Head Gasket gone...how hard?
 

So I have been looking for a new 04 Disco. I have looked at 2 that I loved. Both are perfect inside and out. Both had head gasket issues. One had 64k and the other had 67k. I've been thinking about asking for a 1500 price cut and doing it myself. So how hard is it?

I have replaced the valve cover gasket years ago on an old Jeep, but besides plugs and wires and oil I have no other experience.The engine was a lot easier to work on. How hard is it on a Disco? The engine compartment has a lot more going on. Is there a "How To" on the site any where? I looked under the "how to" section and didn't see one.

Most DIYer's can do it in a long weekend with the proper tools and all the parts on hand.
Once you get all of the gadgets off of the engine it is straight forward, it's just a standard pushrod V8.
A indie shop can do it in a day or so and should cost $1200-1800 with parts and labor.

Are there any special tools needed besides metric wrenches and sockets and a scraper?

Is RAVE the best place to look for the how to?

No special tools other than a good torque wrench.
Remember that the Queen also uses SAE sizes.
And you will want impact sockets to remove the head bolts NOT standard sockets.

The main thing is, it takes time, and attention to detail. As Spike said, you definitely need a good torque wrench. Make sure you buy the head gasket kit from atlantic british and you should be set. The nice thing about these vehicles, when you replace the gaskets, you don't have to mess with the engine timing like you would with an overhead cam (which is how a newer typical engine is designed).

I just replaced my head gaskets and would add that you'll need a cheater...I mean jack handle, maybe some impact swivel sockets for the hard to reach back head bolts (regular 1/2" swivels will do, though, it money's an object), a 9mm (I think) allen wrench to remove the SAI valves, a 1/4" drive 8mm 12 point socket for the valve covers, and a 12mm 12 point socket for the exhaust manifolds. Last, but not least, Advil to take care of the sore forearm muscles.

Keep lots of sammich' bags and a Sharpie handy to help organize the bolts and you'll be fine.

Definitely go for it but download the Rave CD first (see Disco Mike's sig) as said above the hardest thing to do is get the head bolts off. The rear ones are easily rounded off so be careful with those ones. Also keeping the bolts separated and labelled in sandwich bags is necessary for the first time around imo. You need a good selection of metric (impact) and a few SAE sockets/wrenches, impact extensions/wobble exts, torque wrench, one of those long articulated sockets and a good long breaker bar plus a 36 mm/ thin adjustable wrench to get the viscous fan off. You can get all these from harbor freight for cheap and despite what people say their tools will get you through quite a few years of DIY for a fraction of the price.

Also budget in flushing your oil and coolant after words and also the random hoses that you may need to replace.

One thing I didn't see mentioned involves checking the heads for warping, especially if you don't know how long the engine had been run while overheating. Better safe than sorry ...

I would just go ahead and get them machined clean/straight and glass beaded inspected and be done with it. Go directly to a machine shop and it should be under $100 for both heads.

if it has been overheated then yes check for warpage but a little leak just clean the heads and put them back to gether.

the trick is not to break the secondary air hoses.

break them with a cold chisel when its cold and dont use a wrench until they are loose. otherwise you can break the metal hose.

and for the love of god, take off the plastic hose pump side first and then the other side and be careful.

but its winter time so if the coolant leak is small then keep it topped off and bleed correctly and wait till spring to do the job.