I've got about 86k on my '03 disco. 2nd owner. Previous owner and I have taken very good care of the disco by way of dropping and replacing fluids, plugs, throttle body clean, and pretty much the 60k PM stuff Disco Mike suggested. I have had some issues creep up, but nothing major in the engine. I do have some "weeping" going on, but about average and mostly oil.


How long before I should have my trusty landy mechanic perform an HG job? Don't touch it until something happens? Or just prudent PM to have the HG job done?


Thanks

 

save you money until needed, if they last until warm weather drop me a PM. south of boston

 

if it ain't broke...............are you sure you are "weeping" from hg?

 

No weeping from HG....just oil filter area.

 

If you want to do something preventative go ahead and instal the 180 degree stat which will keep your engine temps in a narrower range, thus less expansion and contraction of the aluminum block/heads.

Keep and eye on coolant levels as your main clue/early sign of HG fail. If you are lucky they will start leaking externally on the back (firewall side) of the engine/head.

Get an ultragauge or other OBDII reader for real time data and keep an eye on your temps.

 

Is it "weeping" coolant or oil? Rover head gaskets leak coolant, not oil. If you are seeing coolant by the oil filter, you may have a leak at the pump or the timing cover. If you are only leaking oil, then you have a British vehicle.

 

New t-stat installed back in October. Put in the green stuff...not orange.


British Vehicle (only oil leaking), I think from the filter.


No loss of antifreeze, though my oil is still pastey from tons of detergent cleaning I performed the first 3 months of ownership. Gonna have my trusty mechanic drop the pan and scrub the pan clean which hopefully should rid the engine of all pastey stuff I might have dislodged when performing detergent cleanings.


The reason I ask about HG job is to determine if it is simply prudent as a PM given the age of the disco.

 

Sounds like you are on top of things!

So enjoy the hell out of it while it isn't costing you money and save up for the HG's when you need them!!!

 

Unless planning a Very Long cross country trip, I would wait till they fail. Who knows, you might be that guy with that one LR that never fails.

PS: My gaskets are still stock, and I would have no reservations at all about heading to New York tomorrow if needed. Well, Fuel reservations, but that's it. Now, the Sahara Desert might be a different story. Might change them then.

 

HG may have been replaced already.
Don't touch it until coolant starts to be lost.