Thank you everyone for your kind replies. To answer your questions. yes positive it is the cylinder head gasket. Never driven it overheated. Only has 80K on its second engine. Had it pressure tested and confirmed.
Disco Mike kindly has pointed me to a great guy in Denver and I have going to have the truck shipped to him. Spoke to him this am and he told me that although the Land Rover dealer said the head gasket has gone, it could be that it does need a third engine which will cost 10K without the suspension brakes etc but he will have to look and see.
Soooooooooo, I am going to ship it down to him and wait to hear. Thank you all for your kind offers and words. It has driven us all nuts but when it comes to kids safety in the snow up here in the Rockies you cant beat it.
Best wishes and thanks to you all and yes Disco Mike its the greatest

 

I don't have specifics, but I do know there's a guy in Colorado with a TD5 Discovery II looking to get rid of it... I'd just buy that. The conversion was carried out beautifully.

 

I believe (not an expert FYI) that someone would have to live outside of the emissions testing areas in order to pull off owning such a vehicle. It's something to look into for folks who are subjected to testing.

 

I'm in denver right now for business, I would love to check out that TD5. CONTACT INFORMATION? (No testing where I live)

 

Let me just throw this out there to the OP...

I bought my 03 in 07 with 39k on it. Never heard a tick in the engine when test driving, But the moment I parked in my driveway, literally on the way home from the Dealer, I heard the tick. Took it back and they said "you need a new engine" They did offer me the opportunity to back out of the sale at that point, but i figured hey, new engine! not so bad of a deal.

The new engine they broke in with Castrol synthetic 10w30... That was before I had to learn all about my truck,,, I bought the extended warrantee out to 85k.

at around 90k the second engine had a catastrophic fail. multiple misfires and backfiring on load. Took it to the dealer who had worked on it last, they said...

YOU NEED A NEW ENGINE for 10 to 12k. LRNA nor the dealer would stand behind any previous work or maintenance. Again everything was dealer serviced up to that point.

Finally I found a good indy guy who inspected and found that my camshaft had turned round on two lobes. The guy had some good sources on quality used parts and got my truck running again for around $2k. that included a new (or quality used) camshaft, lifters, oil pump, front cover, timing chain, gaskets, coolant flush, engine flush, etc.

Moral of the story is it might not be as bad as they say. especially if you find a good mechanic and stay way away from the dealer.

I got lucky and have put 30k trouble free miles on since when they told me i would need a whole new engine and have to spend a years college tuition.

 

Boy , that is interesting and almost an identical story to mine. Except although it was out of warranty ( at 49,100 on clock which was actually around 30K on replaced engine ) and there was no dispute about the need for the 2nd engine ( catastrophic noise , oil dump and failure which driving along highway at 70mph!! ) Didn't run again . The non Land Rover Mechanic found at Brand New engine with 0 miles on it ( Truck fell off loader ) offered for 4K . At this stage 100% of work had been done by dealer but they would not warranty it. Total cost for 2nd engine replacement was 15K split 1/3 each with LDNR, Dealer and me.
Are you sure about new engine costing 5k from factory. Of course there is a whole bunch of non engine stuff that needs to be done plus 2k labor on top . At my rate engines last around 40K or less in miles. Promise I am a single boring mom with young kids and not some off roading over heating hellion. Car looks like new otherwise
Thanks Again

 

I will try to get you that info ASAP.