If you do decide to have head gaskets done, me, l'd have D &D do them. They are probably, if not most certainly, the most knowledgeable folks around...when it comes to this motor.

Also, if your engine is a SAI engine...l've got a set of heads in the garage that l could drop off for you, to speed things up.

​​​​​​​ Brian.

 

Thanks Brian, I appreciate it. The hard part here is trying to find a shop who will work with me. I cannot just go to a shop of my choosing and send the heads to D&D and have them sent back because no shop here works that way... at least none that I've found. I suppose I could have the Rover trucked to D&D and see if it can be fixed. Believe it or not the 3rd shop just called back and told me that they were going to 'bow out' of fixing it because 'if you have coolant in your oil then you have problems. Your engine is wrecked'. I even asked if they'd be interested in installing another engine prior to that and he said that he would try to talk me out of it because Rovers have issues and they're not worth the time'

I ended up telling him that I'm looking for someone to work with me and who can appreciate an old vehicle as I want to keep mine on the road. He said 'we're not interested'. I thanked him for his feistiness and told him that I'd spread the word. Dave's Garage in Traverse City does not want to work with Rover people. They hate Rovers. There you go.

The semi good news is that I have 3 options.

1) The second shop called me back and said that they'll change out the front cover/oil pump for $1380 out the door. The manifold gasket can be replaced for $1250 if needed.

2) I can always order a Turner and have it installed by the 1st shop. He is willing to do that.

3) I could sit down and have a good cry and attempt to do it myself haha.

Oh.. the 2nd shop (where she's at right now) offered to sell me the 4.6 engine from a P38, do the head gaskets, and change out the front cover/oil pump for $5800. No. thank. you. And then they offered to buy my Rover

Anyhoo.. that's where it stands. I'm stubborn (what can I say) and I cannot count how many times someone has tried to talk me out of keeping my Rover over the years. Seriously.

edit: I was so upset over my conversation with that doofus that I forgot to thank Brian for his offer of dropping off heads at D&D. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I don't have SAI so, as much as I appreciate the offer, that wouldn't work for this scenario

I'm going to take a break from thinking about Rovers for a couple of days and cool off haha. Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe this experience. Thank you forum for being there for me.

 

 

Thanks Collierover. Sometimes I can't stand this town.

I had a good cry and now I'm going to take a loooooooong nap

 

Wow that is just sad, not worth the time that guy is either rich or not too bright.

The front cover is more messy than hard, and unless I missing something the manifold gasket is dead simple.

But as with CollieRover I feel your pain, there is literally nothing special or difficult about these trucks other than the aluminum engine.

 

While the run around is pretty crappy that you're getting, I'm a bit empathetic to the shops here... Certain things almost always come back to bite shops in the ***. Partial repairs, repairs based on outside diagnosis, and repairs based on what "The internet said"

I'm all for being an informed consumer and customer and being involved in the repair process of your vehicle, but going into a shop with a listed symptom and predetermined diagnosis's of A, B, and C and wanting quote for each one is gonna be a red flag for most shops. I know that I personally feel awkward and backed into a corner when this happens. More often than not, giving a hip shot quote off of a forum diag or idea ends up being way off base in terms of actual repair. There are always more things needing attention than just A or B and giving a quote without seeing the car is iffy.

As for the guys who have seen the car and advised on going with a motor swap VS repairing the leaking front cover alone, I get where they're coming from too. They say or agree the leak is mostly coming from the front cover and replace just that, and in a couple months the valve covers are leaking worse and smoking now and there's the question of maybe they SHOULD have replaced that too. Or they do the front cover and find the oil pump cracked(I'm going through that on my own personal engine build) and now there's a question of has this been impacting oil pressure for a while? Are the rods/mains compromised? how about the cam bearings? It opens up a can of worms. What if they do all that and the coolant is still getting in the oil? Now you probably have a cracked block that was missed at first because they were being steered toward a front cover leak, and there's the assertion of liability for missing that in the first check out/repair but they were only doing the one job they were told to do and don't feel it's their responsibility. What if they get in the front cover and find timing chain wear and advise on that replacement? What if they do the valley pan/valve covers and notice cam bearing wear and issues coming up there? The ***** starts rolling real fast with stacked up repairs.

While we all have some pretty good luck doing our own repairs in our garages, as a shop they have bills to pay and rent to make and payroll to keep up, and doing piecemeal repairs dont keep the doors open. They are going to advise you to do the most sound and long lasting/guaranteeable repair, and when you have an engine pissing coolant and oil from multiple spots, some of which appear to be internal, how do you guarantee your diagnosis without fixing everything you can see that is wrong?

Just my .02 from a shop manager

 

Hi llama,
I can completely appreciate where you're coming from and your statements are all true. This shop technician made quite a few blanket statements regarding Rovers. He said that he wouldn't recommend anyone having head gaskets replaced because in most instances it is a cracked block that is causing the problem. He also stated that Rovers are not reliable and implied that they should basically be put out to pasture if they are over 10 years old.

Eleven years ago I purchased my Rover. I called this particular shop and was given similar anti-Rover sentiment when asking if they would do a pre-purchase inspection for me. I was given a rant over the phone about how unreliable they are and how I probably wouldn't like it and they didn't recommend purchasing one. I never took my Rover there because of that one conversation. I had heard recently that they had changed ownership. Seeing as I hadn't received phone calls back from either shop (and I am a 'get it done person') I decided to call them and see if they were willing to do the work. I want movement - this is why I am calling different shops. I live in a 'small town' with no Rover dealers in sight. The closest dealer is 2 hours south of here and I am trying to get something fixed that I do not feel confident in doing myself. In addition, I do not want to be taken advantage of and the shop that has had my vehicle for five weeks has not been very 'johnny on the spot' with fixing it. The fact that I had to suggest how to conduct a pressure test and see where the leak was occurring did not instill much confidence with me. I am looking for someone or some shop that is willing to work with me, for me and be accountable as a business by calling me back and having open discussions. Shop #1 let it sit for six weeks. Shop #2 suggested tearing into the cylinders when a simple pressure test indicated that coolant was 'POURING' (their words, not mine), out of the front cover area. Shop #3 was my attempt to find someone that was willing to fix something that I suspect is the cause of my issues. Am I certain that there isn't internal damage done to the engine? No. Do I wonder if the bearings are shot? Yes. Am I aware that there are other issues with the engine? Yes. Have I investigated other options? Yes.

We live in a throw away society. People don't seem to want to fix anything anymore - they want to throw it away and get something new. I'm sorry but I'm not of that mentality. I do realize, however, that there are times that we cannot do anymore than what has been done and whole units, such as engines, need to be replaced. I am open to that and have said that in my other thread. I am committed to keeping my Rover on the road.

I don't feel bad about calling different shops for pricing. Yes, I can see how it would be a red flag if someone called and asked for pricing, telling them that it's at another shop. I think an educated consumer is a smart consumer. I'm not the type to sit idly by and believe the first thing I hear. If that were the case I would have given up on my Rover years ago or shelled out major dough to get something fixed that was fixed for half the price of what was quoted first (say that 10 times fast).

Here's my thinking. My Rover sounds and runs fine to me but it has a major coolant leak. It's worth it to me to take the gamble and get the oil pump/front cover replaced and see where it takes me. Shop #2 was pushing cylinders from the get-go. Cracked block, slipped sleeve, etc.' Almost like a one trick pony. I understand that Coolant in Oil is major. As many say, these are resilient engines and if I can get a couple of years more out of this engine, by all means, I will do that.

 

For whatever reason this song reminded me of my Rover tonight. I'm hoping this week goes better than last as far as the repair adventure is concerned. Had a nice weekend working on long overdue projects around the house (put in a new front door, worked outside and organized my closets haha). Tried not to think about Bertha for a bit. I think I'm going to take the gamble and get the front cover/oil pump replaced along with the valley pan and a few other bits and bobs. Worst case scenario is that I'm out some money and will still have options such as a new engine or LS swap in the future. Thanks guys for all of your help the past few months. I truly appreciate it. I'll report back when I get her back on the road

Christina