2003 Disco 2 with 143k. Heated up the other day (116... normally runs at 188.6) and when I shut it down, had steam coming up from behind the upper manifold, back where the coil packs are (brilliant placing, by the way... not) and a good amount of dripping from the passenger rear engine area. Figured it was a valley pan gasket. Just drove it over 500 miles for Thanksgiving family trip and it ran fine. Have been steadily losing coolant since I bought it a year or so ago, but recently the amount has picked up and I've been seeing a small amount of drip on the ground.

Replaced the valley pan gasket, and now it's still leaking from the same area. Stays cool while running, but lost about an inch of coolant from the bottle in about 20 mins. (might still be low in the system after draining some off for the gasket repair?) Made sure that the end gaskets were on and put a dab of RTV at the end gasket corners... Stuck at my in-laws house 500 miles from home (thankfully he has a huge shop and a ton of tools) and I need to get my family back home.

So...

1. Is there any way I can tell if it's a head gasket or a valley pan that I didn't install correctly... Have a pressure test kit, but no adapter for Rover bottle... found a DIY with an old cap and a valve stem on here somewhere and thinking about goin' that route. I can't see anything back behind there thanks to the 10 gallon engine in a 5 gallon bucket design of this rascal, so I'm not sure how to tell where it's coming from if I do get a leak in the pressure. All hoses were replaced when I bought it and replaced a crap radiator. Truck runs like a tank. Have made this drive from GA to VA and back half a dozen times. Stays right at 188.6 the entire time (also have 180 degree thermostat that I replaced when I did the radiator.

2. If it is an incorrectly installed valley pan gasket (first time I've ever dug this deep into the engine... followed the RAVE instructions with torque and sequence stuff... maybe didn't get enough RTV on the end seal?) can I re-use the gasket I just bought or do I get to buy another ?

Not how I planned to spend the Thanksgiving holiday... elbow deep in the engine... oh well... at least it was here and not on the side of 95!

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-sean

 

My 03 had exactly the same issue. Found out it was a leaky head gasket on the right side cylinder head. Took the heads of to do the gaskets and found a lot more stuff wrong.
So, right now my engine is on a stand in the garage awaiting a new cam,lifters, cam bearings, main and rod bearings. I had already done the timing set, oil pump gears, and and water pump less than 3 months ago.

 

I can see that it's wet just above the starter area... can't tell how far up it starts since I can't freakin' see anything with everything else in the way. I have nothing in the oil, on the stick or coming out of the tail... and it runs brilliantly with no error codes... seems like Head Gasket with this much leak would give me some other issues? Also, when it started to heat up, steam was definitely coming from behind the upper manifold, back near the coils...

 

You can get a cheap boroscope attachment for your specific smart device and use that to look up close into that area. just hold it down there for a look see on your screen.

Hopefully they sell those at an auto store near you but otherwise there are a ton of them online for $25 and up.

Good Luck!

 

Yeah, mine ran great but was loosing a little water over time. You may have an external leak since you aren’t seeing any in the oil. As you can see in the pic below the water passage at the back of the #7 cylinder is rather large and is a common leak point.

 

hmm... so here's the $64k question... as long as I keep an eye on the coolant level (it's running at normal temp in my 20 minute test drive) do you think I'm good to drive it back to Georgia... just over 500 miles down 95... just don't want to get a catastrophic blow out and be stuck on the side of the road. Also, wouldn't that water passage leak show up as steam closer to the spot of failure? mine was way up on top and I didn't see anything spraying up that way? just curious.

 

You could take the upper intake off and stick a small mirror below the lower portion of the intake...to see if anti-freezes lying in the valley pan area. Or pressure test the system while the upper is off and the coil packs are loose...and look for escaping anti-freeze.

Personally, I'd probably be a little worried about driving 500 miles with a leak that you've described...especially if my family was along. There is no way to predict if it will stay the same or get worse.

Good luck.

Brian.

 

+1 on what the Deputy said.

I had a similar situation a while back. I ended up having a blown head gasket behind the number 8 cylinder that was leaking down the back of the engine. Ran good, no misfires, just leaked coolant out. No steam in my case. I limped mine home about 60 miles. Had to stop and fill up the bottle once. I wouldn't probably go the 500 miles, especially with family in tow. But as a last resort, maybe.

Judge the coolant consumption. If it's loosing an inch every 20 minutes, it's not going to make it. Just watch the temps and stop every 50 miles or so and check the level. I'd make sure your AAA is up to date in case disaster strikes. And get several gallons of coolant/water.

 

okee doke... looks like I'll take the top off again in the morning and take a look back there... if it's just the pan gasket (I'm being optimistic here) can I re-use it?

 

You can re-use the valley pan gasket, but I would RTV around ALL intake and coolant passages and ports. I've done that before with an old gasket when I accidentally crunched a new one. Actually, I think that's the gasket still in my engine.

That said, if it were me I'd replace the head gaskets while I had it that far down. At least the one on the side that's leaking. In a pinch, you can put new head gaskets in without having the heads decked. That's what I would do. It wouldn't last quite as long as if you were to have the heads decked, but it will get you home and may last year's.