I just bought a 94 land rover discovery a month ago. the car ran well until two days ago it overheated but the temp gage must of malfunctioned because it read in the middle. my mechanic down the street quoted me 1800 to repair all including labor and i just wanted some feedback on the rate with parts.

complete head gasket set
timing cover gasket
valve cover gasket
crank seal
water pump

I am in houston texas if anyone has any ideas of where i could go to get a better rate if you feel i need one.
I bought the car from an individual and it has 68,000 miles on it and the mechanic said that the engine looked like it had already been partially rebuilt.

 

Could you please be more specific with a description of the actual conditions leading up to the over heat? What happened to alert you to an overheat if not the temp gague? how long did you drive and did you shut it down immediately when the overheat was noticed? Was there any coolant in the resevoir tank or radiator or was it dry?

The answers to those questions will lead us to better know if a rebuild is even feasable... $1800 for all that work including parts is a very good deal IF they guys knows what he is doing and has worked on Land Rovers before.

A '94 with 68k miles sounds a little suspect but it is possible I suppose.

 

1800 doesn't sound like the worst price I've heard for head gaskets. Is the job not something that you'd be willing to attempt yourself?

 

1800 for the head gaskets and water pump and front crank seal sounds good to me.

 

the car made a rattle/dinging sounds and then stopped...i pulled over to the side of the road with white smoke coming out of the hood. When it cooled a bit i looked under the hood and the radiator cap was gone with no fluid. 68,000 miles seems suspect to me as well but the body and interior were in excellent shape so i went ahead and bought it for $3400. Supposedly it was an older man who never drove it that much.

 

Was the expansion tank still there or was that gone too?

 

No this is not a job i could attempt to fix myself.

 

Expansion tank was still there.

 

Well, from what you describe it very well could be blown head gaskets and $1800 for everything he is going to do is a fair price.
Assuming you did not drive it to long with it overheated you will be fine.

 

you may have thrown a sleeve too so be prepared for that phone call from your mechanic in which case you might need a new motor. Word of advice get the RAVE and some wrenches if you can read and have an I.Q. above the "short bus" level you can do alot of repairs yourself and plus these guys on here are extremely knowledgable and will help out with advice anytime they can.
Good luck with your problem.