Thread: Heads or not?

Originally Posted by Dozer2

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll be skipping the leak down testing and taking the engine apart this weekend to replace the head gaskets. Good to know it doesn't look like more than leaks. Spark plugs and cylinders looked dry when I replaced the plugs and leads 200 km ago.

The motor isn't that clean, just been degreasing it to find the oil leak. The leaks aren't terminal, no overheating yet, and most vehicles, discos or not, will need an engine refresh when they've done 200000 km.

Will be nice when it doesn't smell like syrup, as my kids say. Been a few requests for pancakes this week.

Shell

They are a pretty simple car to work on and fun.

Hopefully it's a simple gasket change over which in all likelihood it is.

You should look for the thread started by Ozcsott. Heaps of reference material and opinions in that thread.

Originally Posted by Andrew D

Yeah, crazy statement.

Still stand by it though and would suggest to anyone looking at a D2 to have the same outlook as a person walking into a Casino to have a punt. Be willing to lose and set a limit. Obviously you may get lucky but the odds are stacked against you.

I'm sure there are other brands that perform exactly the same but the D2V8 has a manufacturing flaw which LR took a punt on. The driver/owner is the loser eventually.

ANY 15+ year old car is going to have some problems and with ANY 2nd hand vehicle you are taking a certain amount of risk buying it, That's why they are FAR cheaper than a new truck.
I have spent $10,000+ on my D2a V8 over the last 3-4 years on repairs and Modifications But at the end of the day it is probably just as reliable as a new 4WD.
EVERY Brand and model of car/truck has something wrong with it from day 1, often called a common fault.
You May have had a bad experience with a D2 and I feel for you But that doesn't make Every D2 a piece of crap, I am coming up to 300,000K's on mine and I am fully confident it will do another 200,000K's Because I "MAINTAIN" in "As New" condition mechanically like I do all my other vehicles.
An Ounce of prevention can save you a Ton of repairs.
The Previous Owner of my 2004 D2a most definitely neglected to service the truck properly which was blatantly obvious when the sump and the heads

were removed by the massive amount of Sludge present, All of which has now been removed and the engine (Despite the high mileage and neglect) now still runs like a Swiss watch.
You can "Bag" D2's all you like But in comparison to my 2012 Navara and my 2007 79 series V8 the D2a V8 is the "Pick of the Litter" as far as I am concerned off and on road

Originally Posted by trout1105

ANY 15+ year old car is going to have some problems and with ANY 2nd hand vehicle you are taking a certain amount of risk buying it, That's why they are FAR cheaper than a new truck.
I have spent $10,000+ on my D2a V8 over the last 3-4 years on repairs and Modifications But at the end of the day it is probably just as reliable as a new 4WD.
EVERY Brand and model of car/truck has something wrong with it from day 1, often called a common fault.
You May have had a bad experience with a D2 and I feel for you But that doesn't make Every D2 a piece of crap, I am coming up to 300,000K's on mine and I am fully confident it will do another 200,000K's Because I "MAINTAIN" in "As New" condition mechanically like I do all my other vehicles.
An Ounce of prevention can save you a Ton of repairs.
The Previous Owner of my 2004 D2a most definitely neglected to service the truck properly which was blatantly obvious when the sump and the heads

were removed by the massive amount of Sludge present, All of which has now been removed and the engine (Despite the high mileage and neglect) now still runs like a Swiss watch.
You can "Bag" D2's all you like But in comparison to my 2012 Navara and my 2007 79 series V8 the D2a V8 is the "Pick of the Litter" as far as I am concerned off and on road

I don't consider significant engine failure as 'some problems'. It's well documented the issue with liners and thin walls of the engine bores. I didn't have a slipped liner per se, it was more a thin walled bore. I owned my D2 from 2007 until 2018. Looked after like a respectable car owner would and in all fairness it was a soccer mums car. Wasn't used off road. Services at intervals no greater than 10K. Always replaced the oil filter with the oil etc. Replaced parts with genuine parts on nearly every occasion. Trust me, it was very well look after.

I'm not saying every D2 is a piece of crap but any D2V8 is a risky buy especially at the 15+ mark and I would strongly recommend against it. (I recall saying rocks in the head earlier)

Ultimately, if my rig was still going I would still have it but the D2 engines are a total punt. The rest of the car is excellent unfortunately it's the engine that gets you from A to B.

I don't exactly regret buying a D2, just saying you would be nuts to buy one now. Way past the bell curve.

To guys who still have a D2. Best of luck and I hope they bring you many more happy days. Keep living the dream. I can only dream myself. (it wasn't a nightmare even though it might sound that way).

Got the rocker covers, upper manifold, and various front bits off so far. Will share a pic of the head gaskets in a few days.

Originally Posted by Andrew D

You should look for the thread started by Ozcsott. Heaps of reference material and opinions in that thread.

Good informative thread, thanks for suggesting. Did you ever find out what the green mark on your block was? Found one on mine when I did the timing cover bits.

Shell

Te colours were marked on the block when they were xrayed to see if the sleeves were centred in the casting.
AFAIR there were red yellow green and the green ie best were keptfor 4.6.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by trout1105

ANY 15+ year old car is going to have some problems and with ANY 2nd hand vehicle you are taking a certain amount of risk buying it, That's why they are FAR cheaper than a new truck.
I have spent $10,000+ on my D2a V8 over the last 3-4 years on repairs and Modifications But at the end of the day it is probably just as reliable as a new 4WD.

Agree, and this is my intention with my D2. I bought it cheap, suspiciously cheap, because I knew it needed work and factored sump, timing cover, valley gaskets, and eventually heads into my budget. When I'm done it will still be a bargain at around $5000, including purchase price, and having done the work myself, I can be sure of its reliability when complete.

Shell

Originally Posted by Dozer2

Agree, and this is my intention with my D2. I bought it cheap, suspiciously cheap, because I knew it needed work and factored sump, timing cover, valley gaskets, and eventually heads into my budget. When I'm done it will still be a bargain at around $5000, including purchase price, and having done the work myself, I can be sure of its reliability when complete.

Shell

That $5000 budget is pretty optimistic considering the cost of parts alone especially if the truck has already got problems with it.
Yes you can buy Cheap aftermarket parts But as always you will get Exactly what you pay for.
One the first ( and cheapest) things I would be doing is to drain/flush/refill the diffs and the transfer case and give the auto a service because these are usually ignored by Many owners sadly.
If you suspect that the head gaskets are shot then change them out BEFORE you cook the engine and get the heads serviced at the same time.
A lot of components on the D2 are Not serviceable and expensive to replace Maybe look around for GOOD used parts to stretch the budget.
Anyway Most importantly have FUN fixing and driving your D2

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Te colours were marked on the block when they were xrayed to see if the sleeves were centred in the casting.
AFAIR there were red yellow green and the green ie best were keptfor 4.6.
Regards Philip A

I have heard of blue, yellow and red. Not green.

I have seen a red, a blue and a green but never a yellow.

I had a green short block and it was still poor quality. I'm also under the impression red was the better quality ones. I would think green would be middle of the road with acceptance.

This guys talks a lot but fast forward to 6:58 YouTube. (I notice this guys has both a blue and red tag and there is possibly some other secret code here).

To explain the green, maybe LR had excess paint one day and decided to mix the blue and yellow together or alternatively they didn't need three colours to distinguish poor quality. Green = crap, Red = not as crap as green.