Thanks in advance if you read this through. It's a long tale...

I'm not a land rover fan at this point. The amount of mechanical and electrical failures on my 2000 V8 D2 is overwhelming. Passenger and both backseat door locks do not work except if I do it manually on every door. Back door sticks randomly, passenger window slips off track sometimes, no cc(fixed that, hose was split at both ends), buttons wore off key fob, key will not lock driver door anymore(won't turn either way). Those 2 problems together mean I CANNOT lock or alarm my car until I drop $200 (criminal) on a new key or get my locking mechanism replaced.. since there is only 1 on the car. The jack didn't work when I needed it. Most of these things worked when I got the car 2 years ago. What blows my mind more than any of my "real problems" is the glovebox manual has gramatical errors and wrong page numbers in the table of contents. It's useless. Thanks to this forum, I found the rave manual, which is awesome. Now I know what you're thinking, "he's just reckless" but I assure you I am not hard at all on this V8 LAND ROVER. Maybe the last owner was? Doubt it. This thing was in good shape when I got it.

My biggest issue as of late is the cooling system. About a week ago, it started overheating after 2 miles from a cold engine. Took it back to work and found that my bleeder screw was broken. Then found out lr redesigned the whole upper hose, so instead of just a screw, I needed an $80 hose. Ok... Thought I'd take a look at the therm, which didn't open very smothly, so I got that and the hose for $120, flushed the radiator(coolant goes everywhere since it's not open below), refilled with half/half, bled the air(more props for the forum) and I was good to go.. for a 150 mile trip to the lake and back. The first time I started it the next day, made it a few miles on the highway and it got hot again! The o-rings on the overflow cap were flat so I got a new one. Also noticed coolant spewing out the throttle body heater. Got another 1 for $50- still no dice.

Then I spent $80 on a pressure test and the color test(I forget what it's called). It was losing a small amount of pressure and the color changed fairly quickly according to same day auto. The guy I delt with said I'd need my headgaskets replaced which includes every gasket, new headbolts, heads machined, oil change + filter and a coolant flush/refill. Grand total-$2900.00. F that. So I got some other quotes. The dealership said about $2500. Talked to a few independant guys, 1 as low as $1500. But even that kind of money seems too high with so many other problems in a car with only 90k. It's not reliable.

At this point I started reading up more.. Got the rave manual, did a lot of searches here with my symptoms and everything. It would idle forever, heat was hot, some bubbles came up in the overflow but no coolant in oil or bad exhaust. I could drive it about a mile and then it would get hot and the heat would get cold. I found this really odd. Then yesterday, I came across the thread about bending the thermostat to allow a constant flow. This sounded just like my situation. I thought I had nothing to lose, short term.. At least until I could afford to get it fixed. This is my only transportation right now. So I did it just as this poster says... https://landroverforums.com/forum/sh...ng+heater+core

It ran pretty cold for a while, just above the blue. Then today, I took it to work, about 15 miles, it did fine. Ran at halfway temp. Made it back- fine. Next trip, hot! The over flowcap seemed to be building up pressure and not releasing it. So I let it cool off, topped it off and tightened the cap only about halfway down. Made it 10 miles home running just under half way on the temp gauge.

So as of now, I have bypassed the thermostat somewhat, as well as the tank cap and my car is not overheating... yet. I don't get it. I know those things are there for a reason so what's going on? combustion gas in the coolant? if so, why no coolant in the oil? I'm hoping that someone can read this and tell me exactly what's going on. I know I need new gaskets but it also seems like it could be a circulation problem or something I'm not even thinking about. I've already spent around $300 on this and I can't afford to spend another cent until I know it will do some good. Thanks for reading.

Ryan

 

no other way to put it. it needs head gaskets. all the tricks you did helped get rid of excess air pockets caused by the headgaskets which in turn causes it to run cooler but your on borrowed time. once your headgaskets are replaced you will get another 50-60k out of the motor at least.

 

50-60k? Really?

Anyway, the head gasket replacement just seems to be part of Disco ownership. Not that expensive if you do it yourself.

 

You need to do the head gaskets and get on with your life.
If you continue to drive it, you are setting yourself up of a melt down and now you are talking big bucks.

 

im with everyone else. its head gasket time.. get the AB kit and some new head bolts and do it yourself in a weekend. stop driving yourself crazy and your truck to meltdown.

 

I've never done head gaskets before. Is this something a first timer should attempt? And also, I noticed there are different size gasket kits. Which 1 is best? And do I absolutely need my heads machined or is there a way to check them?

 

My concern is your lack of mechanical knowledge, I think you may be biting off more then you can handle.

 

I know you have a million posts but why so condescending in all of them? "Get on with your life" "lack of mechanical knowledge"...? Yeah, this kind of put a damper on my life. I don't have the money to drop on this right now so my lack of knowledge will have to do until I save enough to pay someone. In the mean time, I will drive the truck. Either way, I'm not smart and you sound cool. You are just pointing out the very reason I registered here and got the rave manual.

 

You want someone to baby you around or you want honesty? Mike's post was honest and was the same thing I was thinking.

Did you know if you over torque the head bolts on these blocks you can cause cracks in the block which will lead to a 4k repair bill on top of your homegrown head gasket job?

If the answer was no, wipe the tears out of your eyes, go find $2,500 and a pro or continue playing the games you are playing with your cooling system.

If you decide on the latter, put a bike in the back of your truck. You'll need it to get home pretty soon.

...

 

OK Dude, deep breath....

If you don't have any tools and you haven't tackled something like this before, it will be challenging, but not impossible. I have NO idea what your situation...but you must address the issue and not the symptoms unless you don't have a problem writing the truck off.

Here's what I would do...and we all have to try in order to get experience, right? Read the RAVE manual and understand what's involved. Print the pages that address the process, and go out to your truck, pages in hand, and visually identify what you'll need to do to accomplish the task.

Organization is key when working on anything. Make a list of tools you have and tools you'll need to procure. Make a list of supplies that you'll need and get those procured as well. Take some good pictures from several angles of the engine bay and note where the various hoses/cables/wires route and attach.

When you're ready to dive in, get your mind straight; it's easy to be pissed at the situation, at the truck and everything else. If you feel that way, or feel "pressed for time" stop. Circle back when you're feeling better and up to the task. It makes a real difference!

If you get stuck on something, just ask! And FWIW...Mike will talk you through any challenges you might have. He's a GREAT asset and is one of the most generous people I've ever known when it comes to assistance and know how. Use him as a reference!

Finally, don't be afraid to dive in. It's aggrevating now, but you'll have an immense feeling of accomplishment when you're done!

R&R cylinder heads on push rod motors are really no biggie. You can do this!