because it looks like i've got the same problem on my '83 dg. A very slight seep from the head stud-driven it about 60 miles this weekend and the level dropped a few mm in the top up tank. Going to bung some Wynnes leak stop in this week anyway.
cheers David

[Palomino]

I chickened out in the end but I did add some K-seal to the rad which worked OK for a few months.

Mine doesn't lose water as fast as you say yours is though.

Good luck

[jrt]

Sorry my mistake it lost about 4 mm not cm . Deffo' going to try the leak stopper and hopefully that will cure it for a bit.
thanks for the reply David

[what2do]

Go on, torque it up and let us know the result!!! Not the end of the world if it shears - not for us, anyway......

[jrt]

I've put the torque wrench on mine to see if it was somehow a bit loose, it isn't. Not tempted to try it the other way yet !!
David

[what2do]

Spoil sport. If it ends up going south, I'll let you have some of that magical metal putty stuff. I'm feeling generous as it is nearly Christmas after all......

[jrt]

Quick update on my problem. Ordered the Wynnes online because i couldn't buy it it in any local motorfactors and when it arrived and read the instruction label i found that i'd need two bottles in the van for the amount of coolant it has. After chatting with the guy in my local shop i bought some K Seal and put that in last weekend, went camping in Derbyshire and did a round trip of about 80 odd miles and was still slightly losing water. After e-mailing them at K Seal they sent me another bottle foc and said it may need two bottles to work properly. Went away to the Lakes this weekend, the K Seal hadn't arrived so put a smear of flexible gasket sealer around the leaky stud-have done about 250 miles and haven't lost any water. Got home this afternoon and the second bottle has arrived. Something else to keep an eye on
David