Hello,
I'm rescuing a 2004 Discovery from a mechanic. Its been overheated 3 times, so I'm assuming the engine is a total write-off. The interior is in pretty good condition (much better than I expected). Car has 108K miles. What are my options for engines? Rebuilt? I would rebuild it, except its been overheated 3 times, so there probably isnt enough metal left for straightening out everything. I'm a little leery of salvage motors, because there is no history, no guarantee it wasn't overheating when it got hit.

pictures: 2004 LR Discovery - Imgur

 

If you think the engine may be a total write off then why don't you start it up and listen to it run, read the codes and see what you actually have before deciding.

I know overheating can be death, however I've learned to never assume anything based on what someone else said.

Could have overheated three times because they didn't know how to bleed it correctly.

Could be they did the HG's without machining the heads.

Or a combo of both.

I have a friend that hates his disco because it overheated three times, but the reality was it wasn't bled properly and he went cheap on the HG job and did not mill the heads.

I believe his engine would be savable.

He however is done with it.

 

you 4.6 has been overheated at least three time, that they admitted too, not good, not good at all. used engines run approx $1.5-2k. rebuilt $5-6k.

So you should check and see why it overheated and why the owner/mechanic is selling it the way it is.
It is unlike a mechanic to sell something that can be repaired and a profit can be made, unless he is worried about getting it back.

you should price it as an 04 that need $5-6k put into it for a motor.

 

Yeah well, I'm getting for 500, so after I put a motor in it and some maintenance, I'll have an almost-new Disco for about the price they are selling them for used. At least that is the plan.

I'm counting on putting a different motor in it. The engine seems to have overheated because of a bad coolant leak and the owner continued to drive. Its got new hoses and whatnot in it, but the damage has been done. The situation is the guy wanted to get the mechanic to fix some stuff (against the mechanic's advice), which didn't solve the problem (as predicted), and now he doesn't want to pay his bill. So basically the guy is signing over the car and I'm giving the mechanic $500 to settle a $1000 bill and I get the car. I figure even if I can't figure out a sucess path, I can sell some parts, and get $500 for salvage and I've at least broken even.

 

there is a complete running 4.0 for sale in the for sale section for $1k, id look at it.
it will bolt right in.

 

You can almost get your $500 back on the CDL shifter alone so I think you are making a great deal.

As for engine options. Tell us about how much are you looking to spend and we can give you some better options. From what I gathered from reading your post it looks like your wanting a basically new disco after the rebuild. With that said I will assume that you are looking for a fully rebuilt top hat engine.

Here are some of the options out there. I'm sure other people will start adding more.

-Cannibal V8 : 4.0-$5,200; 4.6-$5,450 CannibalV8 Engines

-Ab : 4.0-$6,000 4.6-$7,000 Rover 4.6 Long Block Engine - Discovery II And Range Rover

-Turner Engineering: $4,200 (I had to convert it to US $ so the price my be off) Rover V8 engine parts including flanged linered block castings

I'll post more as I remember them or find them.

 

let's not forgot Great Plains Rover who has the best warranty of them all and great pricing.

Land Rover Engine Remanufactured 4 6 Long Block w Flanged Cylinder Liners | eBay

I also believe the $4200 from Turner is the price for a short block not a long block, so you will need to add quite a bit of money to that price.

 

Those are good
Cannibal V8 is another Great Option

CannibalV8

 

That was the first option on my list. Look up^^^ 2-3 posts. I guess that counts as 2 votes for Cannibal V8

 

I'm open to buying a used motor if I have a reasonable expectation that it will work for long enough to make it worth my time.. The problem with salvage motors is, the motor could have been a month away from failing catastrophically when the car got hit.