Ladies/Gents/Guys/Gals,

I found what I think is going to be my next disco, and hopefully I can keep this one for a long time.

As it sits, its a 2003, with 103K on the clock. Not in death range (after it actually) and has some spotting on the roof where paint has faded (FL truck).

Interior is damn nice, headliner is FUBAR, key needs new buttons, windshield needs replacing, but the guy will take $1700. Maybe less, as his wife is about ready to skin his *** alive over this thing.....

It's also Navy/Tan, which is hands down my favorite.

The engine sounds like a mess, and that is what I need some help with. It will turn over, the PO overheated it, and I think the head gasket is really really shot, but it might need rings as well. There is not a damn drop in the coolant bottle, and when it starts up, you can clearly hear one cylinder go "pssht" as if air is shooting out past the rings or the HG. No valve clatter though, which makes me think oil pressure stayed good during meltdown.

I'm reading up on everyone's HG jobs here, and it sounds easy enough to tackle (making parts list as I speak).

So here is what i am going to check off the bat, and any suggestions will be appreciated, Spike, DiscoMike, etc, please weigh in if I say anything stupid.

1) Compression test - I think with HG bad, this might be a bad idea, because the cylinders aren't sealed. Any other way to check for blown rings?

2) List of codes - have my ultragauge out on loan right now, but as soon as I get it back, we'll see how bad it is.

3) Pull plugs and see how many are steam cleaned....

4) Anything else? I'll probably do a service along the lines of Jared9220, with oil pump and timing chain as well. Anyone on here done a ring job with engine in truck?

Anyhow, back to searching and making parts list for this ****....

And pending a proper tank, I am going to run this one on propane. This is the youtube link to my F-150 conversion that I did a couple months ago:

Darwin Crawford - YouTube

 

For the price it sounds like a good deal. If you are commited to doing the work yourself then you can pretty much rebuild the whole thing without spending more then it is worth. As in any project you should try to never spend more on the car and repairs then the Kelly Blue Book Value of it. That being said, if you can pick this truck up for $1,700 then you could spend around 4K to fix it up before you are upside down. That sounds like more then enough, but then again these damn Rovers always seem to take every last penny you own.

I would maybe try to fill up the Coolant tank with water and start it and try to see where water starts to come out. This should give you a better understanding of what repairs you might be looking at.
You said that it overheated really bad and that always throws up a Big Red Flag with me. Instead of a simple head gasket job, you could be looking at a cracked head and need new ones. You just never know how long people drive there cars while they are overheating.