1999 Jimny JLX Blown Head gasket

Sorry you are having so many troubles - keep us up to date Be good to know how you get on seeing as I went through this not too long ago.

I do recall getting my head skimmed with the new gasket so that sounds like a solid plan.

Hi KirkyNut , Its hard to know whether it was skimmed in the first place, seems like the proper thing to do if your doing a engine recond would be to skim the head and block mating surface. I did have an overheating episode, popped the top hose, so that definitely either caused or exacerbated it.

I don't like the lies of them saying there is / was nothing wrong, They agreed to take it as a warranty issue, (which I found means nothing) so at the time I didn't test, tamper or repair anything as the warranty becomes void. But now that I know they don't honour warranty it up to me to try and salvage it .

I have a mechanical background (Industrial and Outdoor power equipment), so did the CO2 chemical test and radiator / cooling sys pressure test both of which highlighted a problem we call a blown head gasket which can be a generic term for a number of problems in that area. I was losing coolant ,no external leaks.

The head is being assessed at a head reconditioning place, they will do the usual checks and skim it if its a good candidate, He said he has seen a couple Jimnys with cracked heads which appeared around those top welsh plugs on the head. Theres 3 there from memory. I looked those over but couldn't see any cracks which is positive . To confirm it after taking rocker cover off , can do a pressure test and watch those areas for any coolant leakage. I'll wait for the prognosis from the expert next week.

I should have mentioned I did a number of checks with a flat rule and feeler gauge on the block mating surface , and found there I could easily slip 0.06" through around the centre of the block face. The mechanic said he might be able to remove some of the high spots by hand but I'll wait for his opinion when he measures it up.

I agree KirkyNut, Would be nice to have a machined block surface which means engine removal and dismantling...….again. I'm not going there for this one. Project ends there. Engine has been out twice and gearbox out 3 times in 2019. Ill have to suck it up as an expensive fail.