I recently picked up an 04 D2 HSE7. My first Land Rover product. I love it but it won't pass smog because the check engine light is on and I can tell there I a miss. Using my scan tool I get codes 0304, 1412, 1415. The PO had new plugs and wires, not sure of the wire brand but from what I've read here I know they aren't the ones I should have because they're only 7mm. Not sure of the plug brand either but not believing that is my problem.

What scares me most is the steady light stream of coolant flowing through the hose into the reservoir after the disco had only been running a few minutes. It may have been flowing the whole time, I just didn't open the cap and look right away. And it kind of smelled like exhaust but that could have been in my head. My question really is; should that coolant be running into the reservoir right away like this? Or does that alone mean I have a blown head gasket? Can anyone tell me what they've paid for a head gasket job? Thanks!

 

$15-1600, but you have a lot of testing to do before you condemn the head gaskets

 

Thanks for the indication. Tonight I'll pick up one new plug and one wire on the way home and swap them out. While the plug is out I'll stick the inspection camera in there and see if it's wet or really clean. I'll also try the popular paper towel test.


A fellow member had some luck with Bars leak, I think it was HG1, I'll have to double check. These are all cheap or free and manageable tonight so I'll do them.


From what I understand, if it's a coil, I'd have two misfires. Might ground the plug edge to the block while doing the paper towel test to see if there is a spark. Probably should have done that day 1.

 

there is a lot of testing i would do before pouring in Barrs, that's your last resort. jmho

it can easy cost you a heater core, radiator & thermostat, if your lucky.

 

I decided I wasn't ready to try the Bars, and thank you for that input!


I pulled a plug last night, which was supposed to be new, according to the PO. It did look new. It was also dry. I put a new Bosch Platinum in it anyway. I cleared the codes and fired it up and it sounded and felt fine. I doubt that this fixed my problem though. I did check for spark at that plug and it sparking strong. I also put a timing light on #4 to see if it looked steady and it does. I poured a can of Sea Foam into my half tank of gas and am driving it today. I think my next step, assuming the SES light comes back on, is to have the fuel system cleaned properly.


The big trouble is I'm in CA and can't get it registered for legal driving until it passes smog. Feeling like a fugitive driving around with expired tags.

 

Kevin,

If you've got an advance auto in the area (or whatever they are called in your part of the country) you can rent a coolant pressure tester from them, which should help with some of the diagnostics. It's what I did, the tool was nice quality and the rental was free after they refund the deposit.

Drowssap is right -- I went the HG1 route after a good bit of testing and after I was fairly confident that the misfire issue wasn't related to my head gaskets or fuel system, and was instead a crack in the block I didn't think a HG job would fix. He's also right about the risk of trashing the heater core, radiator (which is pretty thin in the D2 to begin with) and thermostat by dumping block sealer into the cooling system. I forgot to mention it in the other thread, but I replaced my Tstat (with another of the same Motorad 180s) after flushing out the excess HG1. The course of action I took was a calculated risk I decided to take given my specific circumstances that happened to work out, for the time being anyway. I wouldn't recommend it normally, which is why I tried to provide a lot of detail about my reasoning in my original post describing what I did.

Regardless, I hope the new plug fixes you up and gets you through inspection and you don't have to deal with anything nastier. Good luck!

 

I appreciate all of the input I'm getting here. I just pulled up my inspection report to see if there were some more clues on there. Not sure if this means anything, but the gas analysis only failed at idle, it passed under acceleration and at 2500 RPM. Carbon Monoxides were well under at both. But the HC measured 251 ppm at idle, the max allowable HC is 100 ppm.


If anyone knows what this should be telling me I'd love to hear it.

 

Just so you know, a proper HG job by a reputable LR indy is more like $2400 on the west coast. That usually includes all the extras like plugs, wires, t-stat, hoses, belt, machine shop, etc.

 

So they'll actually do the sniff test with the SES light on? The idle failing could very well be ignition related. HC is unburned fuel-- it can sometimes be compression related too, as the engine is more sensitive to compression issues at low engine speeds. This is also true of ignition components, however.

Rule out the plugs and wires. Pull all plugs, check them and the gap. I don't subscribe to the 7mm = bad wires that is so prevalent around here. IMO, buying the most expensive 8mm wires is wasted money. Insulation breaking down will always manifest itself as problems in wet or humid weather.. The 7mm/8mm won't make a difference regardless of what anyone tells you. But alas, I'm on the LR site, so I better be careful or I'll get flamed. While not a 100% scientific test, you can stick an ohm meter on the metal contacts on either side of the wire to get an idea if they're really bad or not. Sure, this only measures the conductors (and not the wires' insulating abilities, obviously), but if they're new wires, that's about all you need to do.

Definitely rule ignition out first before you go diving into HG. The high HC at idle would really make me leery of HG if you rule out ignition problems first.

 

Thanks for your input. And yes, I made them do the sniff test. I paid for the whole test and told them that is what I wanted.


I have sea foamed the intake. And replaced the plug in number 4. The old plug came out clean but I was told it was new. The wires all appear to be new.


I'm going to do a compression test on it at some point this week, maybe Wednesday evening. If it seems okay then I guess I will replace the coils and wires and see what happens.