So I just bought this rover and noticed what appeared to be a leaky vc gasket. I got all my gaskets in today and was going to replace the valve cover gaskets and intake but took a little deeper look and found what appears to be antifreeze and oil mixed on the rear of the motor. This is right above the front driveshaft so I am not sure if it's the notorious "leak" that drips onto the driveshaft and causes the ds failure?? Or is this a head gasket failure??

Here are a few pics. I hope its not a head gasket?

 

Just tighten the valve bolts to stop the valve cover leaks.
As for the other, clean it first and watch for a "new" leak, head gaskets are common and that is one of the leak spots.

 

THanks for the insight...I tried to tighten all VC bolts and they were already super tight.

If it's a head gasket....what kind of total cost am I looking at? I can do it myself but do I need to have the heads surfaced? Or just new gasket set? Is the bottom end usually ok??

 

Perfect example why a pre purchase inspection is so important.
Yes you have a cylinder 8 head gasket leak.
Yes you will need new bolts.
You can buy a kit from AB comes with everything you need.
Your getting ready to have some o2 codes if you don't already from all that gunk on the connector.
Do you have a ultra gauge or scan tool to know what temps your running.
You should clearly be able to smell antifreeze cooking when its running.
About $350 in parts and then you will have machine shop time for the heads at the least possibly the block depending on how high temps got.

 

You are in luck, right now Land Rover Parts & Rover Accessories From Atlantic British | Discovery, Range Rover, LR3, LR2, Defender, Freelander and Land Rover Series Parts & Accessories has the head gasket kit, with new head bolts on sale for $195.
No you do not need the heads shaved, would not hurt, but not needed.
Do the head gaskets and if it runs will leave it alone.
Dont go replacing things that are not broken, you will only cause problems.
Use the proper motor oil, the proper gas and she will last a very long time.

 

been purusing their site and can only find the gasket kit alone for $169 and head bolts for another $79.95. I found a head gasket set with bolts for a D1 at $195 but not for a DII. Do you have the exact link maybe?

Thanks for the insight fellas.

 

Make sure you replace those old tired factory plug wires, buy a new 180 soft spring t/stat, switch away from Dexcool, time to go green and if you still have the old style upper radiator hose with the bleed screw located molded into the hose and not on a black plastic Tee, then replace that also.
Might also call Wil Tillery, number in my signature section, he has one of the best quality head gasket kits out there for a great price.

 

I could not disagree more with what was said here. To do a head gasket job and not resurface the heads is just stupid, half ***'d and the cheap way of doing things. If you cut corners with this engine it will come back to bite you in the ***. If you already have the heads off you need to have them cleaned, resurfaced and a valve job done at a good machine shop.
I'm sure you will get a lot of people telling you to wait until things fall apart and break before replacing it but if you are going to do a large job like the head gaskets then there are plenty of smaller jobs that you can knock out while you have the truck in the garage. (i.e.; upgrade plugs and wires to 8mm, new front cover and water pump gaskets, your oil pump gears are probably cracked, flush and fill with the green coolant, new radiator hose kit and theromstat, install an oil pressure gauge and an ultra gauge, and rebuld your front drive shaft if it hasn't been done.)

It all comes down to piece of mind for me. I would hate to spend the time and money to fix my head gaskets only to have them fail again because I was too cheap to get my heads surfaced. To be cheap or not to be cheap? That is the question.

 

I agree, if you've gone through the trouble of ripping everything apart, have the heads resurfaced.

 

I am taking the heads in tomorrow to be cleaned, milled, and tested. They said they will inspect valves and let me know if we need to do those as well.

I ordered top end gasket kit from BA along with soft spring thermo. I'll be ordering a water pump, radiator hose kit, silicone wires, and a new belt today. Is there anything else that is an absolute must??