I know there are a ton of threads on this forum in regard to head gasket issues with the disco iis. I have read over many (if not all of them) and my husband and I are still really struggling to make an attempt to figure out if it really is a head gasket going bad.
Here's the info:
2000 disco 2, 178k miles, 3rd owner (that we know of), not sure if she's ever had a motor rebuild, head gaskets, etc. Had her for about 6 months now. Knew she had a coolant leak along with a few other minor issues...bosch motor...
Ok, so we have been dealing with coolant smell since we got her. Doesn't smell inside the truck, but obvious from front exterior of car. We just keep an eye on the coolant and she runs like an absolute top. Did valve cover gaskets and fixed flex plate issue when we first got her.
We drove her about 35 miles or so on a highway to go pick up hubbys truck and did fine there and then just a few miles going back home she ovrheated. I immediately started to pull off the road when I saw the gauge going up. The dreaded red light came on just as I was getting into the grass. I turned the car off and proceeded to take everything out of the car (never had a car overheat on me she was billowing smoke from under the hood. When hubby finally got turned around he came and lifted the hood and looked like the coolant reservoir cap had come off and all the antifreeze was basically gone. We put more coolant in her And spent a few minutes making sure the air was out of the system. We made it home fine after that.
That was about 2 months ago. She has run fine since. We decided to change her plugs since Noone knows when it was done last. She had the bosch +4s plugs in her which we replaced with NGks. The plugs looked normal like cardboard, although the boschs are a little more hard to determine.
So, we then decided to tackle the coolant issue. We took her to a ratiator shop and they tested the radiator first-which they determined was fine. They then did the exhaust test on the reservoir and it came back positive 3 times. They said it's probably a head gasket....maybe a crack in the block.
We paid our 39 bucks and decided to take her home and figure out what we wanted to do from there.
That's where we decided to get some of the head gasket repair stuff (looks like copper thick sparkly stuff) we followed the directions figuring it was worth a try as a temp fix. We also sniffed the reservoir as we opened the cap and it's an obvious exhaust smell. Same after the head gasket stuff.
Here's what doesn't make sense to us: no obvious coolant leak. Nothing on the ground, no milky oil, don't think exhaust smells like coolant, no smoke of any kind from tailpipe, no obvious loss of power, runs and idles great. Has the usual dash lights- check engine (which used to flash on cold start from time to time- but hasn't in quite a while), abs light, and traction control light.
We are just trying to figure out if it could possibly be anything else??? Any input is greatly appreciated here.

 

Boos,
Head Gasket leaks manifest themselves in many ways and you can usually get away with driving your truck (with a slight leak) before they totally fail. However, if you do that you are taking the risk of severely overheating and ruining your engine when they do totally fail. You need to take your truck into a competent shop experienced with Land Rovers.

I did a quick Google search and there are quite a few independent shops in your area that work on our trucks. I believe you should take it in for a diagnosis and evaluation before you are left stranded again. I'd bet you need new gaskets and head work at a minimum. You may also need various other work as well like a timing cover gasket, water pump etc. You could easily be looking at $1500 - $3000 worth of work. The high number would cover most anything else you would need including a major service, all new hoses, belt, battery etc. Ask around, a good shop will tell you exactly what needs to be done and, if you're on a budget, tell you what you need to do at a minimum to keep it on the road. Bottom Line. These trucks take lots of maintenance and that doesn't come cheap. Having a good independent shop available and having the ability to do basic maintenance yourself is the best situation.

I don't recommend you go anywhere near a dealer. Find an independent shop that comes with good recommendations and, preferrably, has Rovers in the shop being serviced. Go visit them.

 

Send me your tele number and a good time to call you, I'll get you thru all your concerns.

 

Thanks for yall's quick responses!
I just want to say this is a great forum.
Disco Mike- I will send you our tele in a sec. Thanks for being there for all of us here on the forums. I think we spoke to you before regarding our previous flex plate issue.
Again, Thanks everyone, and if anyone else has any input, I will be checking back.
~Amanda and Curtis