Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum but was looking for some help. I own a small repair shop in CT. We have worked on rovers before but we mainly work on vw/audi, bmw and mercedes.

My step dad has a 98 range rover 4.0. He loves this thing to death. Its got about 130k. about 2 years ago he had the head gaskets replaced by a reputable shop is mass. at the time they did new cylinder heads and replaced the head gaskets. Now about 2 years later and about 20k miles the truck is over heating again. We did a pressure test and the cooling system held proper pressure. the car can idle for ever and never over heat. As soon as the car is driven and put under load the car will overheat. at that point coolant is everywhere. its hard to pin point where the leak is because I can't duplicate it on a lift. it seems to be coming from the back of the engine somewhere and it seems like its comming right out where the cylinder heads meet the block. But like I said its hard to tell cause the whole motor gets saturated in coolant as soon as it over heats. My next plan is to remove the heads because they will have to come off no matter what. Here is where i'm not sure what the best plan of attack is. I know this motors have block problems especially with the cylinder sleeves. If we do deem its a block issues do we:

get a new short block from rover north, send the heads out to be checked, then put it all back together.

try and source a short block that has had the cylinder sleeve issue corrected then put everything back together. is it worth the extra money? where is the best place to source these motors

source a used low mileage motor from a junk yard. maybe do the head gaskets before we put the motor in the car?

Trying to find the best cost effective way to do this. He will probably try and get 200k out of this truck. Also looking for feedback on the best places to get short blocks.


Few other things to add. We also did a test that checks the amount of exhaust gas in the coolant while its running and it do show a large amount in the coolant while its running. All the cooling items are new. radiator, thermostat, water pump. the spark plugs looked okay but they are fairly new.

 

I highly doubt it is a sleeve/block issue, those usually show up within a few thousand miles of the head gaskets being replaced.
As long as it has never been over heated it should be fine.
There is a youtube video on how to test the block for cracks/slipped sleeves.

As for the best thing to do if he does need a new engine, do not order from RN, you can get a new short block cheaper shipped from the UK.
I think it is Turner Engineering, do a search on the forum, there is a guy in the DII section just last week? who is ordering a short block from the UK.
Just make sure you order the BOSCH engine not the GEMS engine if you have to go that route.

 

Leak out the rear is great quantity will involve the HG usually. Could also be freeze plugs ( # 1's in attached shop drawing). Can also leak external without any going into cylinder (no white smoke), but your gas test points toward this. So you may find just a new gasket, check heads for flatness. HGs are usually $300 for parts (use new bolts, they are torque to yield "stretch" bolts), and 12 hours.

The Rover is a simple vehicle to work on, and the shop manual set (called the RAVE) is a free download. They are repaired around the world by guys who don't own half the tools you have.

If you can replace a water pump in under an hour on a W124 Mercedes you'll have no problems....

 

make sure you have no other leaks including the heater core orings.

Its possible they were not replaced and ended up overheating the engine which overheated and warped the heads. Have the heads checked for warpage.