My question is: Is it leaking oil or coolant ??

 

Here is my input, you better get it fixed so we can go wheeling next time your in town!

I dont think it's the heads, the leak moves so if it were the heads it would be in the same place every time.
So if 6" in from the front it was milled lower than the rest it would leak 6" in every time.

If it were the gaskets it is very doubtful that both sides would leak at the same place.
I could see left side leaks front and right side leaks rear, but 2 gaskets going bad at the same place and time each and every time is not very plausible.

If it were a block defect it would leak in the same place each and every time, the defect would only get bigger not move.

It must be their guy(s), if they are supposed to be using lube (I dont know if they are or not) then they are not coating the bolts evenly or they are not supposed to be lubing them and they are and the torque is wrong.

Since the leak moves, and it is the same place on each side every time I am inclined to think they are torquing the the head bolts in the wrong sequence.

What we do not know is if a different person worked on your truck each time, if the other Rover owners are having a similar problem, if the other Rover owners are taking their trucks elsewhere because "those idiots screwed up" or if they are selling their trucks after the repair.

This is a tough call, do you let them keep trying? Do you take a day off work and supervise? Do you ask them to drop in a totally different engine? Or do they "accidentally" set it on fire because they are tired of working on it?

Tough call Dana, tough call.
I do not know what I would do.

 

To recap the situation, I seem to be loseing a small amount of coolant and I've been adding a couple cups coolant mixture every once in a while. I watch the level like a hawk and when It appears a quarter inch low or so (when cold) I top it off.

I could not find any leaks from the gaskets but when sticking my fingers in the back of the heads they come up oily and, possibly, wet looking. I took it by the shop yesterday and using a lighted mirror there seems to be about a two inch area in back below the Head/block junction that is oily. Not sure it this area wasn't cleaned previously or if it is new oil so we cleaned the area thoroughly and I'll be watching to see if the oil reappears. In the past I've had congealed coolant visible and could smell coolant when pulling into the garage. This is not the case as of now, nothing in the oil or coming out the exhaust either.

I guess my question now is, how much coolant loss could be considered normal? I would guess little to none in a sealed system that is being driven normally. The truck sees gentle use so it shouldn't get anywhere near to overheating. I've checked the heater area for leaks too and see no problems so it seems I'll just have to keep an eye on things for now.

I've decided to stick with my shop. Actually, I've never really considered going elsewhere since they always treat me well and stand by what they do. The repair has been a pain but that sometimes happens with mechanical stuff and I'm not totally sure the possible problem is even related to the headgasket repair. I'll monitor things and let you know how it turns out.

Spike, thanks for laying out my problem in such a logical manner. I agree with your thoughts on this matter. I have no doubt this will get resolved and I'll get on up to God's country this coming summer for some trail running and camping.