How fusible is a DIY head gasket job on my 2004 D2? What specialty tools are required and what parts would you typically send out to have "machined"? and what does machined heads mean? Headgaskets and ARP studs are cheap, labor for a mechanic to do the job is NOT cheap. I have a very long trip coming up in April and Im thinking more and more about the risks of driving up with my original hg's still on the truck. Do I really want to risk a blown headgasket part way through my trip? If it happened Id be completely screwed. Time and money is limited and the cheapest rate Ive been quoted for a Hg job is $1,600 +. That much money set aside for this job will most likely set me back and jeopardize the trek in regards to time. What happens when you blow a head gasket? can you still drive a long distance? Will it destroy the engine? What are my options? How many days might it take an amateur to do this job?

In April I'm going on a cross country trek from NH to Alaska. I will be moving there and Ive been convinced by many of you to drive up in my truck, so thats what Ill do.

About the truck: Records indicate the truck was serviced by Land Rover from 0-90k so I assume that means all fluids including the coolant have been changed as recommened in the passport to service manual. Since then at least one coil pack was replaced, spark plugs and wires replaced, 180 thermostat, ultra-gauge, oil changes every 3,000 with Rotella 15w-40, purolator filter, Peak 50/50 coolant, coolant changed 3 times since 2012, no coolant leaks, updated the throttle body heater plate and gasket, water pump and serp belt replaced. Engine temps: 188 highway and 197 city on average with a/c on. On rare ocasion when it gets in the 90's outside my engine temps reach 212.

Very soon Im going to tackle the valve cover gaskets, upper intake manifold gasket and now Im thinking about even doing the valley pan gasket. Reading other threads on here, some folks said "well your down that far so might as well do the head gaskets to". So there spawns question. In a perfect world i would not have to worry about the heads right now, would be able to make the trek no issues and worry about the hgs later, but I dont trust my truck that far.

Helping hands anyone? I live in Southern NH and would love to find someone from the forums who has experience with and would be willing to help me get the hg job done correctly the first time. Im looking to save as much money as possible, but Id be happy to pay someone some cash if they helped me out here. Im willing to travel and I have most all the basic tools. I dont have a garage or any means like that but Im willing to travel. If interested send me a PM and we cant talk about the fine details and figure something out.


Thanks in advance. Not trying to be a pain in the *** but I kinda have alot on the line and not much time to plan **** out.

 

Forgot to mention. Ive already factored in replacing the radiator and most all the cooling hoses, clamps and even the expansion tank before the trek. Thats a no brainer. 180 stat already installed.

 

machined= heads to make sure they are flat and usually a valve job.
no real specialty tools...extensions, breaker bar, torque wrench,....the usual.
hg failure= gasket is partially degraded and no longer provides a seal and barrier for coolant, exhaust, oil. they are allowed to mix and/or leak externally.




but unless you are getting it hot, you will usually have plenty of warning. definitely not a preventative maintenance item, in my book. majority start as slow coolant trickles, in which case, just don't run it low of coolant. they very rarely just blow....unless you are overheating.

 

My engine temps are 188 highway and 197 city. Though recently Ive noticed a rough ideling while at stop lights and my engine ticking came back from the dead 2 days ago and does not go away. It gets faster as I step on the gas and I can just barely hear it while im on the highway. Not loud loud but a ticking or tapping. Its got me all worried about the stat of my truck.

You dont see a head gasket job as preventative maint? Please explain. I assumed a HG job was the ultimate pre maint thing for these trucks if only one can afford to have it done. My goal is to prolong the life of this engine for as long as possible. Certainly long enough so I can make the trip in one piece.

 

you got 145k on your head gaskets 45k more than most, just replace them.
because you don't want to be doing them in Alaska or on the side of the road getting their.
it will run $200-$250 to deck the heads plus the cost of the studs and gasket kit, it will tie your truck up a couple days unless you get a set of spare heads (my recommendation) have them decked then its a one day job.

 

I just did mine along with the timing chain, oil pump, LR 180 thermostat, water pump, plug wires and plugs. I paid about $600 for the parts including coolant, cleaners, etc. I had the heads milled and cleaned up, valve stem seals installed (they come with the head gaskets), new exhaust manifold studs installed (I supplied them) and the exhaust manifolds machined flat for $400.

As for the labor end of it, by the time you get the valve covers and intake manifold off there isn't much left to remove to get the heads off. In your case, you just had the pan off so doing the oil pump and timing chain will have you pulling that again but you can reuse that new gasket if you want. With your mileage, doing the oil pump and chain makes sense if you are that far into it but it will take more time and money. Regarding your head gaskets, are they leaking any coolant? Catastrophic failures aren't the norm for these things. They typically fail slowly if you don't overheat, starting off as a slow seep at the ends of the heads. Typically the rear of the head goes first. A telltale sign is coolant sludge on the bottom of the engine near the starter. This should have been very evident when you did your oil sump gasket. If you don't see this, then you head gaskets aren't leaking yet so you have plenty of time before they need to get done.

 

simply saying....head gasket as preventive maintenance sounds like tire replacement as preventative maintenance, to me. it's going to have to be done but if you can get 80k out of your tires, why replace at 30k. you don't know when the hg will fail, just that on average they do fail, and deterioration usually comes with ample warning around 100k. you are not getting it hot. heating is the cause of expansion in metals, too much of that/overheating causes the "blow" of hg. The normal deterioration of the gasket is what usually comes with small, slow leak as warning. this is why I view it as a repair item , not a maintenance item.
this is, obviously, just my opinion. Not trying to talk you out of replacing your hgs. just saying that sudden and complete hg failure usually has a cause. you can cause a gasket with 3 miles on it or one with 145k on it to blow. regular deterioration will happen at its own rate.
you can hit the restart button now or finish the game, first.....either way, your call.
you could carry a hg in a bottle in your tool kit, as a "help get me home item."

 

"help get me home item." gone to need a big bottle from Alaska

 

I guess I missed this detail, but how is it you are 100% sure you have original head gaskets?

Did you buy it at 90k and put the other 55k miles on yourself?

I can attest I nursed a slow externally leaking HG for nearly 10k while saving the money to have a shop do the job... If you do choose to not replace them before leaving, just keep an eagle eye on your coolant level, and yes, do change out the rad/water pump/hoses/stat/ etc. before leaving.

 

meant as a "if he overheats it" hail mary. that factor will not change even he puts new hg in or not.
I don't even know that that stuff works, but I have a bottle.