Lucky for cessna, D2's did not have the sticky valve issues of the D1.
I would have them checked for warpage then machined if necessary, but valve work for him shouldn't be necessary.

 

thank god for the D2... I just looked at the link in regards to the sticky valve's, thanks for that link... I see kinda what I and my friend are up against... I think we can fair the project as long as the garage stays warm... Now I can't wait to get my hands dirty once more... I am hoping to do a long weekend project of it and have her back on the road... I will leave you guys alone for now, thanks a lot for your support and I will surely report back as to what I find in a couple weeks. Meanwhile, I am going to start looking for a good spot out west to go finally see how she reacts to off road terrain... not much in northern indiana except a corn field or two...ha Adios, K.

 

I have a 2000 Disco II with 120k miles. It was loosing about 2 pints of coolant per month. A local dealer said it was the head gasket (driver's side), and that the repair would be $3400 and would take 10-12 hours. Several folks on this forum said thatI should be able to get it done at an indy shop for about half this cost. So I called a few independent shops, and their quotes ranged from about $1500 to $2000 (Houston area). Just got it back today from one of these shops. The heads were OK and did not need to be machined; so only the gaskets were replaced.. Cost was about $1500.

 

Sounds like you got a good deal for what it's worth. I am for sure planning to do the work myself and looking at a total cost of around 300-400 bucks as long as it is indeed the issue. I will report back in a new thread once it's done and complete and have driven the truck to verify issue is fixed...

 

I"m looking at replacing my head gaskets very soon and want to buy the parts. Along with the obvious are there any other parts I should buy at the same time? Exhaust manifold gaskets etc? Mike already mentioned the thermostat and hoses as things that I should have replaced at the same time since the engine is already apart...I just want to make sure I don't forget anything when I order.

 

cptshanman, by no means am I a true mechanic but I have skills to get this head gasket situation taken care of myself... with that said, I am planning on Mon. to purchase from atlantic-british a head gasket set witch includes all of the gaskets needed including the exhaust manifold gaskets, the only other things I am buying are the head bolts and antifreeze for when its complete, I am not planning on replacing my water pump b/c the dealership that looked at it last week said there are no signs of leaks there... I did however replace 3 weeks ago the throttlebody heater plate and gasket b/c it was leaking pretty good and I originally thaught that was my leak but now I have a much more severe leak being hopefully the head gasket or gaskets and not a freeze plug in the block or a cracked block. The head gasket set from A-B is 159.00 and the head bolts are 80.00 I will report back as to what I find and how everything shaped up once I get this done within the next few weeks.

 

Not to contradict you guys, but I've seen frost plugs corrode before, and replaced them. Not on Land Rover, but other vehicles. It's not common, but it can and does happen but usually on older motors, or where straight water may have been used. It's also not out of the realm of possibility that one could be leaking. It only takes a pinhole.

This shouldn't be THAT hard to diagnose. You should be able to see if it's coming out around the frost plug or not. Loosen your antifreeze resivour cap part way (to releive the pressure). Hose the motor down with engine degreaser and rinseas clean as possible. Use hot water if you can. Let dry. Then get your flashlight and a telescoping mirrorout and look over THOROUGHLY from the bottom side, then top side. Use the mirror to investigate the back side of the motor where you can't see. Look for a trail where the leak was coming from, hints of rust, etc. If you don't see anything, run it for afew momentsand then look. If you still don't see anything, tighten the cap, then run for a few moments ...start looking. The pressure will force it out. You should be able to track it down. Just be patient. The time you put into a good diagnosis will save you a lot of labor downstream so it's worth it to check it out.

I wouldn't remove the motor to change the intake, or even to pull the heads, or replace frost plugs. Just no reason to unless it IS a frost plug and it so obscured that there isn't any other way (which I doubt will be the case). It's going to be a LOT more work. I mean, you can have the heads off in no time. If you have the head off, Discojag makes an excellent point to get them reworked. The performance of a motor in large part is a matter of how good condition the heads/valves are. Good luck.

 

Losing a ton of coolant, and finding that it is dripping down around the bell housing is a classic symptom of the valley gasket. This is not a repair that needs or requires removing the engine from the car, as the valley gasket is on top of the engine. You do not even remove the heads. Pulling the engine to do the work would be way overkill.

 

Wondering when I pull the push rods out, are there any advice on putting them back in other than putting a little motor oil on them and setting them in place...

 

Just use a piece of card board with 16 holes, marketed for each cylinder, no big deal.
Don't woory about putting oil back on when reinstalling them.