Throw a camera down each spark plug hole. Look for a steam cleaned or wet piston. Or, just pull the heads as mentioned.

 

Bought my truck as a project, had 122k and a blown headgasket. It was leaking between cylinder 8 and the water jacket. Simple fix, no need to throw money at a problem that doesn't exist. Dismantle and inspect first.

 

Is there a source for better headgaskets or are the ones in the lucky 8 kit the best out there?

 

I'm new to this forum but I'm sure there are a million opinions out there. I personally used the Victor Reinz set as I have always had great luck with them on all my older European cars. Their head gasket is composite material with steel reinforced head bolt and cylinder bore holes. Make sure that you replace the head bolts as well, I prefer the Beck Arnley set. I also suggest that you soak the bolts in oil for some time before install. That's something I always do when working with aluminum to ensure I get an accurate torque spec.

 

Just to put this out there, my shop specializes in European vehicles. I'm in LA so we work on a lot of land rovers. We probably do five or six valve jobs a year on discoveries due to blown head gasket's. I have never seen a cracked block or slipped liner.

 

If you search, Dusty had a really good write up on changing head gaskets.