Okay, My indy shop has replaced my head gaskets THREE times, all resulting in slow leaks within a month. While at it I had most everything else done too, belts, hoses, water pump etc.

I like the shop, they specialize in Rovers and BMWs and are always busy. Head Gasket repair is a common job for them. So, why aren't they getting it right for me? I feel they are trying their best. Swapped heads last time, parts are right, correct torque and pattern etc. What I find odd is that BOTH heads always leak in the same place but, after each job the leaks will move to another location but always leak at the same place on each head. Somehow that seems to say something. My truck has never overheated and runs like a top, heads are straight etc. etc. The last time the repair failed they thought it was because they lubed the head bolts too much..

Obviously, by now I've lost faith in the shop despite the fact that they have been trying to honor the warranty on their work. They are wearing my truck out tearing it apart and putting it back together again.

Ideas? Suggestions? I'm looking for input on what could be going wrong and/or should I just ask for a partial refund to cover what they can't get right and go someplace else. I really like these guys but what can you do... I feel like they are doing their best but are simply missing something that is perhaps unusual. These guys really do work on discos and other rovers all day long.

Has anyone experienced anything similar, or had at least ONE head gasket repair that didn't take?

Oh yeah, what is the consensus on the best replacement headgaskets/ repair kit and bolts?

 

Do you know if they used the correct head gaskets?

 

I'd want to know whose gasket set they're using. I've had the same thing happen on other engines with brand x gaskets. Get the good ones from Atlantic British.

Dave

 

Common problem could be if they are re-using the same head bolts over and over, they can only be used once.
Other wise I would suggest they do a chemical test on the blocks surface for a crack.

 

Yes, inferior gaskets are my suspicion as well, Shop said they order them through a local parts supplier so I doubt they are from AB. Possibly OEM.

Mike, The head bolts have always been fresh. They thought the problem may have been overlubing them the last time. The testing for a surface crack sounds like a good idea however, the leak moves around, from the front to the side and now out the rear. Also, both heads always leak in the same area as the other, which I find odd...and telling. Just can't figure out why.

The shop told me that occassionally a head gasket repair will need to be redone but that they have never had a failure the second or third time. They are stymied.

I'm not bashing the shop here. They show concern and obviously have passed the point where they are making a profit off the job. They have done great work for me in the past and also for others I have steered there way.

Thanks for the comments, suggestions keep them coming.

 

If I remember Rover does not recommend lubing the head bolts and if your shop is lubing them, they are then not be torqued down as per Rover specs.

 

Did they ever resurface the heads?

 

The heads were straight and reworked, they also switched to a different set of heads the last time. He did mention that he has a hard time getting shops to mill the heads correctly and that even when done correctly it can create its own problems.

As far as lubeing the head bolts, I think I was told that the tech lubed the the new bolts that had come with some type of lube on them or do some bolts come prelubed? Perhaps it was jut a coating of anticorrosion stuff for storage. Not clear on this but we did go over needing new bolts due to streching etc. When redone they would have to degrease and blow out the bolt holes it would seem. All this bolt lube talk doesn't make sense to me anyway because I know they do one or two of these jobs a week. Seems they would have noticed this causing problems before.

Since the heads always end up leaking in the same place on each side I would think it would be a mistake while torqueing the head bolts which creates a "mirrored" problem on each side, or a common headgasket defect on each side. We went over the procedures and they seem to have the steps, pattern down using a quality, calibrated torque wrench etc.

I'm thinking of giving them another go at it with the stipulation that they use an AB headgasket kit and bolts. This is very discouraging because I love my truck and don't mind spending the money to keep it right. At this rate I'll never get it up to Michigan to do some forest trails with Spike

Thanks for the input....keep it coming

I want to reiterate that BOTH heads always leak at the SAME place on each side but at a different location with each repair. I can see a leak happening, but on both heads at the same location on each one....? Has to be a common procedural or (less likely) material defect as realated to each head.

 

One last thought, The other common thread resulting in leaks at the same place on each head could be due to work done to the heads. A mistake when working them could have been replicated on each one.

Other than that I got nothing....

I was hoping folks might have experienced a similar problem getting head gaskets repaired (just not so many times) and that they might be able to share their own "lessons learned".

 

To recap, you're saying that, when each repair is done, the leak happens on both sides of the engine, in the same place on each side... but that where that place is has been different each time they've worked on it?

That sounds to me, too, like the shop that's doing his machining doesn't know what they're about. Sounds like they're using an automated mill, and they're either setting the workpieces up wrong, or they've misprogrammed it.

I think this especially because you say he reports problems on precisely that point. I would recommend that you have him try a different machine shop, even if you're off the air for an extra day or two.

And yeah, get the parts from AB.