Hi All - reposting here in the Disco II forum (I posted in the wrong place before!).

I have a 2004 Disco II (SE7) with ~180k miles. Runs like a top - no ticking sounds, never any overheating, no drama. Except: rapid coolant loss - I have to top it off quite frequently. It was (unsurprisingly) diagnosed with a failing head gasket about 2 years ago, and there are clear signs of an external HG leak.

I finally brought it in for a head gasket replacement (my DIY skills are limited unlike most of you on this forum, so I had to delegate…)

After they pulled the heads off, I was told:

“There is a leak on cylinder #2 and it is in an area without water jacket passage, so it is from cylinder sleeve failure”. I attached the relevant pic sent to me by the mechanic.

What would you do in my shoes at this point?

1) March on with the head gasket replacement as planned and keep truckin’? (What I’m leaning towards)

2) Pony up the cash for a rebuilt motor, e.g. from Atlantic British. The mechanic quoted me $12K + tax for this option (long block), so this is… unlikely…

3) Drop in a used motor? Very hesitant to do that since it seems the motors on these things are ticking time bombs and mileage, etc. is not a great predictor of longevity.

4) Anything else I could consider??

Background info: The Disco is in excellent condition throughout except for the usual clear coat failure on the roof which is now starting on the hood. Body is straight as it gets and not a speck of rust anywhere (lifetime CA car and I am the second owner - have had it for ~6 years). And like all of you, I am an addict - love my Disco to death and the thought of life without it makes me sick!

Also in case anyone has any thoughts / suggestions on this:

1) Does anyone here have experience with dropping in a Turner replacement motor in California? Does it pass smog, etc. here with no issues?

2) Based on this diagnosis, what would you predict would happen to this motor if I slap a new HG on and keep driving? Would this be expected to end in an out-of-the-blue catastrophic failure?? Or would you expect that there would be signs of impending failure - e.g. would it devolve and run like crap for a bit before it totally kicked the bucket so there would be some warning? I am assuming (hoping) it would be the latter...

Thanks in advance for your thoughts! Any input greatly appreciated!

 

Is it at a LR specialty shop? If not, get it towed to one asap. No one else is qualified to work on them.

They do not catasrophically fail, it tends to be over time. Very low probability of a liner or block failure if the heads have never been of and it has never been overheated, but possible. Probability increases drastically if you let the non LR shop put it back together. If they cut the heads, reuse the head bolts, and don't torque the bolts perfect the head bolts can bottom in the bolt holes and crack the block.

AFTER you have have it towed to a LR shop I would have them do a pressure test on the block and then put HG on it with new bolts.

BTW, #2 does have a water passage on it. 3, 4, 5, and 6 do not have a water passage to the head.

 

Hi Extinct - thanks! Very useful info. So: my Disco is indeed at a shop that mainly deals with Rovers, so I think we're good on that front. Pressure test makes sense - as long as I can get that done with the heads already off.

btw - would you have an opinion on using a Cometic head gasket? Surfed the forum a bit couldn't find a real consensus.

Your Disco count is impressive!!

 

Now I am more worried. LR shop should know about all I have said. That is not a picture of #2, and they would know about the pressure test. Easily findable on youtube.

 

I am with Extinct here, that image tells you nothing it is a picture of a head.

 

Not all shops that mainly deal with Rovers are the same. Some see any Rover owner as a walking talking wallet containing an unlimited supply of boat and alimony payments.

When I had a worn camshaft I was quoted an entire new engine by a dealer, an established rover exclusive shop quoted me 10k to rebuild my existing engine, and I finally got it fixed at another exclusively LR indy shop for less than $1200.00 and still there were some other items they took care of in that price...

Get several quotes if you can.

 

Agreed, shops can be money hungry. I bought an 03' several years ago that was "mechanically totaled" due to a coolant leak, multiple oil leaks, and the power steering system needing entire replacement.

A new thermostat fixed the coolant leak..little pinhole on it that was spurting coolant. Only leak in the entire power steering system was the actual pump.

Did head gaskets as preventative maintenance, replaced the cooling system, and that fixed all of the coolant and oil leaks.

Did some other work to it like tires and brakes and had a wonderfully reliable truck for under $1,000 in parts and machine work. I did the resurfacing on the heads with a buddy's mill.


I would rather see a photo of the actual head gaskets and the block than the head. That head doesn't necessarily look steam cleaned. Meaning I don't believe that is the cylinder eating coolant. Although I do have a truck here where the head looks fine however the piston is totally clean of carbon.