So about a week ago our Rover started spitting up coolant and the temp gauge shot to the top with warning indicator illuminated. Pulled over and turned the car off. Left it there for a day, then refilled the system and I was able to get it home. Upon ignition the next day I got a ton of nice white smoke from the exhaust, so I am assuming HG are done and I am getting coolant in the heads. No coolant in oil.

After purchasing this vehicle in March, we have had nothing but issues and it has left my wife and kids stranded on more than one occasion, so I am going to try K-Seal to temporarily repair the leak, and use it as a trade and let a dealer deal with it.

So right now there is not a lot of coolant in the system, and it has not been driven in about 2 weeks. I assume I need to refill the system prior to adding the K-Seal? I am going to use the Pour N Go option, as it is readily available and a little cheaper.

Do I need to fill and bleed the system and then add K-Seal or can I add the K-seal when refilling while it gets to operating temp? Does anyone have any experience with this product? Of the options (Blue Devil, Barrs and K-Seal) it seems to be the most recommended and better of the options.

Sad to see our Rover go, but maybe one day we will be in a better position to own one.

 

Try google Steel Seal, I might be trying that soon. LOL!

 

That's a great idea about passing on your issues/troubles to a dealer, that way, in a few months when some-other poor soul spends their hard earned money on it...and it has the same major breakdown, leaving them high and dry...hopefully, they come here to rant...and then...we can start a new topic about "how used car guys are such scum of the earth" for selling such vehicles.

Brilliant.

 

So because I got screwed and misled in my purchase I should suck it up and continue to shell out money on a car that is unreliable for my wife and 2 small children??

When that new topic starts, you do know you have the free choice of responding or not, right? Or do you assume that every thread on here needs your oh so valuable opinion?

 

Dear scumbag, if you can’t afford to repair a Rover you shouldn’t have bought one. Since you can’t afford a Rover, why try to screw the next guy. What a douche bag.

 

A we bought it...



Month later...



Six months later...



Paid premium for rover, dead after draining whatever "oil" the previous owner put in to disguised issues. Yep, it sucked...but, l sucked it up and fixed it...and if I hadn't fixed it, it would have gone to the scrap yard.

Some, suck it up...while others make excuses...or want others to assume the responsibility for their mistakes in life.

If you don't "like" my opinion...please...don't post how you plan on screwing someone else...this will help.

Brian.

 

BMW (when they owned LR) changed the cooling system from a tried and true conventional style to a more complicated system . When the system isn't to spec it sends hot, then cool, then hot coolant in cycles that harm the head gaskets by minute movement of the aluminum heads in these cycles, over time (typically 80,000 - 120,000 miles).

Your leak is a known fault on the d2, the head gaskets are likely shot. I would hazard a guess that your quick fix will not work at all (say 90% certain it won't work) and you may clog the heater core, unless you bypass it.

With the overheat, you may have warped the heads, which is common. Since you were able to drive it home, the heads weren't leaking like a sieve, which is a good sign your heads may be okay and not need machining.

A head gasket job is needed, since coolant is passing through to the exhaust. If you try the quick fix and it works, you likely have a few hundred miles not a few thousand. And your radiator and heater core may clog.

 

Hey, you were from Gainesville too right?

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck with the Disco. Sometimes you get the short end of the stick with these trucks, especially if the previous owner delayed all the maintenance. I would highly recommend against the stop leak. It really just makes more problems than it's worth. Head gaskets are fairly easy to do if your mechanically inclined. I can recommend some machine shops to deck the heads or reputable mechanics in the area if your interested.

If you really are finished with it, another option would be to post it on here or Craigslist to sell it. Hell, I'd might be willing to add it to my fleet if it's in good shape. I just hate seeing another good one end up in a scrapyard.

 

Usually the repair-in-a-can's fail, often making the problem worse such as clogging up your radiator or engine block coolant paths.

On the few times that they do work, I've seen success from 2 different paths:

#1: radiator *and* engine block were completely drained of coolant and refilled with water only, and then the more expensive "water only no coolant" HG repair-in-can worked for a little while, and

#2: the type of HG failure where the HG break to the outside of the block such that exhaust is being blown outside (not between 2 cylinders and not into coolant or oil) sealed with high-temp clear engine block paint spray in the offending area.




Also, keep in mind that there may be a core cause of the HG breaking in the first place. Just because you repair the HG doesn't necessarily mean that you have repaired whatever caused the HG to fail in the first place.

This can cause even engine-out full shop HG repairs to fail shortly thereafter (not that you need to remove your motor to do a head gasket job, just sayin').

 

IMO I have never known any 'snake oil' remedies that work even short term let alone long term. It's just a marketing exercise as they never have to live with the consequences. IMO there is only one remedy and that's the correct one, i.e. new HG's unfortunately.