Help requested - d2 leaking head gasket?

[d2-v8]

Hi guys, hoping someone can help me... can anyone please point me in the direction of any previous threads discussing how to check whether the head gasket is leaking on a Discovery 2? ('99 v8 190k kms)

Or alternatively pass on any guidance about similar issues, what to look out for, how big a job it was to do, if you have a recommended mechanic in Perth that has done a good job of doing this previously for you?

I'm struggling to get my head around the variety of advice and quotes that I've received over the phone from a selection of local LR specialist mechanics and engine rebuilders.

Many thanks in advance for any assistance...

[Grumndriva]

No one else has responded, so here goes. First question is why do you think it might be leaking?

Are you losing oil or water or what?

Based on experience with my 99 V8 Disco at 163,000 km, what appears at first to be a leaking head gasket can turn out to be one or more slipped liners.

Looking back after we found the slipped liners in my Disco, the symptoms were:

(1) occasional loss of small amounts of coolant with usually no sign of where it went (sometimes a bit of residue around or below the over flow),
(2) rough running (6 or 7 cylinders only) when restarting while still hot, which lasted for several minutes but then cleared,
(3) occasional clunking on cold start (sounds like a stuck lifter).
It was also leaking oil into the valley, but that probably was the gasket.
These symptoms continued for probably 10,000 km, during which time we changed the head gaskets.
Subsequently I had a sudden failure of one of the new radiator hoses which turned out to be due to combustion pressure in the cooling system. It had suddenly started running very rough just moments before the hose failed. When we pulled the heads we had 2 extremely clean (like new)combustion chambers, caused by water leaking past the now improperly seated liners.

It now has a factory new 4.6 RR HSE engine fitted.

I have been told that the slipped liner issue affects mainly engines built from 1999 to 2001, and that it was caused by inadequate thickness of the casting in specific areas. According to what I was told, LR apparently knew of the potential for problem, and coded the blocks with the thickest going to the 4.6 engines, where compression pressures would be higher, and the rest going to the 4.0s. Consequently (if true) it is more likely to affect Discos than HSE RRs.

Anyway, for what it is worth, sometimes what appears to be a head gasket can be slipped liners, so it is worth specifically looking for evidence of that when you have the heads off.

I hope it is just the gasket in your case.

Cheers,

Terry

[d2-v8]

Thanks for the reply Grumndriva, hopefully it won't be a slipped liner!

We recently acquired the car and a mechanic had a quick look and suggested he thought it was leaking water out of the back side of the head gasket- they were alerted to check this by a low water level in the header tank.

They put some additive in the coolant in to bung it up and 800kms later the water level hasn't budged and I've had no issues - though I'm aware that may be a temporary false confidence.

I'm trying to get some guidance as to what I should be checking for, what I should be asking the mechanics. An engine rebuilder said they could pressure test it to help diagnose the issue for about $25. This seems like a sensible move to me, but would appreciate others views??

Thanks for your response... much appreciated.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

is the stain orange?
mine used to leak from the same spot, left a loverly orange trail down the block,,
dunno about temporary,, mines been "blocked" for well over 12 months,,

[wozapinin]

:(I've got the same issue.My 2000 4.0 is leaking at the back of the motor. At the least it's just the valley cover gasket but I'll be getting a full kit and do the heads at the same time. Makes sense if you're going to pull the manifold off. I have read that it's wise to get the heads checked for warp, but if you no for certain it hasn't been overheated they should be alright. One way of checking a failed head gasket is a compression test.If your keen to do the job yourself I'll let you know what i run into with my operation:D
Can anyone point me in the right direction to get a kit in Perth?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

<snip>
One way of checking a failed head gasket is a compression test.If your keen to do the job yourself I'll let you know what i run into with my operation:D



maybe a Tutorial??
:angel:;):D

[PhilipA]

Its pretty common for RRV8s to leak coolant at the front or the back of the heads. The kleak is from the gasket between the head and block.

There is a water passage ( the only water passage) at the front and the back of each head.

With tin gaskets especially , if there is any warp in the head , coolant can leak from the passage to the outside. It may NOT involve any exhaust gas or leak to the combustion chambers.

It is a sign that the gaskets may be corroded from not changing coolant regularly , but as long as the leak has stopped there is no urgency in replacing the gaskets unless you are a purist like me.
Regards Philip A

[mike 90 RR]

...... but as long as the leak has stopped there is no urgency in replacing the gaskets unless you are a purist like me.
Regards Philip A

x2 for the above



Change the coolant if it is suspect ..

If you hear the sound of "water running / trickling" behind the dash when driving ...(this is the "give away sound" of air in the system) then that is the time to start doing something about it ... PRONTO

Other than that .... just keep a eye on it and JUST enjoy your ride :)

Mike
:)

[d2-v8]

Thanks for the help so far guys...

I went back to JRT in Perth and they were very helpful. Seems their diagnosis is that based on the white coloured stains around the engine bay (stupid me I thought it was stains from salt from sand) it has presumably overheated previously, although testing it again there is no exhaust gases in the water now - thats the chemiweld they added doing it's job!

So, if it's overheated in the past there's a risk the heads can be warped and they recommend doing a full strip down of the heads, gasket change, heads off to be skimmed, recon of the injectors, radiator off to be tested and rodded out then put it all back together c.$2,800 + GST, and that's assuming no need for new hoses, belts or repairs to the radiator. Ouch!

The LR gasket kit is c.$600 alone, I found theres an after market kit being sold in the UK for about $100 landed her in Oz - any views whether this would be a safe compromise to make? or should I just take the pain, pay the money for the LR parts and be happy that it won't need doing again?

RANGE ROVER V8 4.0 4.6 FULL HEAD GASKET SET STC4082 on eBay, also, Range Rover, Car Parts, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 03-May-09 11:45:35 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400034982864&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123)

The car needs the ABS modulator replacing too apparantly... good job I bought the car for a reasonable price!

[PhilipA]

IMHO there would be very few on this forum who buy genuine head gasket kits.
Specialists such as Graeme Cooper, Rovercraft ,British 4WD, CLR etc will all have good quality gasket sets for a reasonable price, propbably made by the OEM supplier. I know that a set I bought from Coopers were "Erhling" brand who were the OEM supplier.
Just google or look at the suppliers on this forum.

Regards Philip A

[Pedro_The_Swift]

mate,, just a thought,,

if I HAD to spend that kind of dough on the engine,
I'd be looking at some form of power increase,,
stroker kit, bigger block,

just a thought,,:angel:

[d2-v8]

ummm.... more power!! It had crossed my mind, but then again I'm most interested in reliability I think, I say I think, the thought of a tuned up v8 is appealling.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

if the heads HAD to come off,
at the very least I'd be sticking a cam in there.

edit;
go here,,
http://www.v8engines.com/engine-6.htm

[fourteen8]

is the stain orange?
mine used to leak from the same spot, left a loverly orange trail down the block,,
dunno about temporary,, mines been "blocked" for well over 12 months,,

What additive did you use?
Mine is losing coolant too. Last time it lost 400ml after 450km or so of 4wding in Paddys Swamp (Queend B'day long weekend) but before that it lost about 300ml after 2500km of normal driving (highway/town). It is hard to find where it leak as we get a quite a bit of rain in Melbourne at the moment.

Maybe its my luck with SUV/4WD, I hava losing coolant problem with 01 Freelander V6 then 98 Grand Vitara V6 and now 2000 D2 TD5.

[simonl8353]

This is what I know from my own experience with symptoms and replacement of the V8 Head Gaskets.

In my case, a loss of coolant at say 100ml in a week getting worse to say 600ml in a week over 18 months and 14,000klm.

In the early stages, no coolant drips anywhere only the odd spot of oil. As it got worse coolant bagan collecting and dripping off the cross member.
Oil loss was negligible but did drip down the engine and again collected then dripped off the cross member.
Did the usual minor stuff, tightened hoses, replaced Header Tank Cap with a new one and monitored on every trip before and after.

No mixing of coolant/oil in the header tank, no loss of pressure, no gases in the header tank, no coolant in the sump, all good there.

More recently though, driveyway beginning to now look like the Amoco Cadiz parked there.

Bit the bullet and for $1750 had the Cylinder Heads removed and Head Gaskets replaced. All good now and completely sealed. (for now).

The cost included a thorough clean of the Heads and skimming the base (apparantly you can do this with a V8, but the TD5 becomes a problem as the skin is hardened on the cylinder head faces and you need to be careful not to remove it all when skimming).

Block was pressure checked for cracks (overnight for 14hrs) with no loss of pressure and liners obviously checked for slipping, again all good in my case.

So it was just a straight forward HG replacement.:)

I found out that my D2 had a new radiator and top hose fitted about 1 yr before I bought it, this indicates to me it was possibly all caused initially by overheating.

Best of luck

[fourteen8]

Thanks simonl8353.

I bought and received the enignesaver/tm2 unit from Davy. It was quick and very friendly service, Thanks davy. For precaution in case I lost all the coolant in some stage.

I read on some of the thread that I might be lucky by just doing retension of the head bolt. I am thinking to do this soon hopefully next weekend after check all any possible leak (hoses etc) this weekend. What do you think about retensioning the head bolt? Is that a good idea?

I just got this car about 2 months or so ago and it has service history stamped from the local and other state LR dealer but there is no actually list of job/work they had done. Is possible to get them by calling only LR dealer here in Melbourne? Or I need to call each one individual dealer?

[simonl8353]

Cant answer the re-tension head bolt thing, I wouldnt have thought that would not work if theres even a slight leak in the HG. But whats to loose!

As for repair history, I went through the service book and rang the two LR dealers who had stamped the book, they were both very forthcomming with info on when and for what the car was brought in for, they just looked it up in their records and told me over the phone, I suggest you ask nicely though :cool:, I have a wit and charm that sometimes only I find amazing!

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I just got this car about 2 months or so ago and it has service history stamped from the local and other state LR dealer but there is no actually list of job/work they had done. Is possible to get them by calling only LR dealer here in Melbourne? Or I need to call each one individual dealer?




As for repair history, I went through the service book and rang the two LR dealers who had stamped the book, they were both very forthcomming with info on when and for what the car was brought in for, they just looked it up in their records and told me over the phone, I suggest you ask nicely though :cool:, I have a wit and charm that sometimes only I find amazing!

as Simon says;)

Ring EVERYBODY!

be nice, introduce yourself, explain your problem, be polite,, ask LOTS of questions that are PERTINATE to your problem,,
write everything down,including the name of the gentleman you talk to,,

[imatt]

Hi all,
Soon after I bought my D2 V8 I had it serviced by a local car dealership and they informed me that it had a leaking head gasket on the left rear, I was not happy so I rang the mechanic who did the pre purchase inspection and questioned him. He told me that when he pressure tested the system it was fine and all compression tests were fine, he also suggested I could try silver seal an additive that is used to seal leaking head gaskets. I took the car back to where it was bought and they had a mechanic test it and they could not fault the head gasket, so I added some silver seal as cheap insurance, and since then I've had no coolant loss and no major problems, although I always wonder if something might one day give. If the engine gives up or needs the gaskets replacing as long as I have some spare cash I will be modifying it to either a 4.6 or something with some more poke. If you are going to spend a couple of grand you might as well spend a bit more and reap the rewards.
Cheers Matt:twobeers: