vehicle: 2000 disco II
140K+ miles
problem: blown headgasket (presumably)

Those of you who know me know that I am currently stuck in Iraq playing Army and have been unable to work on my rover. I will be home sometime next month and will be getting some leave time and several 4 day weekends. I now have access to an enclosed garage and basic tools. I am mechanical enough to change my own fluids and, maybe, redo spark plug wires. I have the British Atlantic headgasket kit sitting at home in the rover. So I have the parts, the tools, the garage and the time to do this fix.

my questions: How difficult will it be?
Any specific tools that I should go ahead and purchase that I will for sure need to complete task (other than basic wrenches and sockets and whatnot)?
Any manuals(RAVE, etc.) that I should have handy before I start?
Any other parts that I will need to complete task (I have various fluids and whatnot to refill her when I get her put back together)?
Any other questions that I dont know enough to ask?

The idea was that I lay out the tools and manuals on the workbench before I start, I take a ****-ton of digital pics so that I know how to re-assemble everything (i seem to be better at disassembly than reassembly for some reason...), I have my laptop open to the forum for searches, and I have DiscoMike on speeddial. Other than stocking the fridge in the garage with lots of beer what am I missing to set myself up for success?

Thanks guys!
I am sure I will be asking lots of questions and needing lots of assistance on this project.
DiscoMike - let me know what brand of adult beverage you most enjoy and I shall send you a bottle of it in the mail. I am sure I will be using you as a resource to the point of abuse.

brian

 

The Rave manual should be all you'll need, along with a good set of sockets and some patience.
You will want a full upper head gasket set, U.S. mad head bolts, a new t/stat, a bottle of Water Wetter or Purple Ice for the coolant system and at your mileage, a new set of hoses, especially if you don't have the bleed screw located on the plastic tee.
There are also some things you will want to inspect when it is apart, like the lifters, push rods rocker shaft and rocker arms for wear.

 

thx mike.
I installed the new t-stat and radiator hoses about a year ago - I assume they are still good since they appear like new. I also bought a new waterpump to install while I am in there.
When I get in there and get them exposed I shall post some pics of the lifters and etc.
Other than the water wetter what brand of coolant should I purchase?

thanks again, and let me know what brand of top shelf adult beverage you most enjoy.

brian

 

I am still recommending Dexcool and suggestion adding a bottle of either Water Wetter or Purple Ice to add to the coolant systems performance.

 

pilsner, thank you for your service to our country. I wished you lived closer I'd give you a hand with the head gasket.

Just checking, have you did a compression and cylinder leak down test to confirm the head gasket is bad?

As far as tools you will need a good torque wrench, not some cheap harbor freight one. A good american made torque wrench, should cost about $150 used if you are unable to borrow one.

 

nitetrain - thanks for the pleasant thought.
yes I did a pressure test and 2 (?) of the cylinders had signifigant pressure loss.

I shall have to see if the motor pool guys will let me "borrow" one from the army. I figure they have said NO! everytime I try to borrow a humvee so they owe me one.

Mike, dexcool - got it. thx. and I always use water wetter in my vehicles.

 

mike, wouldn't this be a good chance for him to flush out the dexcool and change over to something else? Since it's probably what caused the head gasket failure in the first place.

 

Get some coolant dye and be sure where the leak is coming from. A front cover leak can look like a front external head gasket leak.

Not that bad if you have a decent brain on your shoulders. The Rave CD is pretty stright forward and thorough.

36 mm wrench for the fan nut, a fan pulley holder is helpful. Make sure you have a good assortment of metric sockets and impact sockets (or good quality chrome, like snap on, matco, proto etc.) for the head bolts. Otherwise just have a good selection of tools (mostly metric but most of the engine fittings are SAE) including wobble extensions or sockets and a nice long breaker bar for the head bolts. I think you also need a 8mm 12 point socket for the rocker covers. Oh yeah you will need a torque wrench and locktite.


Just the Rave CD

Head gasket kit, head bolts, thermostat if needed, might as well change the belt and I'm sure you will break a few things along the way like hoses and what not. You need a couple gallons of coolant 12 quarts of oil and 2 oil filters and a few quarts of PAS fluid.

Any other questions that I dont know enough to ask?
[/QUOTE]

Read the Rave CD first keep the nuts, bolts and small parts in small labelled zip lock bags. Stay organized and be careful not to round off the rear head bolts. After you are done besure t change the oil after a week or so of driving to get rid of all the crap.

 

Has anybody done this project and taken pictures of it? I do much better work when I have pics and simple instructions to follow. I thought I had seen a sticky on this at one point but I can not find it now...

"Get some coolant dye and be sure where the leak is coming from. A front cover leak can look like a front external head gasket leak."

uh , it wasnt a small leak - it was a catastrophic failure. I had to drive it home and then when it cooled off I drove it to work the next day (I know, I know, I am an idiot and I fully admit it - it is not a mistake I intent to repeat). But I appreciate the information any way.

It would not suprise me to find that the engine is completely blown once I get her opened up. She is paid off and we have another vehicle (a scion xB a.k.a. THE TOASTER) so if she is blown then I can start looking for another engine/rebuild kit or whatever is needed to fix her. I WANT MY ROVER BACK! uh, sorry, I tend to get a little emotional about her.

btw, what weight of oil should I buy for her when I refill her? I run mobile 1 full synthetic exclusively but I dont remember what mike told me to run in her...

 

I like 10w40 living here in the south, but you are in a MUCH colder climate so you might want to check with others in your area.