My neighbor gave me a 2003 Discovery 2 in fair condition so I could work on it with my son. He originally bought it off Craigs List for the tires for his Disco 2. He said it needed a head gasket replacement job, and after a little research, I concurred. My son and I had a good time tearing down the top end and replacing the head gaskets. The gaskets were definitely shot and the oil looked like a chocolate milk shake. We were meticulous with the job, had the heads checked and lightly resurfaced, and followed all the specs at re-assembly. What a great feeling when it started on the first try!

However, the white smoke issue out of the exhaust never went away. Based on a dip stick inspection, it does not look like I am getting any coolant in the oil anymore, but after pulling the plug on the #5 cylinder, it definitely has coolant in that chamber. This cylinder was much cleaner than the others once we had the heads off so that's why I pulled the plug on that one to see what was going on.

I knew that after reading a bunch of threads that I could have either a slipped sleeve, a cracked block, or perhaps both. I really just took on the project to get some quality time with my boy, and he loved it. For that reason alone the project was well worth it. I am totally willing to go though all the other little bugs on the truck if the engine is in good working order. However, if the block is shot, or if a sleeve has slipped, I don't know. My son is 15 and this was going to be his high school ride, but not if we can't get it running reliably without replacing the motor.

Is there something else that could be wrong that I am not checking?

 

Coolant in 5 is usually a cracked block. If you like the rest of the truck, find yourself a used P38 4.6 block and swap over all your new stuff to it. Now that you've done this much yourself, it won't be that much more complex.

 

Thanks for the response. Thats what I figured. I do like the truck and I'll keep my eye out for a replacement block.

 

The way to find out for sure is to pull the plug when the engine is still warm and look into the cylinder with a USB boroscope camera attachement on your phone. If you see bubbles between the sleeve and the head then you pretty much have a cracked block.

Lots of info on here about replacement options but the one I mentioned, and did, is the most economical. Always a good idea to hear it run first, but if not you can choose what to rebuild and what not to.

 

Pressurize the coolant system and look inside with a borescope.

You can buy a borescope for your cell phone for really cheap off of Amazon.

If you tear the heads back off I'd like to see pictures.

Also, what state are you in? You can look in your local upullit and grab a 99-01 block, they dont have the 03-04 problems.
That would be a good experience for your son. Many yards allow you to throw a battery in and try to start them...for the $200ish price tag it's a no brainer.

 

Thats a great idea. I was not sure if blocks from previous years were compatible. We are in Colorado.

When I checked for coolant in the cylinder I ran the engine for a bit, then pulled the plug. Checked it with a scope, and also noted that the plug was wet with coolant, and antifreeze started to seep out of the cylinder.