After seeing what people on here have to say, and talking with a couple of local guys. I'm going to go ahead and do a complete head gasket set replacement on this. I'm also going to put the throttle body heat plate back on with the all the right hoses. I also think I'm going to go ahead and replace the y-pipe with cats since this will be the best time to do so.

Here's my list of parts. Please let me know if there is something that I'm missing. I'm going to order everything from Atlantic British unless there's a better place?

1. Head Gasket Set
2. Throttle Body Heater Plate- going with the better one than what's included
3. Intake to TB Hose
4. Expansion Tank to TB Hose
5. Head Bolt Kit

Thank you for all of your responses and help!

 

Have you pressure tested it and diagnosed it as HG?

Seems a bit hasty without confirmation.

 

I'm doing that tonight. Just making sure I have everything in order if I need to get this done. With the water pump not leaking, expansion tank not leaking, and none of the hoses leaking it has to be going somewhere. The driver side of the engine and oil pan are coated in coolant, and the driver side cat through a code.

 

Oh, ok. Your previous post, says you 'are' going to do it.

Good luck with the findings.

 

I'm pretty I'll have to do it though.

 

You could add an ultragauge to your list, so you can keep a closer eye on the temps. One of the best things I ever did.

 

Unless you are SURE of your thermostat I would order the 180 soft spring thermostat (OEM only!!!) that is for TD5's or, better yet, do the inline thermostat mod found in the forums. Also, for either of those, you should consider a full hose kit (including the heater core hoses) again, unless yours are recent an in good shape.

And if you do the HG, be sure to flush the hell out of your coolant system before putting all of the new bits on. Just costs some water and a mess.

Be sure the HG kit has injector o rings, plenum gasket (metal), and composite head gaskets. Some kits have injector screens and that's a real coupe. I always get the Reinz kit but each one has come with different things in it, which is irritating.

Finally, consider getting some of your stuff elsewhere. AB has it all but isn't always the cheapest.

 

Already have one. The alarms went off when my wife was driving it, and she pulled over instantly. She pulled over, popped the hood, and saw the coolant coming out of the expansion tank. I have one of those on all my vehicles.

 

And for what it is worth I got a cheapie Davico Y pipe on ebay and it works fine.

 

All of the hoses look to be in great shape with the exception being the throttle body hoses. I'll most likely do the thermostat as well since I'll have access to it. Better to be safe than sorry. The kit does come with all the o-rings, and everything I need. The reason for AB is that they have everything in stock, and I have a 10% off coupon from them.

I just need to make sure I can find what I need to pressure check this tonight. I'm going to buy a kit that comes with European adapters, and that should have what I need. This is the kit that'll pressurize the tank, and should push fluid out of the leak. I'm also trying to track down a C02 tester, but afraid that won't work on our expansion tank.