I did the same thing last year, I had never done anything other than a battery replacement. Took me 2 months but I broke a lot of parts and was traveling, just watch the Atlantic British video a could of times before and while doing it. If you feel brave enough and your rover needs it's a perfect opportunity to fix other issue. Plus If you get rover fever like I did you may even end up with a sick off-roader.

 

Hello, Have done this three times, 3 different cars. You absolutely need Hylomar Blue, a must. Doesn't set. Used by Rolls Royce. It is available on Amazon CA, 23.99 cdn. Used on the valley gasket and all other gasket but not head or exhaust. Head gasket set and new bolts from .. Foundry 4x4 or Lucky 8 or Paddock or John Craddock. You need new head bolts do not reuse the old one. Expect to break exhaust manifold to exhaust front pipe bolts. You need 12 point socket for the manifold to head. A hard thing is the location of the ign coils. Send the heads out to check if they are flat or take a steel edge and check that way. Get the correct wrench for the fan hub, change the viscous unit. Change belts , water pump. Do not mix antifreeze types either red or green. Red is long life used on commercial trucks. I did mine in my driveway with no air tools.

 

It overheated, and a mechanic with a scan tool said that the gasket was blown. However, that mechanic is no longer around.

 

No offense but a mechanic with a scan tool could not tell if the head gasket was blown using his scan tool.

There are way of checking things out yourself now that you are committed to doing your own work...

Obviously get a code reader and identify the location of the misfire...

You'll need to inspect the spark plugs and the bores with a boroscope/endoscope... available cheap online that hook to your phone..

Do a very good visual inspection all along the seams where the heads join the block especially at the back of the engine using the boroscope camera. The area should still be clean if heads were done recently and hardly driven. This will make it easier.

If you find signs of coolant where it shouldn't be then yes you have a HG issue.

Of course you have to look at why you overheated... Where did that coolant go? Into the engine? Oil look like milkshake?

Start learning by sleuthing around to identify the above things and rule them out one by one.

You should do all of this before you buy any tools or head gasket kits.

Troubleshoot first. Learn how the system works by researching here, AB videos, and in the RAVE

Then proceed to spending money.

 

Best of luck!
There is a good reason that no one wants to do the job-- its a major pain in the ***!. Whoever designed that motor really should be shot. I highly recommend that you find a used engine and have someone do that job.
I tired relplacing a head gasket on my Disco II, and after I got it off and got it resurfaced, and got the kit to redo it etc., and then it didn't;t even turn over. FORGET IT!

Jim Ober
805 578-3470

 

@Jim Ober wow I really do not know what to say. Pushrod v8s are a the absolute simplest type of head gasket there is to change. I had not done one in 40 years when I did mine, could not have been easier.

Most shops will not get a deal on parts, and are not setup to deal with aluminum engines. That is why they do not want to touch them, along with pop the heads and find a slipped liner, then customer does not want to pay for that part of the labour.