Thread: Series 2 Head Gasket replacement

front and center mr swift!

Originally Posted by Ruff Justice

Hello everyone,
I am told my series 2 v8 discovery requires head gasket replacement due to oil leaks. Does anyone have any experience with this as to cost of the job head machining, valve stem seals etc. Does the engine need to come out to do this job. What would be a reasonable cost to complete the job.

G`day ,

not impossible but leaking oil is not normally a head gasket thing .

Coolant and compression loss are the norm .

The most common cause of oil leaks around the heads is the rocker covers.
Give it a good claen down and watch for where the fresh oil comes from.
I'm sure changing the head gaskets is an expensive job and the shop is trying you out. I was quoted $400 in labour just to replace the rocker cover gaskets in an LR workshop.

James

Thanks for the replies so far. My wife deals with the mechanic(that could be a mistake). I'm not real mechanical but my limited knowledge as a young bloke was that was what a head gasket was....water leaks and over heating.
The vehicle has had oil leaks that have got progressively worse in the last 12 months.

The quote is Head Gasket replacement, head machining + valve stem seals.
Head Gaskets. Head bolts. Valley + end seals. Exhaust Gaskets. Flange studs and nots and rocker cover gaskets (if required). Engine out and 13 hours labour.............??????? Nearly 3 grand all up!

What would you make of that?

The vehicle doesn't run hot or use water.

Thanks in advance

BUMP

Can anyone help out please.??

Originally Posted by Ruff Justice

BUMP

Can anyone help out please.??

If it doesn't use water it probably doesn't need the heads machined. If it doesn't use oil it won't need valve stem seals. If the oil is leaking from the inlet manifold/valley cover that is a couple of hours for a competent mechanic. Say, $250.

First thing, clean the area where oil is seeping and keep an eye on it. If it's not actually dripping, put up with it. It's a Landy, after all.

Secondly find a mechanic that is sympathetic to your vehicle. Spending $3K on an oil leak is for Qantas sized stuff.

Originally Posted by Ruff Justice

The vehicle has had oil leaks that have got progressively worse in the last 12 months.

The quote is Head Gasket replacement, head machining + valve stem seals.
Head Gaskets. Head bolts. Valley + end seals. Exhaust Gaskets. Flange studs and nots and rocker cover gaskets (if required). Engine out and 13 hours labour.............??????? Nearly 3 grand all up!

What would you make of that?

The vehicle doesn't run hot or use water.

Thanks in advance

G`day ,

i see your problem , it doesn`t make sense on the information you have .

The oil passes through the heads and gaskets to reach the overhead gear , to do this the oil goes through drillings at either end of the heads on each head .

The drillings are about 1/8 of an inch , they are located on the valley side ( inlet manifold but below ) , they are approx 10mm from the engine valley and at least 25mm from the combustion chambers and approx 40mm from the ends of the heads .

If the oil passage within the gasket was to leak the only place that it could really go is into the valley , inside the engine where the oil should be and unless there was some overhead lack of oil etc would be un-noticable and is very UNLIKELY .

With the infomation you have there would be NO REASON to take the engine out the work given is all engine in .

It is common to lose oil via rocker cover gaskets it is also common to lose oil via the valley cover end seals .

Out of interest how many Ks has it done ?

I`d suggest you need to find out why they feel the work is needed although the engine out part can`t make sense unless they need to do something at the crankshaft or a reason the engine and transmittion need seperating and wait for them to talk crankshaft/seperation don`t offer it .

I`d also suggest unless it`s the only option that a different business may be a better option or if possible at least lift the bonnet and get an opinion from another .

peter

Comments from everyone sound spot on to me. By the way, another site for oil leaks is the oil filter - especially on the TD5, it is practically impossible to tighten.

I suggest a spray can of engine degreaser and hose off is called for, then take a look a few k's later to see where it's coming from.

Good luck, though it sounds to me you don't need it - wish my car had your problems and not the ones it's had.