I have an 03 Disco and i believe my head gasket is starting to leak a little due to my exhaust having a little sweet smell. Im wondering if any of the liquid head gasket repair kits such as the Bars Leak HG3 repair kits will work.

 

NO it won't. Thats only going to screw up your radiator and now cause you to over heat. Buy a head gasket test kit at napa and test it for exhaust gasses. That gives a defiant answer to if its leaking or not.

 

Usually what happens with coolant system sealers is that it takes a match head quantity of material to make a short term patch of the leak. The balance of the "mechanic-in-a-jar" circulates in the cooling system and settles to the low spots. In a D2 that would be the themostat and the lower areas of the radiator and perhaps the heater core. And it can block those areas, increasing overheat problems.

If you were trying to limp home from a trip, they can be useful, or if you must wait on repairs for a modest period.

Coolant pressure test and combustion gas in coolant are good things to do before you pick up a wrench.

Your smell could be a coolant leak onto hot maniforld or exhaust from a hose clamp.

 

Okay thank you both very much, much appreciated. If I use a block test kit from Autozone will this tell me if I have a leak? On another note I have the 3 Amigos plus the brake light on, I am going to do the bypass on the ABS mod this week but I am having problems getting the brake light off. I have replaced all pads and rotors, replace and bled the brake fluid, pulled and checked all 4 sensors and they look in great shape. When I pulled the sensors the blue grease was on the tip of them so I assume that they are all okay. The float also appears to be working. Will the light go off on its own and if so how long will it take? If not do I have to have the code erased or am I looking at another problem. I do believe the ABS mod is bad because when I hit the brakes on gravel or sand I don't get the shudder I used to get in the pedal, the truck just comes to a complete stop. I have 97k on it.

 

Don't waste your money testing the coolant system, if you have a sweet smell coming from the exhaust, you need head gaskets for sure.
Are you going to be doing the work, if so, how mechanical are you?

 

Yes Mike I will be doing the work myself. Im not a mechanic but i figure things out by asking questions. I am very happy for this site and all the information pros like you give so freely. On a scale of 1-10 how hard is this to do?

 

for a newbie, 9.1 - download RAVE and look over pages in the overhaul manual. Yes you can do it. No, not in one weekend. And you will have to buy some tools, outsource some more to a machine shop. Lots of recent posts on the ongoing HG projects, many with gruesome photos as well.

Now about that sweet smell, are you sure it is just coming from exhaust - or might it be from the front and being blown back there? Just hoping you might have a leak onto an exhaust manifold, but Mike is correct, if just from the exhaust that's one of those stong indicators.

 

Another important part of doing the head gaskets is buying good quality gaskets and bolts. When you get ready, shout for more help.

 

Savannah you and Mike are so awesome. Savannah I did replace the thermostat a few years back due to over heating, then the water pump went and I had to re-do all the seals. A few months ago the water pump went out again and the expansion tank cracked so antifreeze did go all over the place. I do smell a sweet odor inside the cab of the truck when I start it though so could that be due to the last time it overheated? I smelled the exhaust after reading one of Mikes older posts. I am in Mississippi now and a lot of the gas is Ethanol free so could that be effecting my fuel system. I have noticed that the truck is very sensitive to gas at different stations. The check engine light will come on after I fuel up but will go off when I fuel up at a different station. I will climb under the truck and look for a leak from a hose.

 

You also could have a leaky heater core. A D2 circulates coolant thru the heater core whenever the water pump is turning, even if heat is off (just controls the blend doors). Would be good to have your codes read, they'll do it for free at big auto parts stores. Don't go by their "what this means", but do tell us the numbers and that can help.

Here's a map of everywhere it can leak coolant