It was so cheap I couldn't help it. I bought a 97 disco from a short term owner with no service history in the last 50K. Straight body, no rust, and runs like a top. I just sold a 97 Landcruiser, and I can honestly say I like the Rover better (and less than 1/3 the price!) I was amazed when I drove it 600 miles from Seattle and it used no oil or water, the overflow tank didn't explode, the driveshaft didn't come through the floor, and I never lost the steering! There's a laundry list of little stuff to fix, so I'm ready to drop money on tires, 60K service etc.

So the question is: How many Disco's make 150K without having had the gaskets done? I saw one thread on it with only 3 people saying they made it that far. I'm prepared to do them if/when I have to, but the cheapskate in me hopes that the odds are slim that they haven't already been done.

 

Your right at the ragged edge of needing them. I think general consensus is 120k. You can wait for failure or do the inevitable.

I too owned an FJ80. I like my Rover far better.

 

I have a 99 D1 at 180,000 mile, I'm also hoping that I won't have to do a head gasket job. Just ran it today and upon revving up it put out some blueish gray smoke. Sigh

 

If the smoke is white you've just elected a new head gasket Pope. If not well then it's still under deliberation..... Usually blue/gray is oil getting past the valve stem seals, hard as a rock.

 

Ok mine is blue so probably valve stem seals. But now that I think about it I used brake cleaning fluid to clean the fuel injectors and it might need to burn out for a while.

Happy Easter BTW

 

So did yours go 190K on the original head gaskets?

 

Mine went at 125k and then at 147k and now at 192k knock on wood, no issues...... Both times they went they did not let go at the front or back - cooling ports - they went in the middle where the cylinders are siamesed. Nothing more than a phit, phit, phit sound. (I pull the plug on that injector and the motor keeps right on churning until my gaskets arrive.) I've now used two different makers of Rover head gaskets, Elring, and Felpro and the Felpro win. I also went with two different machine shops and the first one that skinned the heads is no longer in business, the second has been around since the early 70's. What I learned was to check the machining, the first time they left tooling marks deep enough to create a jet that blasted though the gasket. Second time it was mirror finish. Also you must use quality head bolts, first set had really crappy threads, almost saw like. The second set had threads rolled perfectly with no flaws.

If a truck has had at least one major overheat it will eventually surface as a head gasket leak, takes about a year or so. So it's imperative that you keep up on cooling system maintenance otherwise the head gasket fairy will visit you. My expansion tank (original black) ruptured at the seam while I was headed to Augusta Georgia via freeways. I stopped at an O' Reiley's and snagged a Taurus tank, refilled the coolant and on I went. That tank was only replaced with an aftermarket one just last year. I still have it in my spares box just in case. My truck has been a dd for over 6 years now. Never missed a day of work because of it but I also help it to keep going. I'm not **** about it but I keep tabs and hands on it. This year may be it's last though, haven't decided yet. I have a Bimmer 540 in the garage being mildly overhauled to take over. The Rover needs some welded TLC, starting to rot in places that take more than a weekend to address.

Enjoy your truck, keep an eye on it and learn as much as you can by reading the Rave and drop into the many Rover forums......every one of em has a different "flavor".

There are folks I know who've gone well over 200k with zero issues and in fact they're motor sounds even better than mine.......YMMV.

 

Thanks for the excellent reply. It looks like the truck was generally well serviced, and it really does run like glass. The valve cover gaskets are leaking pretty good, so that makes me think they must have some miles on them. I can see the valve cover gaskets where replaced at 30K per the carfax. If it had the head gaskets done at 120K I would expect they could be leaking again.

I suppose I'll just keep my fingers crossed and keep and eye on the temp guage and fluids, and hope for the best!

 

If there's never been an overheat issue there's no need to worry. Better yet I'll walk you through some basic checks to train you on what to look for to keep it in tip top order.

Always check your water pump bearing. Lift up on the fan from under the fan clutch. Feel any movement up or down? If yes, bad, replace.

Spin your fan with engine off and dead cold. Does fan spin freely like zero resistance or hard to get a revolution out of it? If it spins super easy - replace it now!

Open the bung on top of the radiator, take a looky lou down into the brass abyss. Clean brass on tube ends good, white chalk or any other substance on tube ends bad, flush. Remove radiator from truck, tape off all ports, give er a shot of your favorite acid found at any general hardware - even concentrated citric acid is a great descaler. IF your radiator shows buildup so does your heater core, sucks big time to dig that out but you gotta do it.

Hoses - check em for cracks, frays, very stiff or very soft. Replace if any doubt.

Belt tensioner is common to all serp belted modern engines. Make sure it's giving the belt some hell but not killing it.

Belt routing - This is one that I find fairly common, misrouted serp belt. If it's not overheating now your in good shape but check the routing against the radiator sticker. If you don't have that git the Rave.

If you have a black expansion tank replace it immediately. They fail at the fused seams with the regularity of the sun rise. Get a white one.

Make sure coolant is 50/50, best advise is to change every other season cuz it's cheap. That's twice a year.

Thermostat - you can replace now or check now. 88C is the original. I use the original temp, works. Jiggle pin at 12:00 O' clock position. I'd just replace and not worry, gasket is fairly basic and should have one at the same place you got the t-stat from.

Check the "Tech" section above where we post, lot's o good food there.

Anybody have any more just pile em up here........

 

The valve cover gaskets get hard then leak and they don't stop leaking. Replace those with soft new. Don't try to tighten the old, there is a brass ferrule in each bolt hole and it will just deform and make the leaking worse than if you didn't screw with it....