Nissan Qashqai 2015 1.6 Diesel head gasket issue

Nissan Qashqai 2015 1.6 Diesel head gasket issue

Author
Discussion

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Hi there,

Could someone please guide me? My car was losing coolant and I took it to Nissan and they said I had leak in combustion chamber and head gasket is gone. My heart says it’s not.

1. I don’t have milky dipstick or milky oil cap. I do have creamy dark black oil on engine oil cap which could be due to condensation or short journeys as I drive in London on extremely busy route.

2. no white smoke from exhaust.

3. Car is driving like a charm and no overheating. Sometimes and rarely the temperature guage goes all the up (not in the red zone) and comes back in few seconds to normal position which I believe could be faulty thermostat or I’m not sure.

Kindly help me finding the right issue of my car. Any questions welcomed


Twig62

755 posts

103 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Well what does your heart say it is then as you know that it's not the HG ?

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Could be thermostat or waterpump or anything Else. Could be a minor leak somewhere for sure as I feel car is driving absolutely fine.

gamefreaks

2,006 posts

194 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
The head gasket has to go in a pretty bad way before you get white smoke and mayo in my experience.

More often it's just a slight leak that causes pressurisation of the coolant system (which causes leaks) or mysterious coolant loss that cannot be traced to a leak.

If they’ve done a test for combustion gasses in the cooling system and it’s come back positive then (along with the other symptoms) then it’s pretty likely to be a leaky HG.

I’d also be wary of trusting the temperature gauge. They basically have 3 readings on modern cars. Once it reads anywhere above the middle point, the engine is very, very hot!

Smiljan

11,133 posts

204 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Did the Nissan dealership detail what they did to diagnose HG failure? Compression test etc....?

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Smiljan said:
Did the Nissan dealership detail what they did to diagnose HG failure? Compression test etc....?

Smiljan

11,133 posts

204 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
I’d be looking for a proper diagnosis from a diesel specialist as a second opinion before doing anything. That reads like the dealer doesn’t want the job and their hourly rate is too high to make it worth spending more time troubleshooting.

What is the mileage out of interest?

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
Smiljan said:
I’d be looking for a proper diagnosis from a diesel specialist as a second opinion before doing anything. That reads like the dealer doesn’t want the job and their hourly rate is too high to make it worth spending more time troubleshooting.

What is the mileage and age out of interest?
2015 and 120,000 with full service history

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
gamefreaks said:
The head gasket has to go in a pretty bad way before you get white smoke and mayo in my experience.

More often it's just a slight leak that causes pressurisation of the coolant system (which causes leaks) or mysterious coolant loss that cannot be traced to a leak.

If they’ve done a test for combustion gasses in the cooling system and it’s come back positive then (along with the other symptoms) then it’s pretty likely to be a leaky HG.

I’d also be wary of trusting the temperature gauge. They basically have 3 readings on modern cars. Once it reads anywhere above the middle point, the engine is very, very hot!
So what do you suggest I should do? I’m very confused. As I went to few garages. Some say it’s not the head gasket and some say it is.

Smiljan

11,133 posts

204 months

Monday 8th August 2022
quotequote all
It's a tricky one but you need to ask around locally among friends and family for a trusted independent garage.

The Nissan dealer it seems have pressure tested the coolant system, seen that it loses pressure over time and because there are no obvious external leaks they've just fired the parts cannon and accused the internals of the engine. It's a bit of a leap to go from a pressure test to suggesting the customer fits a new engine.

Depending how handy your are, you can get a kit like the one below. This will test for exhaust gases in the coolant, simple to do and simple to determine the result (liquid changes colour).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RELD-Cylinder-Combusion-U...


Edited by Smiljan on Monday 8th August 21:16

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Thursday 11th August 2022
quotequote all
Smiljan said:
It's a tricky one but you need to ask around locally among friends and family for a trusted independent garage.

The Nissan dealer it seems have pressure tested the coolant system, seen that it loses pressure over time and because there are no obvious external leaks they've just fired the parts cannon and accused the internals of the engine. It's a bit of a leap to go from a pressure test to suggesting the customer fits a new engine.

Depending how handy your are, you can get a kit like the one below. This will test for exhaust gases in the coolant, simple to do and simple to determine the result (liquid changes colour).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RELD-Cylinder-Combusion-U...


Edited by Smiljan on Monday 8th August 21:16
Do you think it could be egr cooler? One of the garages diagnosed it to be egr cooler.

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Thursday 11th August 2022
quotequote all
Smiljan said:
It's a tricky one but you need to ask around locally among friends and family for a trusted independent garage.

The Nissan dealer it seems have pressure tested the coolant system, seen that it loses pressure over time and because there are no obvious external leaks they've just fired the parts cannon and accused the internals of the engine. It's a bit of a leap to go from a pressure test to suggesting the customer fits a new engine.

Depending how handy your are, you can get a kit like the one below. This will test for exhaust gases in the coolant, simple to do and simple to determine the result (liquid changes colour).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RELD-Cylinder-Combusion-U...


Edited by Smiljan on Monday 8th August 21:16
Do you think it could be egr cooler? One of the garages diagnosed it to be egr cooler.

QJumper

2,709 posts

33 months

Friday 12th August 2022
quotequote all
Why not get one of those head gasket combustion test kits and see what result that gives. They're inexpensive and at least then you'll have some idea, rather than guessing or throwing parts at things.

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Friday 12th August 2022
quotequote all
QJumper said:
Why not get one of those head gasket combustion test kits and see what result that gives. They're inexpensive and at least then you'll have some idea, rather than guessing or throwing parts at things.
I tried it. Sometimes it would give me colour change and sometimes it won’t change colour. Not too sure if the kit is inaccurate or what. I had a technician tell me that if the anti freeze is kept for long in storage, it would give out CO2 readings as well

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Sunday 14th August 2022
quotequote all
Smiljan said:
It's a tricky one but you need to ask around locally among friends and family for a trusted independent garage.

The Nissan dealer it seems have pressure tested the coolant system, seen that it loses pressure over time and because there are no obvious external leaks they've just fired the parts cannon and accused the internals of the engine. It's a bit of a leap to go from a pressure test to suggesting the customer fits a new engine.

Depending how handy your are, you can get a kit like the one below. This will test for exhaust gases in the coolant, simple to do and simple to determine the result (liquid changes colour).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RELD-Cylinder-Combusion-U...


Edited by Smiljan on Monday 8th August 21:16
It is changing colour and its a head gasket then. Do you know any good garage in London?

Belle427

9,750 posts

240 months

Sunday 14th August 2022
quotequote all
I’d probably wbac it and walk away if it shows no signs of issues.
An engine failure in our Nissan cost us £4000 to rectify, this was a month or so after failing to take wbac up on an offer!

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Sunday 14th August 2022
quotequote all
Belle427 said:
I’d probably wbac it and walk away if it shows no signs of issues.
An engine failure in our Nissan cost us £4000 to rectify, this was a month or so after failing to take wbac up on an offer!
Yeah there are no obvious signs atm.

ComStrike

347 posts

100 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
I see this many times.
"Its the head gasket mate" Ok then, so what has caused the head gasket to fail ? "the gasket has just failed mate" ok then, so how has the gasket failed.
Honestly ...
OP if its the R9M engine, these suffer from overheating due to either a failed egr cooler or the fan pack failing. Radiators are quite small as well.
We see these all the time on the VAN's

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
ComStrike said:
I see this many times.
"Its the head gasket mate" Ok then, so what has caused the head gasket to fail ? "the gasket has just failed mate" ok then, so how has the gasket failed.
Honestly ...
OP if its the R9M engine, these suffer from overheating due to either a failed egr cooler or the fan pack failing. Radiators are quite small as well.
We see these all the time on the VAN's
It is a r9m engine.when I started to experience the issue (ehich was temprature guage would rise and come back to normal after 10 seconds) so i took it to garage and they diagnosed to be egr cooler. so I had it replaced but the problem still persisted but now it’s come to head gasket and turbo charger.

Razaakif

Original Poster:

23 posts

27 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
ComStrike said:
I see this many times.
"Its the head gasket mate" Ok then, so what has caused the head gasket to fail ? "the gasket has just failed mate" ok then, so how has the gasket failed.
Honestly ...
OP if its the R9M engine, these suffer from overheating due to either a failed egr cooler or the fan pack failing. Radiators are quite small as well.
We see these all the time on the VAN's
What do you suggest now? I had quotation of 1750 for head gasket.