What you thinks Head Gasket easy fix

[Hammer H]

Hey Guys picked up this beautiful white 2000 p38 in excellent condition.

The gentleman that sold it said his mechanic thinks the head gasket has gone and blowing out the side on the second cylinder. Has anybody experienced this before? And is it just a matter of replacing head gasket?

Pressure tested the cooling system and seem to holdOK, dipstick oil looks fine, Although the filler cap has white residue so I’m expecting at least some water in there.

Here we go

16 March 2022 - YouTube (https://youtu.be/fIJe0iGpzn0)

Paul

177656

[AK83]

Not on #2 and not on a P38 .. but on a D2 and on the firewall at No7.
External venting of the HG, no loss of coolant. This D2 was bought as my parts car.
Was cheaper to do this than to get an AC compressor for my project V8(D2).

project subsequently turns out needed an engine anyhow .. so why it ended up wiser to get the 'parts D2', rather than sourcing various parts needed by the project D2

Asked the engineer about recoing it, he says definitely do a block skimming(better too) to be sure. Obviously heads will need too.

This was all pre COVID .. and the total pricing was going to come in at just under $2K with a new cam and lifters(may as well).

[Hammer H]

Thanks AK83

Ripping the heads off over the weekend, appreciate the advice 👍

[Hoges]

There's quite a deal of helpful advice in the annals of this great forum on this topic...just do a search.
I replaced the heads on mine and while they were off, I bought some studs from summit Racing in the US rather than new stretch bolts.

ref: https://www.aulro.com/afvb/p38a-range-rover/217985-my-thanks-scouse-5.html?217985=#post2348737

While you're at it, check out the camshaft. They are notorious for being "soft". Wear patterns will be quite evident. It is possible to remove/replace the cam without removing the engine...you need to remove the front grill, radiator, aircon heat exchanger etc. It's a lot of fiddling but much easier than removing the block.... You just need to be very careful not to knock the bearing surfaces as you reinstall the new cam...There's also a lot of info on the net regarding the max amount to be removed from the heads. Depending on the amount skimmed off, you may need to insert a shim under each of the rockers to take up the slack (same thickness for each!) Also, while you're at it, could be a good opportunity to have the injectors cleaned and balanced..... just like a farmer always has more fencing to do, so too a P38 owner can spend a lifetime fixing stuff ...small jobs tend to grow!! [thumbsupbig]
Good luck with it!

[loanrangie]

Not on #2 and not on a P38 .. but on a D2 and on the firewall at No7.
External venting of the HG, no loss of coolant. This D2 was bought as my parts car.
Was cheaper to do this than to get an AC compressor for my project V8(D2).

project subsequently turns out needed an engine anyhow .. so why it ended up wiser to get the 'parts D2', rather than sourcing various parts needed by the project D2

Asked the engineer about recoing it, he says definitely do a block skimming(better too) to be sure. Obviously heads will need too.

This was all pre COVID .. and the total pricing was going to come in at just under $2K with a new cam and lifters(may as well).

That seems to be quite common on the RV8, ive had 2 x 3.5's that have blown and not used or lost any coolant. One vented internally and produced a tapping noise on the underside of the tin valley gasket and the other externally which gave a sort of pfft,pfft sound.

[Scouse]

You need to check the head(s) and block surfaces too. If it's been blowing for a while, it can actually erode the head/block. Straight edge the block and heads around the blow and seriously think about getting the heads surface ground if you think it's their first time off.