Hey guys-
Had an Indy Land Rover specialty shop in Portland do my head gaskets 2 years ago, and last week the car started running a little rough for my wife while I was out of town. I got home, did a quick compression check, checked the wires, put it back together, and let the wife drive it.
On the way home from work the wife said the overheat light came on, and the temp needle was in the red. She pulled off to the side of the road and before she stopped the overheat light extinguished and the temp came off the peg.
It looks like I need to do another head gasket job. I'll take the heads to a machine shop and have them pressure checked, and shaved if necessary.
My question is, how do I know if she dropped a sleeve? She drove it home after it cooled down and put some coolant in (not much probably not even a quart) and the oil is not milky, and it doesn't make any strange noises.
Do I need to drop the oil pan? How bad is the head job on these? I've done head gaskets before, and the book makes it seem straight forward.

Thanks guys I appreciate the help.

 

Sounds like a sleeve to me. I have the same prob and now have the engine removed but not disassembled yet. I replaced the head gaskets but that did not fix it , it only got worse. I would pull the heads and pressure check the block. --------------Jneil

 

you sure its a head problem and not a coolant problem? i.e a radiator or fan clutch etc. or maybe a sensor?

 

Im sure its at least a head problem. The car was making sweet steam when she drove it home. I just hope the blocks not toast, there are few wrecking yards up here in Alaska.

 

Is there coolant in the oil or on the dip stick?
Do you have a check engine light on, if so, what are the 4 digit fault code numbers?
If there are any misfire codes, pull the plugs for those holes and see if they are wet with coolant.
Have you been having to add coolant in the last month or so, have you been hearing the usually gurgling sounds from the dash when driving?
Don't be so quick to jump into a head issue. It could be just a t/stat or one of your fans not working.

 

MY 2002 Disco II (110k miles, 3k on head gasket job by indy Portland shop) is having similar issues -- started running rough, then the overhead light came on. Temp gauge never moved. I jumped off the freeway, turned on the heater full blast, waited for the overhead light to go out, limped home. OBD says misfire on 7 & 3, plugs on both are dry, no sign of coolant leaks or consumption. A quick "pull the plug wire" test shows, yeah, it's likely the wires (which seem to be the originals, which pisses me off -- what kind of half-*** shop does a head job and replaces the wires with the originals instead of swapping them as long as everything is off??).

My question is more speculation -- I suppose I'm just going to have to wait and see if I've slipped a liner or anything. At this point, next up is having the wires changed. I'd do it myself but my neighborhood association has a "no working on your cars in your driveway" policy and they're already gunning for me on other matters... I hate the thought of paying for something like this, but I guess it's the price of living here.