Passenger side head gasket is blown on my '97 DI V8 at 181,000 miles. Cylinder #8 right below the spark plug, so it's not between the cylinders. I have the blisters to prove it. It was making a whistling/chirping noise for the past week until yesterday when it got much louder about two minutes before I got home. (See attached video.) There was some slow coolant loss which I thought was due to the small leak in the radiator--which is less than two years old (!)--but now I know where it was going. Poof.

I initially thought it was the exhaust manifold leaking and tightened a couple of loosening studs at cylinders 3 & 8. The noise went away briefly but was coming back once the engine was at full operating temp. There is also an exhaust leak on the Y-pipe flange which you can see in the photo, but I can have that welded. (I'm also aware of the heater hose that leaked onto the rocker cover which will be replaced in the process.

So... beginning the tear down shortly and taking the head to my local shop to have it inspected for cracks and machined if it's not cracked. Luckily the mechanic will do all the gasket work for $450 + the $155 kit from BP of Utah. But fingers crossed. I did a full cleanup of the rocker assemblies on both sides last year, so I'm just going down to the next level. Any observations/advice/tips are welcome and appreciated.

 

So how's it going so far?

 

Hey, good to hear from you again. I found a reputable guy near L.A. who does nothing but head gaskets on Discos and P38s--full top end gasket job including machining, valves, parts and labor for about $1000. Pretty good deal so I'm just gonna pay him to do everything since my work schedule is busy and about to get busier.

Also going to replace the entire exhaust system soup to nuts--manifolds, y-pipe, O2 sensors and mufflers. It needs it. So right now I'm just saving the dough to get it all done at once when I can. Hoping to have it back on the road in the next couple of months. I'll post more updates when it happens.

 

Cool, sorry it turned out to be a head gasket after all...... not unusual with these motors. For having somebody else do the job and machining that's not a terribly high price. Post back with the results. You may want to pass the guys info on or add it to the list of folks we trust; https://landroverforums.com/forum/ge...s-state-72626/

 

Thanks, will do!

 

Update: Haven't been able to make any progress on the repair due to overtime, other bills, etc., so hoping to get everything done this spring. Meanwhile the truck has been sitting idle in the driveway for the last four months. I have to start it up next week to move it into the street in front of the house. Should only have it running for a minute or so at most. Any tips on what I should do before starting it up since it's been sitting for several months?

In other news, I bought a 2013 Hyundai Elantra with only 16K on it in December, so no more worries with basic transportation. :-)

 

Not really much needed to do if it hasn't been running, make sure the battery's charged and that's about it. 16k in three years, must of been old people.......

 

I've kept the battery disconnected and it's an Optima so it's good to go.

Haha, old people... Car was a lease return and has most of its warranty left. It's nice to have something that gets 30+ mpg for once. Win-win.

Thanks!

 

Just gonna throw my two cents in here. When I have been forced to idle my truck for extended periods of time, the major issue afterwards was always the brakes. The rotors would rust up, and calipers would freeze.

So I would suggest that if you are going to run the truck, take it for a quick jog around the block and exercise the brakes, just to use them and clean off the rotors.

That's what I would do.

 

Will do and thanks for the tip!