My son had his heart set on a Disco II and we came across one at an auction with 115k. Interior looked great and exterior just needed a bumper and a few trim pieces so for $850 we decided to give it a go. Salvaged trim parts and had to get master cylinder replaced and went ahead and had valve cover gaskets replaced. My plan was that if we could get in under $4k, he could drive it for a year or two and get out without losing too much. We are approaching 3k total in at this point and now the thing started over-heating after running about 45 mins. Did a pressure check on the coolant and held 18lbs for a couple hours while cold. Added some dye to the coolant and can now clearly see we have more than one leak around the head gasket once the thing heats up (one toward the rear passenger side of the engine and one toward the driver's front side). It also started a lovely tick sound I've been reading about as a possible slipped sleeve once it overheated, but after a while of a few short trips around town, it seems to go away. I am certain the previous owner was dealing with the overheating problem before donating the vehicle.

I'm a patient person and don't mind a challenge as long as there is a fair chance at succeeding. I've done minor repairs on vehicles like water pumps and alternators and am fair with tools, but am by no means an experienced mechanic. On the one hand, getting the chance to work on it together with my son could be a blessing and a wonderful learning experience, but he's not 100% into it and I don't want it to go through the pain if there is not a fair chance of success. The one thing I have going for it is that we are more or less looking for something to do now that we are quarantined.

So....now the question is, do I pull it down and replace the headgaskets and hope I don't find anything worse or should I strongly consider cutting my losses and just getting out? I had a friend suggest trying blue devil head gasket sealant as a first shot, but I don't like the idea of postponing an inevitable fix if that is what it is.

This Land Rover experience is completely new to me, but I'm finding an odd affection for something that appears to have such promise of on-going maintenance. We also have the 3 amigos and a cruise control to deal with, but at this point I figure there is no need to address any of those things until we get the engine squared away.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

So have you already had the head gaskets replaced once already?

 

It' hard to say what you should do, but I can say what I would do. Fix the head gaskets (don't eff around with the canned fixes) and then see what you have.

You're 3K into it at this point, what's another 200-300 for head gaskets and a set of studs? Even with limited experience, the engine is not that complicated, and you can replace the HG with basic tools. And the cost for the parts is money well spent for the general engine experience, regardless of the outcome.

And the tick can be many things that are not a death sentence. If it goes away after driving a bit, I would be thinking exhaust leak or maybe lifters. Hard to say without hearing it.

So, unless cash and time are tight, and you need a running vehicle NOW, don't give up yet.

 

What I say is go by how you feel not your wallet If you like the vehicle keep it up, if you feel like it's a POS and you can't even look at it without getting your anxiety up "oh no another repair" dump it. Im having a similar situation where I'm ditching a Durango, I'm only a couple hundred deep in fixing it but I have no idea what's wrong plus it was supposed to be a project my dad and I were doing together and I lost him two weeks ago today so I can't even look at it right now and giving it to my uncle.

 

If I were you, I'd get out. Here is why.

Overheated engine means you are going to invest a bit more in time and money. If your son is not into it, cut your losses and get something that both of you will enjoy. The Disco is a sunk cost at this point. Sell it to someone who'll part it out or give it a new engine (and the cooling system, and the rest that $1K car requires).

 

Yeah, more Info needed on prior head gasket replacement. If you paid a shop to do the job, shouldn’t they be liable for some of this? Unless they are an experienced LR shop, I would question whether or not the system was bled properly. These trucks can be a bear. If you guys already did the head gasket yourselves, you’re that much further ahead and need to go back in to find out what went wrong. As pointed out, replacing the head gaskets on these trucks is not a complicated job, especially if you have time on your side. For under $500 you can buy the parts and have the heads skimmed to true them up. Whether or not your son sees the value to this is something only you and he can work out. Unless this was a severe overheat with extensive engine damage likely, I don’t see headgaskets as a showstopper if you know your way around a toolbox and are willing to abide the learning curve. They are great trucks when sorted out.

 

I assume you paid to have the HG done... Who did the work? An experienced LR specialist or a "foreign car" shop? External leaks make me think botched job. If you were going to keep the truck now would be the time to tackle the HG job yourselves. You have the best resource right here for help on getting it done correctly... And yes, save the other stuff for after you fix the HG.

 

Sorry about the confusion. I have not had the head gaskets done. That was supposed to say valve covers in the first post. They were a little leaky when I got it so I went ahead and had them replaced by a local shop. Every receipt on the vehicle was still in the glove box from the previous owner and it looks like about 2k miles ago (113K), they started dealing with a coolant leak and replaced all hoses, radiator etc. Also noticed that the throttle body heater had been bypassed. I'm guessing they eventually figured out it was leaking at the block and decided it wasn't worth fixing.

 

Feral, so sorry to hear that. I lost my dad several years ago and every time I walk in his shop I'm reminded just how much I miss him.

 

I would say that if you have never done head gaskets before ( or any other major engine work ) and you are not comfortable bring it to a shop that is familiar with Land Rovers. There are certain things to look out for that a general mechanic would not look for when replacing head gaskets on this engine. This job should cost you about $3-4K. If that is too pricey then dump it. If you do it yourself it is around $500 in parts and a weekend of your time. I would read these forums and check out YouTube to familiarize yourself with the process.
Anything else wrong with the truck? Have you checked the frame throughly, especially the rear around the gas tank?