seeping coolant from head gasket

[MAD MAT]

got a disco v8 4.0 2000 model . was losing small amounts of coolant on long trips . never overheated in 2 years ive had it . after changing to red oat coolant the small leaks all became easy to find . had a leaking gasket on throttle body easy fix . now i can see its slowly seeping from head gasket on front of engine . not sure if it has been seeping from there very long . starting to wonder about some of the comments ive seen on this site about the oat coolant being hard on seals . some reckon its the right gear to use . as its recommended by landrover for the discos. others say there engines started leaking soon after using it . maybe it just makes it more obvious you have some small leaks that were already there . not sure . any way what im asking is any body out there thats been through this give me your advice . is it worth just keeping an eye on it . trying some silver seal . anyone had success with this . whats it gunna cost me to get head gaskets changed if thats all thats needed. discos got 180 ks on it and runs real nice

[justinc]

Unfortunately quite common, at 180K I'd be giving the heads a valve job, and refit genuine (Elring) gaskets. Use Non OAT either a Hybrid or straight Glycol coolant afterwards.

Silver seal will work for a while, BUT if left leaking for a long while the block face and head faces may corrode/ oxidise further and make it difficult to get a good surface to reseal against due to pitting.

Genuine gaskets aren't that pricey, and that is the only ones I'd fit to them.
Bank on about 11 hours at least, and whatever the machine shop charges for head overhauls.


JC

[scarry]

Admittedly a different engine,but my brothers 3.5 was weeping for a couple of yrs,done 270k.
He did the job himself,had the heads redone,also replaced the camshaft etc.
Camshaft wasn't badly worn,job actually wasn't that difficult,now runs better,no more leaks.

[fourteen8]

Unfortunately quite common, at 180K I'd be giving the heads a valve job, and refit genuine (Elring) gaskets. Use Non OAT either a Hybrid or straight Glycol coolant afterwards.

Silver seal will work for a while, BUT if left leaking for a long while the block face and head faces may corrode/ oxidise further and make it difficult to get a good surface to reseal against due to pitting.

Genuine gaskets aren't that pricey, and that is the only ones I'd fit to them.
Bank on about 11 hours at least, and whatever the machine shop charges for head overhauls.


JC

Hi JC. Where can I get a Hybrid or straight Glycol coolant ? What brand?

[justinc]

Hi JC. Where can I get a Hybrid or straight Glycol coolant ? What brand?

Check this thread/ page:)

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/42080-choice-coolant-d2-radiators-2.html

JC