>> recently there has been a sound of gurgling water moving through pipes in the engine
>> and the heater would intermittently not work at all (would only omit cold air).
>>
That's a different issue and sounds very much like it is the head gasket.
The orginal problem stated is almost certainly the known and frequently observed downside (dreadfully long time to warm up from cold) to the oft-mentioned "plus" of diesels[1] being more thermally efficient.
[1] Although the worst I ever had was a 2.0 petrol Mk 1 Ford Galaxy. Truly awful in the winter it was. That, in combination with a few other things, give that car my "worst car I ever owned" award.
|