Hello all,

I'm new to the Forums. Normally I'm a Mercedes guy but was given a 99 Discovery II a couple of months ago. Got a real nice body and interior and the more I look at it the more it grows on me. With just 100K on it and am looking forward to using it as a spare vehicle.

Having 250,000 miles on my Mercedes ML and 400K on my S500 all trouble free, I quickly learned that the British are still consistent with their previous reputation of building unreliable and short-lived engines.

My Discovery II came with the upper end of the engine in boxes with the explanation that it had a blown head gasket. So I struggled with putting back together something I didn't take apart. I had the heads surfaced and once back together, it ran fine; at least for a few miles.

Then in what appears to be in true Land Rover tradition, it overheated. I nursed it to my garage and found it had a leaking radiator which didn't show up previously.

OK, so after reading that you never-ever overheat a 4.0 engine, I put another set of head gaskets, a new radiator and a thermostat. What's happening now is apparently the same thing that happened before. The engine warms up, thermostat opens (all within the engine operating temperature) and the vehicle will blow off a hose of its choosing spraying hot antifreeze everywhere.

Just before it blows the hoses are rock hard. When I leave the coolant reservoir cap off it just bubbles over.

Looks like all the symptoms of exhaust gasses leaking into the cooling system. But from where? Is it a head, sleeve or block? I don't mind taking the engine out and pulling it apart, but I would love to know if its just a head first.

Can anyone with experience with these 4.0 engines tell me if there is an easy way to find out. Also if I do have to take the engine down and apart is there any way of detecting where the problem was or actually seeing the cracks? I would hate not to be able to visually see where the problem lies.

Thanks

Mike

 

These engines will keep you guessing and busy!

You can pressure test your heads and block with some creative blanking plates on your coolant ports and compressed air. Unfortunately you need to have the heads off to isolate the heads from the block. There is someone out there that sells the block blocking plate kit MK something or another. I'd rather pull the engine then pull the heads off while in the truck.

If she's been overheated I would place my bets on a crack behind a cylinder sleeve.

 

I second that.

Had the exact same problem on my '04 and had to replace the engine due to a cracked block/dropped sleeve.

 

I'm not sure using a 14 year old car and say they are still building is fair.

Once you get to something 06 and newer, and the engines are much more reliable. Too bad they don't fit into the D1 and D2.

 

Kseal or irontite or another motor or this one re-sleeved with flanged liners. Usually the problem cyclinder will exhibit "steam cleaned", will show up on plugs, etc. You can put a dye in coolant and look for flecks on the plugs. There is also a $50 ish chemical test that sniffs the hot coolant for exhaust gas and changes color.

But... are you sure you have serpantine belt run correctly?

Are you sure thermostat is opening (some motorads don't always) at correct temp? Is thermostat plumbed correctly?

My 93 300 CE Cabrio is less trouble than my 97 D1. But I still did thermostat, new rad, new fan clutch, replaced electric fans, and modded for the lower temp operation of same - just to be safe, after all, Mercedes can be high maintenance when they want to.

 

"There is also a $50 ish chemical test that sniffs the hot coolant for exhaust gas and changes color." would be your best bet at this point

 

and it will do like 15 tests, so good for other vehicles, English or German.

 

hey a tool that's both English & metric.

 

You have more patience than Job in the Old Testament.
Pressure in the cooling lines is exhaust gas - I am sorry to say.

I would find a used engine in good condition and get it.

You probably had a plugged radiator.
getting all the parts in a box when you bought it - you had no idea about the
cooling system problems.
Sorry about that.

If you get it all straightened out - you'll have a good vehicle which will get to 200K.
You may have problems along the way - but you'll get 200K.

I am at 105K now.
Replaced the head gaskets, radiator, Fan clutch and put in the low temp 180 degree thermostat.

My philosophy is keep the rover in the garage and only drive it when you have to.

From March 2012 to Sept 2013 I have put on about 10,000 miles.
So, I do drive it.
But I try not to.

 

Thanks for your input and thanks to everyone who responded. I just can't accept the idea of having a vehicle that I can't depend on or trust. So I decided to retrofit a Chevy engine.

Its a lot of work but I did this before on other vehicles some years back and
I enjoy the challenge. Reading these forums has been very helpful on deciding what engine to put in. I bought a 4.3L chevy V8 today and plan to use the ignition system from the 4.0. I know they have an adapter plate in Australia but for $875 plus shipping, I will make one myself.

Since I Winter in Florida this is going to be a next spring project. I will post photos and the progress as I go. Figure it should take me a month or so.