So I mentioned in my new member post that I spend $150 on a pre-purchase inspection for a 2000 Disco II that my girlfriend and I were looking at.

I told her that, because the guy who was selling it claimed to have had new head gaskets, water pump and timing chain, it would probably be ok to purchase, pending a good check at the Rover place in town.

They printed off a few things, namely O2 sensors and misfiring on a few cylinders.

I have my friend, who is a dynomite mechanic installing all of the parts, and changing all of the fluids today. He called me to tell me that the Rover place missed some very critical issues, one being that the front, driver side O2 sensor was not even plugged in. The Rover place DID mention that the coolant was low but didn't suggest any explanation or express any concern.

My friend found a bunch of coolant in the oil, and now thinks there could be some big problems with one or both of the heads.

We'll find out after driving it around town for a little while when we take it back to him for a follow up.

My question is, what are common problems with this year Disco. Thanks.

 

blown head gaskets.

 

If you have coolant in oil, don't be driving it. If a sloppy HG job, coolant might still be leaking (so you would continue to loose coolant), or it just was not cleared out by guy who did HG work.

1. If head gaskets were done, BUT heads were not machined back to "flat", the new gaskets could be leaking and the job would need to be done again. Any warranty available? DIY HG is $400 - $500 in parts and machine shop work, $1500 - $1700 indy shop.

2. HG can leak into cylinder and cause misfire, O2 being unplugged does not help the issue.

3. Aside from HG, water pump (age), and timing chain (age); there are the normal plugs and wires, front crank seal leak (should have been replaced with timing chain), and oil pump - should have replaced oil pump when they did timing chain - but bill of materials will tell. You can do a mechanical oil pressure test hot and cold to see if pump is works as it should.

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...scovery-21328/

So they charged you $150 to open the hood, check the fluid levels and plug in their code reader?

 

I hope you paid by credit card so you can at least get your inspection money back.

 

No, unfortunately we paid in cash for the inspection. I don't know about the oil pump. We're going to drive it for a little while and re check the oil to see if the guy who changed the head gasket just neglected to clean everything up, or if it's still leaking and go from there.

We weren't prepared to get into a car with major problems and I'm afraid we may be hosed. I found 2 cylinder heads on ebay for $79. each so I guess if mine are warped, or cracked I'll replace them....yeah??

 

Cylinder heads are normaly resurfaced by a machine shop as part of an HG job. They are considered warped if more than .002 inch out of flat. Your printer paper is .0038, so we are talking small things that make a big difference. Most shops charge on the order of $200, they plane the heads, clean them up, replace the valve oil seals (come with HG kit). Download the whole RAVE manual set, the overhaul section under general has very detailed info on this. One page attached.

Would not run out and buy used heads, they'll need the same machine shop work. Otherwise, why would they have ever left the engine? If needed, take yours apart and have your checked first.

 

I'm thankful for you people here at LRF.com....The service engine light turned off, and now I have to see if it's going to lose fluid, or if it just wasn't cleaned up from the HG job. We'll only be driving it for less than 10 min at a time, here in town until we figure out what's going on.

I'll keep you posted, and ask advice when the next step comes. Thank you guys very much!