Thread: D2 V8 Head Gasket Oil Leak Cure?

I was talking to my Land Rover guy last week (20 years looking after LR's in Sydney)..

They feel they have found a good cure for the D2 Head Gasket Issue.

A customer of theirs came an told them about the heads for the Thor V8 being made symetrical so they did not have to make left and right hand heads.

They did this by drilling an oil feed at the front and back as only one is required at the front.

The problem is that the oil still gets pushed down the rear and is stopped by the head gaskets. Over time the oil will push between the gaskets and leak.

Their customer had covered the rear oil return hole with a thin metal shim. The car had done 80,000 since the modification and no oil leaks at all!.

The specialist has started doing this modification when they now do heads,

So this could save some people a lot of time and money! Has anyone else heard of this ? as I cant find a thread..

I have looked a photo of a head and yes there are two holes when only one is required!

All Rover V8 heads have been symmetrical since the year dot and this is the first time I've heard of this problem. You would still end up with one oil gallery through the head gasket, and any leakage would be internal to the valley cover and you'd never see it. Any problems around the rear oil passage would be more likely to be block warpage issues.