The chances are greater than not it is the HGs...do the pressure test first as suggested, but at some point in the future, you will need this: Discovery II Head Gasket Kit - Land Rover Discovery Parts And Accessories At Atlantic British
and this: Land Rover Head Bolt Kit Fits Discovery, Range Rover & Defender Vehicles

 

That's kind of what I assumed; that the reservoir had overpressurised and was blowing coolant out through the overflow tube.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is not afraid to stick something to my tongue as part of the troubleshooting process!

By all means, please keep us informed as the diagnosis and repair is made! Too many posts start with a problem, and end before an answer is given. When someone else has a similar problem, they find the thread, but still have no answer.

 

But always keep a cold one nearby to wash out the nasty taste....

 

/agreed.

I have a very slight external coolant leak at the right rear corner of my engine, which I am hoping to confirm is a valley pan soon. I am trying to find time to pull the heads from a junk block in my garage, so I can have them planed and etc, because I KNOW the head gaskets will have to be replaced at some point, and having an extra set of machined heads ready to install will save time.

 

Yeah, I WISH I had an extra set. I've got to find someone local to me who can plane mine (I hope to anyway, I don't want to have to ship them to someone and then wait and wait and wait for them to return).

I'm just REALLY hoping and praying that it's just the head gaskets and not the block. I can certainly do either/or but, I really don't want to take the engine out, pull it completely apart, buy WAY more parts, put it all back together, etc. etc. etc. and so on and so on. You know what I mean?

 

Speaking of head gaskets... What is the best way to torque them down? I seem to remember something that maybe DiscoMike wrote about specific torque settings instead of the whole tighten to X-amount of torque and then 90 degrees or whatever it is. (I'll find out soon enough I suppose, right?)
Anyway, does this work or should I just do it the way Land Rover says to do it?? That's what I'll probably do but, if there's a better way please let me know. Thanks again to all of you who have replied so far, I appreciate it SO MUCH!!! Thanks a million guys.

 

Cylinder head / machine shops have been around a long time, many engines have passed through them, not just Rovers are afflicted....

 

Yeah, I just happen to live in Jaffrey, NH where every shop is a collection of over-charging hacks and there aren't many machine shops around here. Thank God I can do the job myself. I guess I'll have to ask around and find a good machine shop somewhere out here. I actually heard of a "machine shop" not too far from here where they placed a head for a 4 cylinder car on a belt sander and just let it drag for a while, then handed it back and over-charged for it. I better do my homework.

Thanks again guys.

 

Personally I would wait to see if Disco Mike has a torque figure, I believe he does. IMO a lot of problems with replacing head gaskets has to do with LR torque sequence. I think a lot of these blocks are cracking at the bolt holes because of that last ¼ then another ¼ turn procedure. I personally will admit that those last turns were not as smooth as they would have been had I been using a torque wrench with a specific torque setting. If I do another set on my personal truck I’m using the ARP head stud kit, seem like a much better setup. JMHO but what do I know.

 

or you could throw coolant dye in and look for the leak after a test drive. if you spot coolant dye in the oil or on the spark plug then you know the problem is bad.