Thinking about doing the headgaskets on my 99 d1. It runs fine right now although there is an external coolant leak coming from the left side of the motor- cant see exactly where its coming from. it does not overheat and it has not been overheated for the 6 months ive owned it.
I know i should send the heads out to get checked and resurfaced for peace of mind but the machine shop said its about 2 days, even if i called ahead.
I would be down to one vehicle for my wife and i, Im working outside and the weather is decent right now i want to get it done as quick as possible.
Would you definatly get the heads checked even if it adds a day or 2 to the job?

 

Yes. The spec for warped head is .002 inch. Take a piece of printer paper, put on table, slide finger over the edge. That is about .0038 inch. They'll also do your valve seals (not guides) while there with parts from your kit of parts (about $300, with new bolts). Now you can check yourself with a feeler gauge and a known perfect straightedge.

Info attached. Pix of HG rear leak, that slot is the water channel, one front, one back; you could also have a valley pan leak very close by, which would not require going all the way to the heads......

 

Thats what i figured... asked the question and i knew what the answere would be... or at least knew what should be done. Obviously trying to get this done at my convenience ie: before it breaks down, has to be towed, and needs new heads/motor ect.
Thanks, i will start reading up!

 

Where are you going to be buying all the needed gaskets and parts? Shout if you haven't purchased them yet and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction.

 

Mike could you go ahead and post that info for all of us to have?

 

ive ordered a few things from atlantic british, im about 3 hours south of them in ny so cheap shipping ordered at 3pm wednesday= parts delivered by 2pm friday.
i have some time off work in about 2 weeks, so i wouldn't need parts immediately and it wouldn't be a rush job.
If you could show me some options i would consider it. With what i have needed, AB has worked well both time frame and price. For the headgasket kit most important to me is quality. I'm also going to be replacing the water pump.

 

Get the "In Search of the Experience" DVD by Elias Christeas. It's a cool little movie about a cross county Rover trip and has a great step by step head gasket how-to. I would definitely recommend it. I would mail you my copy but if you're doing heads what's another $20 for a good DVD and supporting a great guy in the Rover community at the same time.
Talk to Will Tillery about complete head gaskets kits. Also, the cost of having your heads machined and valves done will vary greatly depending on your location. It's around $500 for that alone around Chicago.