dont fix if ain’t broke

 

Generally it is the nitrous oxides that form ground smog in the central valley CA - not much of an issue elsewhere but we have CA to thank for all the BS that they cause.

 

If you took it up to 275F+ multiple times and didn't damage anything, you should buy a lottery ticket

 

Sounds like you overheated it once or twice. With fresh HGs and fluids you're probably fine. This forum is consumed by PTSD. Filled with Land Rover horror stories. You're probably just fine. But you learned your lesson. The inline thermostat mod is a must for this car. Get yourself an ultragauge so you can read the live temperature readings while you drive. You can set alarms to it let you know if something is going on. When I had my truck I set mine to 230F.

With fresh HGs, inline thermo, heavy duty fan clutch, brass propeller, my temps were 185F all the time. If I hit above 200F it was a sign something was wrong.

Like I said though it sounds like youre fine. Theres a lot panic here where people think it overheats once and the engine explodes but there is a reason for the concern. Overheating is the one thing you can't allow for with this truck.

 

Welp, I guess it was just a matter of time. I've been driving around the past week with no problems at all. Temps stayed below 190. Today I saw the temperature creeping up to above 200. Pulled over and saw I had low coolant. Topped back off and kept driving and it happened again. Got home, topped up again, started it up to bleed the air and now my coolant is bubbling like crazy. Also a clacking sound that I'm fairly confident is a slipped liner

I would attempt to replace the heads myself, but I don't have a shop to keep the truck in while I work on it. Plus, I've been looking into the LS swap and am debating what I want to do going forward. I know there are heads with liners that prevent this from happening, but if this is a car I want to keep long term, it might be worth it for me to invest some more and get a better performing engine that has a lot more aftermarket support (and cheaper parts). Any thoughts on this? I know there are several members who have done the swap.

 

So it does sound like you have a slipped liner in addition to blown head gaskets. You also could have a cracked block at this point given the temperatures you saw. There are not heads with liners, those are in the block. Your heads are probably warped but they can be machined.


Your choices are:

1. Head gaskets at a minimum, live with the slipped liner ticking. They go thousands of miles like that. Also sometimes a lower temp thermostat will cure the ticking. Probably around $2500 at a shop
2. Head gaskets plus cylinder pinning - probably $5000 is total
3. Top hat liner shortblock or long block - $5000 to $8000 plus install labor.
4. LS swap - LS engine plus kit and labor -probably upwards of $6000

BTW, for you and others, parts are actually cheaper for the Rover engine. I have 2002 Camaro SS, built. Almost every part is cheaper for the Rover. You can argue about reliability, but the all aluminum LS doesn't do much better at 275 degrees. Generally used or built LS engines go for more too. Don't get me wrong, I love the power of an LS, but they are not cheaper.

 

I had a similar incident right in the beginning of my first Disco ownership - a little more mild overheat. It took a little while for the head gaskets to go, but then they went.

I wouldn’t go back to a Rover V8. It’s very underpowered, temperamental, has near-constant maintenance needs. LS is the opposite - it just goes. I replaced some minor stuff when then engine was out, but besides that I’ve only had to replace minimal parts (one coil pack and a PCV), and that’s with a 125k mile used engine. Biggest advantage to me is not having to worry about the engine.

I can’t speak about the price of Camaro LS1 5.7 parts, but the price of the LS truck 5.3 parts is cheap on average. And it is very nice to be able to walk into an Autozone / Oreillys / Advance and walk out with what you need. Since the swap, I'd say my overall cost of maintenance has gone down. Amount of time I need for maintenance has also been reduced somewhat.

As for the driving experience - it’s much improved. Lot more power over the 4.0, better gas mileage. $5k is about the entry point cost for doing the swap yourself, depending on what kind of deal you can find. A lot of Disco 2 LS swaps have been done in the PNW, so you might have some luck inquiring on the clubs / FB groups there for recommended shops / others who have done it.

 

It's entirely possible your ticking noise is exhaust blowing out the HG. First things first, do your troubleshooting to see exactly what you have going on before any talk of a new engine.

 

Investing serious money in the Rover v8 is a dead end endeavor. If you want to keep the truck long term, pay up for the ls swap. For whatever reason, discos are increasing in value to the point where it might be worth it if the rest of the truck is nice.

 

@uhoh_elmo Start simple go read the engine swap thread, LS swaps are not that straight forward. Decide how much you want to spend, Although D2 prices are going up do not expect an engine swap version to do as well a stock truck. in good shape.

My suggestion if you can do it yourself is to pull the heads and look at the block and liners then decide what to do.