Tapping into this community for some quick thoughts.

Long story short, (2012 LR4 140k) the coolant was leaking pretty badly, the driver-side heater stopped blowing hot (Passagner is still ok), always kept it topped off, was headed out for a road trip and didn't have time to get a mechanic to look at it. Topped off the coolant and oil. Few hours into the drive after merging on to the highway temp alert came on, pulled over, temp regulated right away, saw a significant amount of coolant overflowing from resivor (no bubbles), no other visual leaks or engine noises. Had it towed to nearby Land Rover dealership - this was their diagnostic:

147314 PERFORMED CYLINDER BLOCK INSPECTION DUE TO POSSIBLE VEHICLE
OVER HEATING, AND FOUND VEHICLE HEAD GASKETS BLOWN. PERFORMED COOLANT
SYSTEM PRESSURE TEST AND FOUND COOLANT LEAKING OUT OF WATER PUMP, FRONT
OUTLET PIPE. SENT QUOTE FOR REPAIRS.

I've had a misdiagnosed blown head gasket before in my Audi. It had similar symptoms. I took it to a different mechanic, and it ended up just being the water pump!

Any chance this could be the case here, or do I need to send this rig to the junkyard? Would be disappointing, considering I've been building it out for overlanding and have become quite fond of it.

 

the coolant overflowing from resovoir is a clue that the cooling system iss being overpressurized as in from combustion gasses being forced into it. You can have the coolant chemically analyzided for combustion byproducts to be sure. Typical waterpump failure is leaking externally.

 

Do you think their note "FOUND COOLANT LEAKING OUT OF WATER PUMP, FRONT OUTLET PIPE" is a coolant, water pump issue, or a result of the blown head gasket?

 

probably your original leak that was causing you to have to top off the system. from that description, could be a split hose, could be the waterpump seals, could be a damaged outlet nipple on the wp but probably not "caused" by the blown head gaskets but could be the cause of the problem if coolant was low due to the leak and there were air pockets in the system at the heads etc....

 

Ok, thanks for the info. I'll check to see if they used a combustion leak test, and if not, I'll order one (let me know if you have a recommended product, I should get - lots of options). Sounds like this will help validate the issue. Hopefully, this isn't the end for my rover 🤞

 

Did the combustion leak test today and it came back negative for contamination. I did the test three times, revving the engine over and over to be sure, and got the same result every time.

Let it run for a bit and temp was steady where it should be. The big hose on the left side feels warm and has pressure. The coolant level goes up and down slightly when I rev the engine (which I think is how it should work if the system is functional).

What would be the next step here? Still think it could be a head gasket?

FYI - because of my original coolant leak, I added leak stopper about a month before this all started... Think this could have caused a blockage or something affecting the coolant system?