Well, finally ran into a bit of bad luck while out on the road. Am in Anderson, SC, about 350 miles from home in VA. Noticed temp gauge climbing, and thought "oh s--t." I had to replace water pump about 2000 miles ago, so I thought this might be the issue (all hoses replaced at that time). Stopped and looked under/around engine compartment, and was dripping coolant. Couldn't pinpoint the source, other that to know that it was near front of engine. There was a KIA dealership, of all places, about a half mile up the road, so after letting the engine cool, I limped up there. Temp never got into the red, so I figured I was reasonably safe.

Once in shop, it was easy to see that leak was from timing cover gasket. I had some reservations about turning KIA mechanics loose on my Rover, but the alternative was to tow to LR dealer in Greenville. I chose KIA. Long story short, I'm $600 poorer in parts and labor, but they did a great job and I'm back in business. Sure wish this had happened in my driveway, though!

 

Wow. Glad to hear you weren't stranded for too long, and that you were fortunate enough to have that kind of money to have the work done.

 

Ditto!!

 

it's $800 at a landrover dealer to replace just the timing cover, so it's not all bad.

 

Oh well, at least I got that ticket punched... I try to keep the truck well maintained, but once in a while something comes out of left field. I was really amazed that the gasket suddenly failed in such an abrupt manner, as there had been no noticeable slow leakage leading up to this...

DRW