What percentage of heads crack?

[glenn]

Jessie - I think you nailed it.

Konadog - I actually think we are agreeing - except what you call driver error, I call under-engineering. I maintain that I drive like a granny and that if I drive any slower, I might as well walk. You are OK with the slow lane.

nxski - yikes, you are living dangerously. But you already stated that you don't mind if you blow your engine.

Now on to the survey......

[Rising Sun Auto Import]

Most people don't put reliability/serviceability at the top of the Delica-shopping list. Those that do usually end up with more $'s spent than initially planned.

Totally makes sense!

Steven

[Drumster]

So far so good with my L400. It had low km when I got it (53K) and was in great shape. I installed Evan's waterless coolant and snipped notches in the rad cap gasket to let it breathe. Because Evans won't boil at automotive temps, pressurization is not required and the Evans coolant is non-corrosive. Those two things alone make for a lot less strain on the cooling system. Stuff is pricey but is said to last the life of the vehicle.

We took the van down into Utah & Arizona in Sept. '10 and it was HOT! 103 degrees outside and when I went exploring on an old gravel road one afternoon the ambient temp gauge on my dash read 51 degrees. The engine never skipped a beat down there and coolant gauge never strayed from normal, just like here. I also run Amsoil synthetic with a dual bypass filter system. Reason: less friction, less wear, less heat.

So hopefully my 4M40 is not a candidate for the dreaded cracked head.

[thedjjack]

1989 L300 -205,00km original head...

Drive slow until the temperature comes up and everything is nice and warm...

Short trips low mileage motors might not ever have been run at temperature...

2.5L 4 cylinder motor pushing a brick with big tires down the road....working really hard...= Aluminum heads, Cast Iron block, Diesel compression, heads will crack...

[psilosin]

live for the day...you can crack your own head worrying about head cracking. I drive an L400 and a Hilux Surf...a couple of the head crackiest vehicles around but no head cracks on either going all ghe way back to 2004. My secret...positive mental attitude and a cadbury creamegg tucked under the starboard floormat.

[konadog]

Konadog - I actually think we are agreeing - except what you call driver error, I call under-engineering. I maintain that I drive like a granny and that if I drive any slower, I might as well walk. You are OK with the slow lane.

Happy day glenn,
I do feel like my L-300 has lots of power so clearly I don't mind taking it easy... However, slow doesn't mean low revs...I say gear down and keep the revs up and over 3,000 when under load to keep the coolant and air moving. I learned this when I had my 1971 VW bus. Lots of owners thought they were under powered and lots got overheated to death.

And what you'd call under-engineering I'd call inflated expectations... Little motor, heavy bus means a slow ride. It is what it is. If it's too slow you could walk, or ride a bike even, but you can take heeeeaps more stuff with you in the deli!

[FalcoColumbarius]

.... My secret...positive mental attitude and a cadbury creamegg tucked under the starboard floormat.

Right on, Psilosin ~ PMA. I talk to my girl and I make it a point to listen to her, too. My ideal highway cruising speed is at 105-110k. The engine is running at around 2,600+RPM. It is at this speed that I get the best mileage. To hold that steady and I will make roughly 8litres/100kliks. I can easily cruise at 120 but it costs much more in fuel. She cannot do 260k, nor would I expect her to. She's a Delica, not an Aston-Martin. On the bigger hills like the Cut or the Coke she is limited to 80-70. Towing a trailer full of paper up the Duffy Lake Road (from Mount Currie) and she is in second gear with the hazards on doing no more than 50 kliks.

...Short trips low mileage motors might not ever have been run at temperature...

That's another thing, many of these wagons have often been described as low kilometre vehicles ~ the engines haven't even been broken in, drive accordingly.

If you want a car that you never have to think about, that is socially excepted as "cool" and goes fast ~ then lease a BMW.
This club is about quirky peeps and their wacky wagons getting into trouble and enlarging on how they got out of it. These can be considered as project wagons. They are meant to be worked on and modified. Konadog has it ~ gear down, increase your torque and lift the revs accordingly. They do hold a lot, eh?

Falco.

[legionnair]

X2

[Mephisto]

I put on well over 100,000 kms on a modified 4D56: front mount intercooler, bigger turbo, large exhaust. I was running about 27psi at full throttle at higher rpms, I beat on my truck but I was very aware of my EGTs, that engine never skipped a beat.

Currently I have a 4M40 running in the high teens for boost with a stock intercooler and 3" exhaust, again I have put over 100K on the odometer beating it in a similar fashion. I have even ingested a large amount of water into the engine, pulled the glowplugs and cleared it of water (a good water show, lol) about 50K ago. The truck now has a total of about 220K on it and its going strong. Driving "slow" isn't going to save your engine, drive smart and perhaps luck has allot to do with as well. So what I'm saying is I have had a good amount of experience with both engines and haven't had a problem even though everyone says not to up the boost that much and that that will kill your engine. I won't mind if something happens to my 4M40 head cause that will give me a chance to port a new head and see what kind of improvements that can provide, I was almost considering buying a new head and doing the headwork regardless of whether |I needed it or not.

Oh ya, other than a flush and visual inspection of the rad, no other cooling system work was done on either of my vehicles after getting them from Japan.

[.:FoRuM56:.]

I'm just over 300,000kms on my 4D56 Pajero...Original head as far as I can tell from previous owners.
I've been very impressed so far. It's not meant to push power, but it will work all day long!

Mephisto, I need details on your 4d56!