Rover V8 Coolant Leaks - Diagnosing Issue

[I Love My Landy!]

Good afternoon all,

I recently fitted reconditioned 3.9L heads on my 3.5L V8 110. I now have coolant leaks as shown in the photo attached. I am trying to determine where the leaks are originating. It is occuring on both sides of the block.

I used Permaseal head gaskets. They were $80 each, but I noticed that they didn't fit very well. I actually had to file sections to fit it onto the locating dowels. There was also not much material thickness at some sections of the head gasket (mainly at the very ends where the large water jackets are). I wonder if I should be worried about these coolant leaks?

The engine is not getting hot. No water in oil. No bubbles in coolant. I have done a compression test and all is fine. No plugs look cleaner than the rest either. I am not losing much coolant at all - almost none.

Many thanks,

Edward :)

[PhilipA]

That is not a 3.5 block. It is a cross bolted 4 or 4.6.

If you are just using that photo for illustration it is likely you are pointing to the additional head bolt holes in a 3.5 block.
These were deleted in later blocks.

Sometimes the holes went into the water jackets and sealant was recommended to stop any leaks. I have never seen one that went through to the water jackets but it does happen.

I guess if you have later heads without the extra bolts that you should put plugs in the holes with sealant to stop any leaks.

the reason the extra bolts were deleted is that they tended to "jack" the heads and cause combustion leaks into the valley.
Regards PhilipA

[aussearcher]

Have you retensioned the heads since running the engine?

[I Love My Landy!]

That is not a 3.5 block. It is a cross bolted 4 or 4.6.

If you are just using that photo for illustration it is likely you are pointing to the additional head bolt holes in a 3.5 block.
These were deleted in later blocks.

Sometimes the holes went into the water jackets and sealant was recommended to stop any leaks. I have never seen one that went through to the water jackets but it does happen.

I guess if you have later heads without the extra bolts that you should put plugs in the holes with sealant to stop any leaks.

the reason the extra bolts were deleted is that they tended to "jack" the heads and cause combustion leaks into the valley.
Regards PhilipA

Hi PhilipA,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes well spotted, i see the cross bolts now. No that is not my block, just an image i found on the net. I have had another look at my engine and yes, i must be referring to the extra bolt holes. I see that the 3.9 heads have the same casting shape around the bolt holes as the 3.5 heads, but are simply not drilled to accept the extra 4 bolts.

Your idea seems very plausible! I reckon this could be what's happening. I have read before that plugs should be installed, but i could never understand why you'd need them. I didn't realise that water could leak out.

I guess i'll just monitor the water loss. I don't think it's worth taking the heads off - as long as it doesn't leak into the oil or combustion chamber then i'm not too worried.

Thank you,

Edward :)

[I Love My Landy!]

Have you retensioned the heads since running the engine?

Hi aussearcher,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes i did retension the heads, after about 1000 km. All were tensioned correctly - none had loosened.

Edward :)

[PhilipA]

Yes sealant is recommended on all head bolts to reduce this problem and also to stop electrolytic reaction between the bolts and alloy head.
I used to use Holden Sealant which worked well.
Regards. PhilipA