I have owned my 1999 DII for about 6 months now(bought it through this forum from a member), before that I owned a 1997 DI and absolutely loved it. So far, my DII has had it's troubles... I've replaced 3 door lock actuators, the ignition switch and drivers door handle/lock, the water pump, nearly all coolant hoses and the passenger side headlight. I've enjoyed the work so far(except when the hood got stuck closed and I spent three hours dismantling the front end to get the darn release cable clipped in back where it belongs!).

My new problem is one that worries me a bit. The land rover has 103K on it at the moment and runs perfectly. I have two cars and I split the driving between them, so it doesn't get driven daily. There is a small coolant leak coming from the passenger side, at the rear of the engine. I only noticed the leak because my check engine light appeared and the code was the for the passenger side O2 sensor, which I then inspected and found to be pretty covered in coolant residue!

When I start the rover, nothing leaks. Even once the temp gauge hits the middle, it seems okay. Then about 10 minute later it slowly starts dripping down until it is actually coming out at a pretty good pace (still dripping though). I know head gaskets are a common failure point on these engines, so I'm nervous about that. Before I really start digging in (or take it to a shop...) is there anything else that could be leaking back there that I should look into?

I should also mention, the truck has never overheated and continues to run perfectly with no error codes/misfires and I just did an oil change last Sunday and didn't see anything weird in the oil (definitely not milky).

Any help would be appreciated!

 

You need to find the source of the leak, there are a number of things it could be, there are hoses back there, the intake could be leaking, or it could be the head gasket. I would suggest a pressure test (you can check with a local parts store to see if you can borrow or rent one) An inspection mirror (a small mirror mounted on an extendable rod like a car antenna) and a flashlight. Pressurize the system to 15 PSI and then look for the leak. It could be as simple as tightening a hose clamp (or more serious) but you're not going to know without diagnosing it.

 

I agree, except, pressure test the engine to 18 pounds of pressure and hold it for 15 plus minutes or till you have found the issue.
Let us know what you find.

 

Thank you for the info! I found the problem is indeed the head gasket. I am tempted to try and fix this myself, but I am a bit nervous and have a very busy work schedule. Does anyone know of any good land rover shops in the sf Bay Area, CA?

Anyone have any feedback on how much I pay for the repair from a reasonable shop?

Thanks again for the help so far! I'm looking forward to getting my rover back on the road ASAP!

 

In the Bay this may be $2,500 to $3,000.

There is a Vietnamese guy in Los Gatos on highway 9.
I have seen him tear engines out of all sorts of stuff.

There is an indy shop in the Bay - expensive.

I could do it for $1,500 for you---
If I was down there..

I did mine in a parking lot in Colorado.

Flickr: Landroverdude2's Photostream

 

yeah, just do it in your driveway if you can't get it into the garage..

2001 Land Rover Discovery II Replace Head Gasket | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

If you can't take the time to fix it then call Tony at Cerrone's in Redwood city, great shop.

 

man...those are super cool and helpful.

 

Thank you for the info! Upon further inspection I found the heads were indeed the problem. Since the leak was quite bad, I didn't want to drive it far, so I took it to a shop about 20 miles from my house. I'm traveling on business, and they are just finishing up the work, so when I get back it town I'll have my rover back and ready for another 100k(I'm hoping!)

For those that are wondering, it cost $2.5k. Which, is A LOT. But to me it's worth it, I plan on keeping the truck for a long time and I truly enjoy driving it.

 

$2.5 K is the standard price.
If it took me two days to change head gaskets on Rovers,
I would do that day in and day out.

I would end up fairly well off.