Hey guys, took the 04 down into town today only to get halfway there and get the oil temp light. So I pulled off and popped the hood, to find my coolant reservoir drained. Walked to the gas station got some water, filled it up, bleed it the best I could and limped her home.

When I got home the reservoir was almost empty again, and when I took a look under, there was oil EVERYWHERE...not sure if anyone has had this happen or has any idea what it is? Any advice would be much appreciated...

 

Overheated due to low coolant.
Oil temp came on as the engine had no coolant in it and then the whole engine heated up.

Might be head gaskets now.

Liners could have slipped now too.

Engine might be damaged.

 

Sounds like a blown head gasket to me. I've had a catastrophic HG event like that. Sounds the same. However it could be a broken radiator or cooling line or just a loose hose clamp. Fill it up and turn it over... See where it is coming from. If it comes out of your coolant reservoir it would have to be a head gasket (engine compression escaping to the water jacket forces antifreeze out of the open reservoir opening.

I recently replaced my own head gasket and normal people can do it, but I will never do it again.

The oil being outside the engine did not happen to me. I don't know what would cause that other than blown seals/gaskets. It could be that heat unseated a valve seal and put pressure in the valve covers causing oil to force out of the valve covers. Wiser heads/former land Rover people might chime in...

Condolences. Even if I'm wrong, it sounds catastrophic. Hopefully you caught the overheating before it damaged the engine.

 

you can also run a compression check, and inspect spark plugs. Oil has a single port into each head, so external HG oil leaks not as common. I suspect all tests and inspections will point to HG failure. Be sure to check for coolant in oil (dip stick too full and milkshake color). Coolant on bearings not good.

By the way, should you be tempted to throw in a jug of block sealer, many of those products use sodium silicate. That is the same thing dealers added to oil on the cash for clunkers project that killed the engines. If you have oil and coolant mixing, that would be pretty tough on the engine.

DIY costs are $90 - $125 on the HG gasket kit, about $250 near me for a machine shop to "flatten" the heads back to the .002 inch spec (don't try this at home with belt sander). Plus all the patience you can muster. And a 36 inch section of water pipe (slips over wrench as a "cheater" bar). Repairs should be done out of hearing distance from SWMBO and others. Or $1700ish and up from a shop.

I did mine, and it took longer than planned, I screwed things up along the way and cost myself more time and treasure than I liked. Read lots of the posts about doing it, so you can be prepared and learn from the mistakes of others. If you can bribe a pal to help it would be good. See https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...ght=shade+tree for pictures and problems.

 

Engine respawn in 5, 4, 3, 2, ........

 

For whatever it is worth, my reaction to my catastrophic HG failure (I have to specify as I have had two HG failures) was to park the rover in the garage for SIX YEARS then buy a used engine for less than the cost of a HG job at a shop. Replacing the engine really isn't that difficult, but it can be just borrowing time (hence, me second, non catastrophic HG failure.... different engine).

 

Charlie rocks.
I did my HG two years ago about - in a parking lot.
Would I do it again?

Well, if a 2005 Range Rover needed one and I paid little for the Range Rover.
Maybe a 2004 Land Rover Discovery would earn one.

Older than a 2004 - I will not do the HG again.

I am lusting after a Mercedes 320 CDI.

2006, 2007.

Too bad they are all $15,000 and my 2001 Disco is worth $4,000 now tops.

Lost $1,000 just with the change from 2013 to 2014
Thanks kbb.com.

 

I remember reading that you did the HG in a parking lot. In fact I specifically did the job myself in a nice garage because I thought it would be a piece of cake since someone could do it in a parking lot. No cake was eaten that weekend.

Disco IIs are literally getting so cheap I think they only have value to disco owners for parts. I won't get rid of mine for sure. It quits? I put it back in time out for six years.

 

advice....ouch been there done that.
Head Gasket repair at the very least...once these motors overheat there is a >50% chance there is much worse coming. Slipped liners, oil pump gear/oil pressure issues to name a couple.
How long do you want to keep it? Good advice above for low cost alternatives. I would also start researching motor replacement options as well so you know what to be prepared for. Cannibal V8 and/or GPR for great rebuild options.