Hi, I have an Iveco Eurocargo (Tector Engine) dumping lots of coolant into the Engine Oil. I had this problem a year ago also, I changed the oil cooler gasket and the compressor gasket before I discovered it was the freeze plugs inside the rocker casing causing the problem. I replaced all the plugs and the lorry has being going very well this past year but now the problem has returned. I also had a new Head gasket fitted 3 years ago.
Any Ideas what could be causing it. It appears to lose a lot more water when up to optimal running temperature. There is no oil in the coolant tank and no back pressure or bubbling in the coolant tank either.
Any ideas as I’m at my wits end.
Cylinder liner seals? Hope it isn’t because that’s an engine strip down job.
Unlike a car engine the cylinders aren’t just machined out of the solid engine block but are more like motorbike engines in that each cylinder is actually a barrel that fits inside the block. At the bottom of them sits a seal. If those seals are gone then you’d have water leaking into the sump and mixing with the oil in the sump. You’d not have any back pressure, bubbling in the tank nor engine oil in the coolant tank either and as the engine heats up and everything expands it could leak even more.
There are so many possibilities that, like you, I wouldn’t know where to begin. You seem to have covered a lot of them with the work you did previously, so maybe Conors suggestion is likely, although it’s not a common problem unless it’s a very old engine and maybe the coolant has become diluted over time.
Ive often run engines with water problems and kept them going a long time just by leaving the pressure cap loose. Doesn’t fix it, but it will minimise the leak as there will only be standing pressure in the cooling system.
£28 a piece, but its the labour costs that will break you.
Wheel Nut:
0£28 a piece, but its the labour costs that will break you.
Yeah and it’s getting the guys to do the work. Most guys my way only want the handy jobs nowadays lol. I fix most problems myself but this looks like it’s going to be beyond my capabilities this time. The lorries 2002 but with only 360,000 km and drives like a dream. This is so frustrating as i never thought I’d see this issue again after fixing the other faults.
Wheel Nut:
0£28 a piece, but its the labour costs that will break you.
Yup.
Head has to come off, sump has to come off, all big end bearing caps off then slide every piston out of its bore then it’s out with the liner puller to get the things out then refit in reverse. It’s the kind of job where you seriously consider getting a reconditioned engine because there’s likely not a lot of difference by the time you finish. Had a mate who was an owner driver who did them on his Scania but he had someone who did it who was retired and did it for the love of the job and didn’t charge him labour.
Does it change the potential cause noting that this fault came on very sudden. One minute the lorry was driving perfect, coolant maintaining level, The next minute coolant is dropping rapidly and sump turning to grey goop. There were no warning signs whatsoever like coolant loss gradually worsening over a period of time.
My first checks would be the oil cooler & the compressor, Then if okay I would drop the sump and then pressurise the water system and check for any water leaks coming from the bottom of the piston liner area.
The Tector engine is virtually the same as ■■■■■■■ ISB engine but with a different badge, which is a development of the old ■■■■■■■ BT engine. That engine had core plugs in the block behind the tappet chest cover. It would also leak coolant into the oil from the oil cooler after shutdown. Usually possible to remove the oil filter and then pressurise the header tank.
AFAIK the ISB does not have wet liners.