hi all,have a 97 d1,107k miles,ome springs,shocks,bilstein steering dampener,brush bar with hellas,yakima racks.michelin defender 255/70/16 tires,I've owned this truck going on 20yrs,it always ran great and still does {no lights}recently noticed coolant from weep hole in waterpump so changed it,also saw coolant coming from back of both heads {not alot}.truck hasn't overheated but think it just maybe time for hg.there is no smoke from exhaust or loss of power so i think the water passages in gaskets gave way.put a bottle of k-seal in and to my surprise no more leaks {for now}changed expansion cap and i'm keeping close watch on coolant level.just changed plugs {ngk} and plug wires {sti}.big question,how long might i get out of k-seal additive? trying to bide time before the inevitable.i think it was an overpressurized thing that blew gaskets so after new pump,t-stat,new exp cap really curious if anyone has done something similar and what time frame i might expect { says permanently seals leaking gaskets}appreciate any imput,rj

 

In my experience, anywhere from 30mins to five years

 

yeah,kinda what i thought,hope i get lucky and it lasts longer than 30mins! probably should figure out how to test if coolant is getting into cylinder to see if it's only temporary.thanks appreciate any and all experiences with using k-seal product,saw about it thru ab so what the hell,give it a shot.still early into it but will know more as time goes on!

 

It might just need a new valley pan gasket. Now some will say that if you are going that deep you should do the full monty (heads), but others will say 'keep it simple'.

The exhaust gas in the coolant test is the most reliable to determine how deep to go.

 

thanks for response,have changed valley gasket and valve cover gaskets about 2yrs ago and they're in really good shape.when i read these threads about slipped liners and coolant behind liners it really concerns me.when it is time i was hoping to get 3angle valve heads and use arp bolts but i know how expensive that can be {actually i don't know what it would cost!}who can afford to have block fitted with top hat liners! at that point you really have to do everything! it's probably cheaper to buy a remanned short block! can i buy a test kit for exhaust gas in coolant and where?i also added a bottle of that hyper lube to coolant in an effort to keep her cool,[running stock t-stat}

 

auto parts store.

 

to do list,next couple of days,want to let product have a good chance to circulate.got under her today and really can't see any visible leaking and there's no dripping on ground so fingers crossed.i see your truck is same year with 137k have you done your gaskets yet?or are you one of the lucky ones!

 

It's not because of a particular mileage but because at some point the motor was overheated. I've known Rover engines that made it well over 200k without ever needing new head gaskets, the motor was never overheated. Using K-Seal is like a ticking time bomb, never know when it's going to fail and the same can be said about a bad head gasket job. As far as D1 cylinder liners slipping and cracks behind them it's not common. Liners have slipped but not the block casting issues.

 

thanks for response,only time motor got hot was when viscous fan broke and temp went 3/4 to 7/8 up the gauge,stopped and let cool.if i do a block test and find that there's no exhaust gas in coolant should i still change gaskets? it would be different if the head was whistling or chattering {gasket blown thru firering or out the side} but it didn't and truck really is running smooth.in the long run i am going to change them but was hoping i might get 20k or more before tearing into her!

 

Yes. Plan it out and get what you need while you have the time to buy on credit because you never know when it's gonna be official.