Thread: D2 V8 $$$'s busted.. Oh Dear...

Assuming no major changes between a 3.9 and a 4. yes oil leeks from the head gasket at the back of the head are not that uncommon.

oil comes up the front of the block and into the head. since the heads are the same ( no left or right) the heads have the oil hole in the back as well, but there is no corresponding oil hole in the block, the head gasket seals this and seems to fail with age.

Hope it works out for you Sully. Here's my new ownership and statutory warranty story with my D2a V8:

When I bought mine last July, it was from a car yard on Parramatta Rd in Sydney and it presented well. Took it for a test drive and the amigos came to life, the left rear airbag failed when I parked it(it was parked diagonally on a slope so I had no idea ) and I took a look underneath the motor and saw coolant stains on the front diff. There was a bit of oil and accumulated greasy gunk stuck on the webbing on the block. I bought extended warranty and asked them to fix the amigos before I picked it up. I caught the train down to Sydney and picked it up a few days later.

The rear left airbag failed whilst putting fuel in it on the way home. I also noticed that there was an active coolant leak when I got home in addition to the usual oil leaks. I traced the coolant leak to be either on the corner of the LH head or the inlet gasket above. A bottle of radiator stop leak has worked until I have time to replace both head gaskets and the valley gasket.

As for statutory warranty, I called the caryard and told them I wanted a cheque for the cost of sourcing a replacement airbag from the states. I bought the new airbag and replaced mine in 30 mins but was offended when they tried to negotiate on a price. Put simply, the bag cost $270 delivered and they wanted to give me $200. I then demanded more for the cost of a complete composite head gasket/inlet gasket/head bolt/rocker cover gasket set and again they thought that it would be good to negotiate on price. I explained that it would be cheaper doing it this way otherwise they can organise a tow truck from the Hunter Valley to Sydney and pay someone the labour costs to do the job. They agreed with my proposal and sent a cheque only after I made enquiries with fair trading.

The disco is well sorted now. The amigos were never fixed and come up from time to time and I've had a dodgy front passenger door lock failure which I fixed for $30. I cannot say that I didn't know about all of these known issues so I did take a risk but being a spanner man, I was not too worried. The site discovery2.co.uk was very handy for maintenance. Preventative maintenance or the lack of with prior owners seems to be the issue with mine and probably yours.

Personally, I would have a third party who does roadworthys look at the vehicle and advise you if they would certify safe it or not. I'm pretty sure that a dealer sold vehicle is to be free of oil leaks if they drop onto the floor within a certain timeframe.

The best way to have anything sorted in VIC, is to call consumer affairs, they are the governing body on all things waranty and sales related. Have them state something in writing that the dealer is in the wrong, advise dealer. Wait for phone call to book in for repairs.

If they are doing the dodge, any mention of consumer affairs should make them quiver. If they still refuse, send the dealer a letter in writing that you and whatever authorised mechanic has advised that the vehicle was unroadworthy ans therefore unsafe and illegal to sell as they did, and you intend to seek compensation/repair action from the buisness. Copy this and send it to consumer affairs with a complaint form. Wait for the phone call from your c/a case manager with the results.

This is what happened to me, 2 months ago with the purchase of my td5.

goodluck

Hi,
Just my 2 cents worth - try VACC in victoria if you haven't already done so.

Link here:

Buying or repairing a car

Other useful links:

http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/CA256... Used Car~&3=~

http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/...oadworthiness/


Congratulations on the upcoming wedding and up-coming arrival of bubs :-)

Cheers,
Lp

ps - as a side note, I purchased my landy w/ over 200K on the clock and almost 2 years on the problems with leaks (some of what you have mentioned) have just surfaced - quite common. But I am with you on principal - good luck and hope it all gets sorted :-)

pps - nothing wrong with living in sin... makes it more fun!

Whats the latest Sully?

Really hope your D2 comes good through this. Fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by simonl8353

Whats the latest Sully?

Really hope your D2 comes good through this. Fingers crossed.

Yeah Sully, haven't heard from you in a while which is really unusual lol

Hey everyone, thanks for the messages. I've been
On a bit of a holiday from work and totally preoccupied from the Internet.

There's no real news on the disco yet. I've sent a letter to the dealer highlighting all of the issues that would prevent it from passing RWC, even those outside of the current mechanical issues. (odd tyre on rear left, stripped security nuts, no wheel brace, discs below minimum thickness, broken horn button - all would deem a RWC fail)
I've also asked for the details of the mechanic and threatened reporting the situation to the VACC.

The dealer has confirmed receipt of the letter and said he'd get back to me on Thursday. Alas, I've still not heard from him, which says to me that he's trying to buy some time or flat out avoid the issue.

I'll try calling the guy tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

Good luck with it Sully...but you really haven't lived until you get a $12K repair bill from a stealer...