Wife was driving our 2003 Discovery II to work when she looked and noticed the SES light was lit, she saw that the temperature was high, and she saw steam coming from the engine bay.

I arrive to check it out and put approximately 1 gallon of water into the reservoir and start it up and it runs fine, however the SES light is still on. I also notice a SLIGHT misfire in the idle and a slight amount of white exhaust smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I go to Autozone, they pull codes P1590, P0152, and P0174. I drive it a few miles home with no temperature issues and with no driving issues.

I start it up later, and notice that there is now a putrid rotten egg smell, and a small puddle of coolant/water on the ground underneath the Disco, in the area of the the firewall.

I suspect the Disco now has a blown head gasket, causing bank 2 to run lean due to the sudden massive vacuum leak,and causing the P0174 and P0152 codes. but would like to know what the experts think. Thanks in advance.

 

The rotten egg smell is usually a cat converter burning up. The overheating is the bigger issue.

 

I feel like they are related. I read here that the rotten egg smell is often times confused for a faulty cat, when in fact it is merely a symptom of another problem: Why does my car smell like rotten eggs? - Richmond DIY Auto Mechanic | Examiner.com

Hmm...

 

find out why your over heating, coolant will definitely kill your converters

 

so it sounds like you have a coolant leak. it was un noticed and caught you. you over heated and now you have to figure out the damage.
your rotten egg smell, rather it be a dead cat or all the unburnt fuel, is back burner. no need to worry about odor, if you cant drive it.


get/make /borrow a pressure tester. find out where you are leaking. fix it. do you have coolant in your oil? it may be mixing with exhaust gas. that's a kitty killer.


but its prolly just a fuse

 

There is no obvious coolant in oil or oil in coolant. I'm considering a chemical coolant test to check for exhaust gases in the coolant, however I'm running some simple mechanical tests prior and will update with my results.

Which fuse are you speaking of?

 

the fuse was my attempt at humor.....unless you find a fuse between the block and head. chem test is good to do as you have symptoms that point that direction

 

Pressure test is a better idea. Find the leak(s) and fix before anything else.

As a Rover owner letting your wife drive the car on a regular basis you yourself should be checking the fluids on a weekly basis so you can catch these things in advance.

Catching these things in advance will give you more time and money to spend on her rather than the Rover.

 

She ruined it. Fill it up with her stuff and trade them both in for new ones. I would get a late 80's to early 90's redhead preferably with a Volkswagen, whose parents live in Florida so you have somewhere to vacation. For the truck, I would wait till next year and get a diesel Chevy Colorado 4x4. Your new girlfriend comes with a car so you don't need another vehicle right away.

 

Ahh, I fail. My apologies.


So I did a compression test and here are my results:

1-165
2-130
3-160
4-160
5-155
6-160
7-140
8-160

Clearly, cylinder's #2 and #7 are problematic. I did not warm the engine prior to completing the test, as I knew I would be working on it and did not want it to get hot to the touch.

I did not do the chemical test because I did not know I would need the engine running to do so, I thought it was just a matter of testing the coolant. I will put the plugs back in tomorrow and do the chemical test.