Hello people,

Let me begin by saying hello as this is my first thread here on Land Rover Forums.

I have owned my Disco II for almost two years and it has been a great vehicle. There have been some things I have had to take care of like the coolant leak on my throttle body as well as my running into the "three amigos".

However, lately it has been getting expensive and well, I should expect that shouldn't I? I had the tune up done and of course I shelled out some cash for the labor due to the brilliant idea of hiding the coil in a next to inaccessible nook.

So, a few weeks ago I began to notice my heater core making swooshing sounds during acceleration. First thought was "Oh no, don't leak into the cab"! But it just turned out the coolant was low. I topped it off, end of story right? Wrong! Now I smell coolant outside the vehicle and my heat blows cold at idle. So I begin the tedious task of looking for leaks and puddles on my driveway. No such luck. I keep driving and everything is fine. Decide to check my coolant and sure enough, it is low once again. Now the frustration begins because I am somewhat of a "car hypochondriac" and if I sense anything might be out of line, I freak out in my head. So I keep driving it with this invisible leak making sure my coolant is topped off and staring at the temp gauge...probably more than the road. Temp gauge has kept at nominal the whole time. Today on my way to work, I dropped by my mechanic to pick his brain a little bit. I went over what I had read on here about the common issues with coolant leaks. We didn't see anything under the hood so I decided to look thoroughly on the underside. That is when I noticed the coolant down the side of the block as well as on other things such as the oil pan and the front diff. So I have come to the conclusion that the leak is coming from the front corner of the head...as far as I can tell. The oil is clean and there is no milkyness to the oil cap so I believe it to be only leaking externally.

So here is my question:

As we all now what both dealer and independent mechanics will charge for cylinder head work, is it worth doing it yourself? What all would I need as well as is there a step-by-step guide/manual as to the proper way of replacing your head gaskets? As far as driving it until it is fixed what are your recommendations? Any help and knowledge by you guys would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

If its your first go around with head gaskets, I wouldnt do it yourself.

I always do both if there is a problem with one. You should remove each plug one at a time and take a reading to determine what is going on. Strip everything down to the bare heads and organize on a cart in the order it goes back together. Use new head bolts always unless you upgrade to a non stretching race bolt like the ones made by ARP. Follow all torque spec guidelines.

Good Luck!

 

I just got done changing my head gaskets on monday. Took me 3 days but I took my time and cleaned as I went. Also I have done engine work before on many a mouse motor so I am not a rookie. If you don't know what you're doing I was just pay for it. Much cheaper than buying a new motor.

Good luck,
Merritt

 

I just did my head gasket job over Christmas and I have never been that deep into an engine before. I would say that if you have the time it is a great experience, just make sure you follow the RAVE manual and you should be okay. I saved about a thousand dollars even after having to rent a u-haul trailer and tow my disco from Georgia Tech to Fayetteville NC. Some tools you will need that you may not have are a torque wrench and a fan clutch removal tool. I was able to rent the fan clutch tool at autozone free of charge. Also I would recommend changing out your hoses and hose clamps. I put the original clamps back on there and had to deal with a few leaks when I was done. Good luck on whatever you decide to do!