I have a 2001 Land Rover Discovery. A year ago the head gaskets were replaced. Now, exactly a year later, my mechanic is telling me that the head gaskets are a problem. I had the auto towed to the mechanic who did the job a year ago (a different mechanic who just 2 days ago diagnosed it as head gasket problem). It has been over 24 hours and I still have not heard a diagnosis from them. Can you please tell me what I should watch out for? I am afraid I am going to be taken advantage of and lied to.

 

1. The chance of being lied to by a mechanic just before Christmas when all available funds are usually sent elsewhere... hmmmm. Depends on the ethics of the man involved.

2. Head gaskets as a rule can cause loss of coolant (it keeps dropping) - which goes into oil (making it milky and ruining engine bearings), leaks out on the ground, and/or burns in the combustion chamber and makes white smoke out the tail pipe along with a "sweet" smell of antifreeze.

3. Head gaskets in a Disco can announce themselves by sending bubbles through the coolant, which makes a water rushing sound under the dash. This is a diagnostic tool.

4. Head gaskets frequently make severe or elevated over heating. But theuy are not the only thing that can make overheat.

5. There is a chemical test that checks for exhaust gas (or combustion gas) in coolant. Car parts store sells it for $50, it will do maybe 10 - 15 tests. It is pretty good at establishing what the problem is.

6. There are other gaskets that can leak coolant and mimic some of a HG problem. One is the valley pan gasket, which separates the intake manifold from the engine block. Cheaper to fix. A number of members who have done their own head gaskets report finding the intake manifold bolts loose, whcih contributes to a valley pan leak.

7. Bad head gaskets can cause the aluminum head to warp. The factory standard for flatness is .002 inch, your printer paper is .0038 inch, so it is not much. A machine shop can mill them back flat. Usually machine shop work is about $200 for a Rover. Beware of my shade tree cousin Bubba with his belt sander....

8. A coolant pressure test will show if coolant is leaking, by pumping up air inside the system to 20 PSI and waiting for a leak, or pressure to change. You can borrow that equipment from a car parts store.

9. If the mechanic says they can fix it by re-torquing the bolts - stop. The head bolts on a Disco stretch to spec when tightened, and they cannot be re-used.

10. If the mechanic or a pal suggests a jug of liquid fairy powder stopz leekz, to seal up the leak, consider this: a leak will take maybe a match head size of material to fix (temporarily). The rest of the material circulates and eventually sinks to the bottom, clogging part of radiator and making engine over heat, or doing same to thermostat.

Now that we have told you gloom and doom, what are your symptoms? What does mechanic say is the exact problem (he has his hand on the motor, we are having to use our Jedi mind tricks to envision it)?

 

I'd try to take it to a shop that knows Rovers if possible. I'd also ask what factors lead the tech to diagnose it as a HG problem. Finally, you may be able to fix it yourself. It'll take enough time, basic quality tools, space, willingness to get dirty, and determination, but you'll save money and learn a lot about your Rover.

 

It becomes a decision of what to invest your time and money in. If you can do it yourself, great. If you gotta pay a shop to do it, you are looking at quite an expenditure.

Either way will not be cheap. You may want to even consider jumping ship and not putting that much in it. Hard to say what is the best path. Get some firm prices and be prepared for shock therapy.

Best of luck figuring out which path to take.

 

Yep to all of the above. I did not mention dollars, but basic parts is about $300, machine shop is another $200. An indy shop will charge $1500 - $1700 for the whole job, it is about 12 hours labor to them. So with this kind of folding money on the line, you would want to be sure about the diagnosis.

 

Thank you for your replies. My auto is currently at a Land Rover only shop which is supposed to be good. What leads me to believe they may be a bit "shady" is that even before diagnosing the car they wanted to see my extended warranty. I told them it does not cover HG, however, they knew the warranty company and the small dealer I bought the car and warranty from and insisted the warranty proabably does cover it. I have still not heard anything from them (car was towed to them yesterday early a.m.) and have not faxed over the warranty as I want their diagnosis first. Just to reiterate, my car was originally taken to a different mechanic 2 days ago who diagnosed it as the HG and from what you all wrote in reply to me, it does very much sound like the problem.

 

Also, the Rover shop it is at currently is the shop that fixed my HG problem a year ago. Shouldn't they guarantee their work? Someone told me they may not have sealed it properly.

 

HG should not fail that soon. It must have either overheated, been a bad gasket or stretch bolt, torqued incorrectly, or mating surfaces not flat, smooth, or clean enough, or stuck valve.

 

Depends on the shop. Some shops will provide a year warranty on the labor, some shops only pass on the warranty on the parts, usually a year for oem parts.

 

With respect to "sealing", Rover shop manual calls for them to be installed "dry". See attached page from the RAVE shop manual. However, that's for head gaskets. The valley pan gasket, which would have been done at same time needs sealant. Page for that attached.

Now we have told you a lot, but you have not told us the symtoms, and something you have to offer could make responses move in one direction or another. You have told us it sounds like the problem, but that's about all. Who fixes the truck is one issue, what has to be done to fix it is quite another.

BTW, you may get even better responses if you post in the correct part of the forum, you have a D2, but are in the D1, which has fewer sets of Mark 1 eyeballs looking it over.