So. Last summer I bought an '04 D2 with a seized motor.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...bearing-65929/

Some may remember I had the block machined, crank trued and ground, heads resurfaced, then I rebuilt it with .010" undersized bearings (the crank/block was prepped for them), all new fasteners, all new gaskets, seals, o-rings, ARP head studs, pinned the sleeves and used Cometic head gaskets.

Here's my 3000 mile post rebuild report:

Vehicle works great for what it is, (13mpg sucks the wallet though). But it's still got some issues:

From day one, there's been a faint rod knock on one cylinder (not yet determined which) only on cold engine start up (sounds a bit like a diesel). This goes away shortly after the SAI shuts off but still bothers me.

Then there's the oil leaks. These are what really tick me off. This motor leaks like a sieve. Guess from where? The headgaskets. Both heads leak oil from the outer edges of the headgasket and this drips down the sides of the block washing back along the end of the oil pan and tranny conjunction.
My parking lot (stone) shows rows of oil drips any where this thing was parked. Unfortunately there's no provision for an oil pressure gauge to read oil pressure cause I'd like to know if its too high or if the gaskets are just defective.
I was hoping the oil was from the valve covers as their (LR) gasket/valve cover clamping are poorly designed, but ironically they're dry.
The ARP studs were torqued properly and rechecked after motor was broken in.
While under the vehicle, I also noticed some dried drips of coolant just above the harmonic balancer. Seriously? When the motor was rebuilt I installed a new water pump, new gaskets, grrr! I'll have to keep an eye on that one.
With all that work done and a 180F tstat installed there's been NO overheating issues what-so-ever. Temps now rarely climb over 200F.

I removed the headliner, removed the fabric and foam. Sealed the card with primer sealer and went with satin black. While the head liner was out, I removed the sunroofs entirely, blew out the drain tubes, cleaned and sealed the sunroofs to the roof and reinstalled the sunroof assemblies. The rear sunroof did not work when I bought the rig. After swapping the motors (front/back) and verifying the rear sunroof assembly works, I dissected the rear motor.
I found the rear motor was corroded internally and had frozen. I cleaned the motor, lubed it internally, and reassembled. Works perfectly now.
I then reinstalled the headliner -liking the black/tan contrasts. Do miss the soft texture of the fabric when grabbing an overhead handle but not missing the falling fabric or leaks.
Also tired of dealing with the really poor sound quality from the radio. I'm so spoiled by the Audi's Bose sound quality. I replaced the weak subwoofers in the rear gate with the Pyle 6.5" DVC ones, now the gate buzzes and still sounds the same. Not sure if I want to replace all the door speakers and deck yet, other issues to work on and it's not my DD (my S8 Audi is).

Now dealing with P1171 & P1174 codes and waiting for school (work) to start back up next week to address the O2 sensors on a lift rather than on my back. Also waiting for the new MAF to arrive -all to address those codes. I also have a smoke machine there (not a smoker here so no cigars nearby) to test in the intake for leaks.

The leaks & mpgs are my main issue.

 

Good write up, best of luck.

My .02 on the stereo sounding bad, replace the head unit before you replace the speakers.

I get very good sound with the factory speakers and a kenwood head unit, with a JL 3 channel amp under the passenger seat. two channels run the front speakers, the third channel powers the 10" sub in the rear cargo area. Head unit powers rear door speakers.

I still need to replace the door speakers as they are now 11 years old but replacing the head unit was a VAST improvement.

 

Ya don't say? That's why I say in every engine rebuild post to use stretch bolts and OEM head gaskets. There is nothing really wrong with the gaskets in the first place, they last 70-90k miles and you can do them in a weekend. What made you use MLS and arp studs?

 

Head unit most likely next, but can't do the sub in the back. We use the rear seats and cargo area.
Thanks for the suggestions.

 

ARP are far superior IMO and IME to TTY bolts in many ways.
Made from top notch material, they provide consistent and proven clamping pressures, are reusable, and are easier to use.

LR OEM HG's are known to fail (and 70K isn't an honorable achievement, -170K maybe), known that their fire-ring doesn't seal well, are made of materials that promote failure/leakage. Failure may be due to slipped liners or failed cooling system granted on some occasions, but many are due to failed HG's.
The MLS sets are far superior.

 

Then there's the oil leaks. These are what really tick me off. This motor leaks like a sieve. Guess from where? The headgaskets. Both heads leak oil from the outer edges of the headgasket and this drips down the sides of the block washing back along the end of the oil pan and tranny conjunction.

We have the exact same issue going on right now. The engine is completely rebuilt using ARP headstuds and our block is top hatted. We have no cooling issues at all even when towing our expedition trailer offroad. Looks like time to remove the engine again.

 

Well it could be said that the OEM head gaskets fail prematurely to due an engine that's designed to run too hot from the factory.

 

first sorry to hear about all your problems, especially after all that works.

i really dough your oil pressure is to high, but you can put a sandwich adapter between your filter and block and add a gauge.

your rods and mains were cut 10 under and you used 10 under bearings. did you check your clearances with plastigauge?

Are you sure the oil is not running along the back of the heads from the valley gasket,
did you seal the 4 corners of the valley gasket with a good bead of rtv?

and i shouldn't say this but ultra black RTV is your best friend, I use a thin coat any place i would normally use gasket cement.

 

Nice Cars BTW... I had an UrQuattro 10 years ago, 4 or 5 5k's a 4k'q a 90q a 5kq a a4, a 87 coupe GT and a TT Quat. Guess what brand of cars I like?

 

Sucks about your oil leaks after all that work! My Disco also sounds like a diesel after first starting cold as well. Goes away quick and my oil pressures are great. I'll probably live with it till it grenades. I've also used Cometic gaskets on my 500hp Jet Boat to great affect as well as ARP studs, I doubt they're your problem. You can also easily add an oil pressure gauge from either a sandwich adapter on the filter or, like I did, add a fitting to the unused oil cooler fitting on the filter adapter. I mounted the gauge on an A pillar pod and molded the pod to fit the Disco with a heat gun.

I'm an Audi guy as well...always wanted an S8 but never owned one. The 01 S8 was the nicest Audi I've driven. I've had 3 5speed V8q's, 4kq, 90csq, 5kcstq, 200tq, and I finally let my UrS4 go after 14 years when I bought the Disco. I'm Audiless for the first time in about 20 years right now and it's killing me I've got my eye on the new S7 though!