LS XR4145 blown head gasket at 610 hours?

[Jaymeduty]

LS xr4145HS with cab, 610 hours and all proper maintenance done at correct intervals, I live in northwest Montana and if anybody has been watching the news we got really cold these last few days, and still are. We got a fair bit of snow last Wednesday night and Thursday(approximately 14inches) and the weekend before 16 inches. The main use for my tractor is snow removal. I came home from work early Thursday because of white out driving conditions. I plugged the tractor in because the temps were dropping quickly. I left it for 3 hours, came out started it up, everything was normal. I started plowing our driveway and after about 10 minutes i notice a strange vibration and loud knock, Idle down and everything goes away, engine sounds perfect. I played around with different RPM's and moving the tractor, If i put it under load it would lose a bit of power. I pulled it in the shop suspecting fuel and left it for the night, Friday morning I left for work for a couple hours and returned home, changed the fuel filter and filled with new diesel to help with priming the system. Tractor started immediately and sounded perfect, thinking i fixed the problem i backed it out and let it run for a bit while i got ready to plow for the next few hours, Approximately 5 minutes into plowing the low power and knock came back and came back worse. I parked it next to the shop and plugged in the block heater. I still suspected water in the fuel or a frozen line. Today i was able to get to town and get some diesel 911. Filled filter half 50% and put some in tank. Started right up, sounded good for about 30 seconds and the nasty knock returned. Let it run for a couple minutes and limped it in the shop, It had very little power, (still thinking frozen or clogged injector line) I opened the hood and noticed the cap for the crank case was missing. Went outside and it was sitting right were the tractor was parked, Why did i build excessive crank case pressure and blow the cap off? Upon more investigation i noticed a greenish/yellow in the snow directly under the tip of the exhaust, Why is antifreeze coming out the exhaust. At this time i took the cap off the radiator and fluid is 1.5inches low and nothing in the overflow/external tank and looks to have a dark oil like color to it. Oil does not seem to have coolant mixed in and is in the normal fill level, Exhaust was excessively white while idling. there are no codes and the tractor does not leak a drop besides the new coolant out the exhaust. All signs with my limited knowledge lead to head gasket. I am certainly looking for advise or tips. I talked with the dealer i bought it from and they said they have never seen a head gasket go bad on these tractors. anyone have similar issues??
Edit. I always use Diesel conditioner in my fuel

 

[CoolTech]

"loud knock" description has me thinking that it is something much more serious than a head gasket.

 

[sd455dan]

That appears to be a turbocharged engine.

LS L3C19-T
turbocharged diesel
3-cylinder


Some turbos utilize engine coolant to control the turbo's temperatures.

With the cold snap, maybe blew a seal in the Turbo charger allowing coolant into the exhaust and possibly combustion chambers as well.. Knocking could be diesel piston trying to compress a liquid.
A turbo coolant failure will also result in white smoke out the exhaust.
I would definitely check to see if this engine has a coolant line to the turbocharger and go from there.
edit;
Liquid into the combustion chamber can do damage quickly on a diesel. Bent connecting rod or worse can happen. I would not run the engine again before doing some trouble shooting.

 

[Avenger]

Looking at my tractor, and looking at the shop manual, there is no indication that the turbo is liquid cooled or regulated by the coolant system. However, these tractors are factory equipped with finicky turbos. Check it anyway.

Low coolant levels
Blowing white smoke
Increased crank case pressure
Engine knocking with a load

These symptoms point to what you expect and more. Your burning coolant. Coolant is getting into the combustion chamber either by a blown head gasket, cracked head, or cracked block. The engine is knocking with a load because thats when the coolant is entering the combustion chamber. Its a small leak, and when at idle the coolant is not entering either enough to make the sound, or the leak is sealed due to being cooler. When the engine heats up under a load, more water has been introduced. This water is likely being blown out though the exhaust and is seeping into your oil. You stated you do not detect any water in your oil? Drain it. Drain the oil into an open pan and I bet you will find water.

Before you do anything else though, if you can, check the efficiency of your coolant. You didn't state if you have changed the coolant recently, the book indicates 1500hrs to replace the coolant, so I suspect you have not. But have you checked to see if it enough protection? I fear it may not be. This cold snap has been very hard on everything. It wouldn't surprise me if the coolant froze a bit inside your head or block.

If your comfortable with pulling a head, it might be worth it. Pull the head and check it over really well. Replace the gasket, look for cracks. Or take it to a dealer and have them do it, but it will be expensive and you likely won't get the tractor back this winter.

 

[GS650GL]

Don't pull the head off yet. Never have seen an LS engine blow a head gasket yet, just like your dealer told you. The EGR coolers have been known to leak coolant into the engine and exhaust. This will cause some of the symptoms you have and eventually it will not do a successful regen. If it's less than 5 years old, there is a 5 year emissions warranty that would cover it. The DPF would also need to be replaced because once it's contaminated with coolant, doing a regen can't clean it out. A regen will clean out oil contamination but not baked on coolant. It's possible that baked on coolant can cause the EGR valve to stop working also. Have your dealer check the EGR cooler and pressure test it if necessary. Good luck, hope this helps.

 

[Avenger]

The EGR cooler is something I completely forgot about! Thats FANTASTIC! This is why I love this forum. I would absolutely start there! A new cooler will likely run a few hundred dollars. Much better than a new head or block! If it's not under warranty.

Excellent advise!

Here is a link for Messicks. EGR cooler currently $343.61

New Holland #MT40380976 COOLER

COOLER

www.messicks.com

 

[TractorTYMe]

Oh crap, I see you're in Bigfork. I'm about 30 miles from ya up the Canyon. I certainly hope the dealer will help you get back. Supposed to come with another 1 - 2 feet tomorrow into Thursday.

 

[Yander]

Don't pull the head off yet. Never have seen an LS engine blow a head gasket yet, just like your dealer told you. The EGR coolers have been known to leak coolant into the engine and exhaust. This will cause some of the symptoms you have and eventually it will not do a successful regen. If it's less than 5 years old, there is a 5 year emissions warranty that would cover it. The DPF would also need to be replaced because once it's contaminated with coolant, doing a regen can't clean it out. A regen will clean out oil contamination but not baked on coolant. It's possible that baked on coolant can cause the EGR valve to stop working also. Have your dealer check the EGR cooler and pressure test it if necessary. Good luck, hope this helps.

Never seen someone join the forum just to help a guy out. Newbie jumps on here and gives great advice the first post. Apparently only a newbie to the forum, but not a Newbie at all!

Most of the time I see guys join the forum just to ask a question, not the other way around.

Welcome to the forum not so Newb!

 

[Jaymeduty]

Thank you everybody for the great advise. I did take the tractor to midwest parts and rigging, they are a great diesel mechanic. This is above my mechanic capabilities. Unfortunately it is out of warranty and i am now very hopeful that it is the egr cooler like stated above. I will stop in there today and let them know. The dealer was just too far to trailer the tractor in these weather conditions. Tim the owner of Kanaval ag supply is a stand up gentlemen and has offered to send parts to Midwest. I will let you all know the outcome
thank you again

 

[Jaymeduty]

I found out today that the engine has very low compression in cylinder 3 (most likely a bent rod) They told me it is cheaper to replace the motor than to rebuild it but LS wants 15K for a new motor. How can that be, thats more than replacing a motor in a newer diesel pickup. Has anyone had to replace or rebuild one of these. What was the cost?