I have a '02 discovery with a small leak in the back of the right head. I have checked for exhaust gas in the coolant and and I have no water in the oil or steam from tailpipe. It is a very slow leak so my question is should I replace the head gaskets now or keep an eye on the leak and coolant levels?

 

Replace them now, one day it could just blow and cause additional damage to your engine.

 

start ordering parts

 

The back of the head is a favorite place for the gaskets, which are quite slim in that area around the water channel, to fail. Can fail external or internal or to oil or all three. And if you think a double jug of stopz leakz coolant sealer will fix it, it might, for a short period of time, and it may well also clog up the radiator and other parts of the cooling system.

There have also been reports of the valley pan gasket leaking, with bolts at the rear found finger-tite. So be sure where leak is starting from. A coolant pressure tester borrowed from parts store can do this while engine is off and cool.

 

Get the leak check done, if its leaking at the head, order the head gasket kit form AB or whom ever you choose. Will cost you a couple hundred and some time but better than letting someone else do it. and pay 10 times as much, at least. If you haven't downloaded the Rave manual do that and read over what it take, not too bad. Also in the stickeys there are some tips

 

Thanks for the advice. I plan to get started right away, I can get the Fel-Pro gasket set at cost from a friend in the business are they okay to use?

 

Even at retail the kit of parts and new bolts (don't re-use old ones if DIY) is modest. Like $300 tops. Will take average DIY backyard mechanic 2 weekends under the hood, with machine shop inbetween. They test for flatness (.002 inch) and machine if needed. Don't skip that test. Local machine shop can give a quote over phone. Maybe $200, or less.

 

Buy the kit so you get the correct gaskets made with the proper material. Make sure you do not buy head bolts made in China. If you still have the factory grey plug wires, change them out for a set of 8 mm silicone wires like STI' or Magencor's.

 

Fel pro -?? Depends who they get the gasket from.

Make sure it is a Victor Reinz HG set from Germany,
not a Fel Pro sourced from China.

I would not trust Fel pro with a rover head gasket.
After all that work..
no way.

 

While I am waiting on the heads to get finished I came across this article about rotten blocks. Has anyone else heard of this?
JE Robison Service — the blog: All you ever wanted to know about . . Land Rover V8 Engine Failures