R_Lefebvre said:
That's pretty ridiculous, although if the dealer hasn't been around for a long time I wouldn't be surprised by that.
D2 Head Gasket home repair, Version Feb 2011
- Thread starter seanmcd
- Start date
That's pretty ridiculous, although if the dealer hasn't been around for a long time I wouldn't be surprised by that.
Nope, Ottawa Land Rover, been around a while. The guy even had trouble looking up the part. I had to look it up on AB's site.
He said they don't stock them because most D2 owners do their own work and don't go to the dealer for service. <shrug>
He said they don't stock them because most D2 owners do their own work and don't go to the dealer for service. <shrug>
I can't seem to post the last set of pictures, not sure if it is me or Dweb but I will try again later..
A quick point and then move on. I think the whole "...it's just the internet, so there is no reason to show respect and courtesy...." thing is so 1990. I know thats how it used to be, little punks acting like tough guys and whatnot, but in 2011 the internet is the primary source of information and communication worldwide. If you aren't going to be civil here, where will you be? I mean, this is the Land Rover forum, not 'Racergayboy.com' or 'Hondacivic'srule.com', right?
Thats just me though, so moving on with the topic at hand......
I will say that I suspected that my heads were not leaking and in the end they were not. They were in fact in good shape and had been redone, probably within 50k miles. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just removed the intake and replaced the leaking gasket and left it at that.
It seems as if the lower intake is pretty suceptible to leaking coolant, and in my opinion that job is not worth removing the heads. To replace the lower intake gasket does not necessitate removing any of the serpintine belt, A/C, pas pump, exhaust, SAI system, and some other things. The SAI system is itself a pain in the ass, at least it was for me.
However, if you do need to remove the heads, in my opinion it makes sense to have them redone. I tend to think that if you have an oil leak it is possibly the valve cover gaskets and the coolant leak could also easily be the lower intake, mine was noticebly loose.
Thats just my take, having done the job in my garage. Everyone has different abilities and tools, so your mileage may vary.
The job is not easy for a beginer mechainc, again in my opinion. Lots of bruised knuckles and sore backs. I give the professionals alot of credit for doing this shit every day, not something I would want to wake up and do for 10 hours.
Thanks for all the help and advice. I hope this thread will help someone else as others have greatly helped me.
A quick point and then move on. I think the whole "...it's just the internet, so there is no reason to show respect and courtesy...." thing is so 1990. I know thats how it used to be, little punks acting like tough guys and whatnot, but in 2011 the internet is the primary source of information and communication worldwide. If you aren't going to be civil here, where will you be? I mean, this is the Land Rover forum, not 'Racergayboy.com' or 'Hondacivic'srule.com', right?
Thats just me though, so moving on with the topic at hand......
I will say that I suspected that my heads were not leaking and in the end they were not. They were in fact in good shape and had been redone, probably within 50k miles. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just removed the intake and replaced the leaking gasket and left it at that.
It seems as if the lower intake is pretty suceptible to leaking coolant, and in my opinion that job is not worth removing the heads. To replace the lower intake gasket does not necessitate removing any of the serpintine belt, A/C, pas pump, exhaust, SAI system, and some other things. The SAI system is itself a pain in the ass, at least it was for me.
However, if you do need to remove the heads, in my opinion it makes sense to have them redone. I tend to think that if you have an oil leak it is possibly the valve cover gaskets and the coolant leak could also easily be the lower intake, mine was noticebly loose.
Thats just my take, having done the job in my garage. Everyone has different abilities and tools, so your mileage may vary.
The job is not easy for a beginer mechainc, again in my opinion. Lots of bruised knuckles and sore backs. I give the professionals alot of credit for doing this shit every day, not something I would want to wake up and do for 10 hours.
Thanks for all the help and advice. I hope this thread will help someone else as others have greatly helped me.
A couple of points:
Although you can easily see where a coolant leak ends up on the driveway it can be very difficult to determine exactly where it is originating from on a fully assembled engine. The throttle body heater is a notorious trouble spot and should be thoroughly checked first. There should be tell tale signs on the left valve cover. In my case I had already battled with that and after the second instance I had finally licked it.
My leak was dripping from the left side just forward of the motor mount. The first thing I did was remove the ACE and PS pumps and spray cleaned the front of the engine with solvent to inspect the water pump and timing cover. No leaks in that area so I made the head gasket call and (in my case) it was the right call.
Once you've had the engine apart you can see that there are only 4 spots on each head where coolant can leak, those being at the forward and aft ends between either the head and block or head and intake. I'm pretty certain that a head to intake leak is going to pool coolant on the valley pan but you never know, a slow leak can conceivably flow along mating flange edges and appear to be coming from the head gasket.
Although replacing the intake gasket is simpler than doing the head gaskets you really don't want to go through all of that and end up with the leak still existing. It's good to treat the whole disassembly like a forensic scientist at a crime scene and see if you can find the "smoking gun"
I found mine and it's satisfying to know you have definitely discovered the source of the problem.
Alright, I'm off to the garage to mount those coil packs and install the plenum. The 12 pack of Lagunitas IPA is chilling in the fridge as I type, the tunes are spooled up and I'm ready for a nice Saturday one on one with the Disco
atriot:
Although you can easily see where a coolant leak ends up on the driveway it can be very difficult to determine exactly where it is originating from on a fully assembled engine. The throttle body heater is a notorious trouble spot and should be thoroughly checked first. There should be tell tale signs on the left valve cover. In my case I had already battled with that and after the second instance I had finally licked it.
My leak was dripping from the left side just forward of the motor mount. The first thing I did was remove the ACE and PS pumps and spray cleaned the front of the engine with solvent to inspect the water pump and timing cover. No leaks in that area so I made the head gasket call and (in my case) it was the right call.
Once you've had the engine apart you can see that there are only 4 spots on each head where coolant can leak, those being at the forward and aft ends between either the head and block or head and intake. I'm pretty certain that a head to intake leak is going to pool coolant on the valley pan but you never know, a slow leak can conceivably flow along mating flange edges and appear to be coming from the head gasket.
Although replacing the intake gasket is simpler than doing the head gaskets you really don't want to go through all of that and end up with the leak still existing. It's good to treat the whole disassembly like a forensic scientist at a crime scene and see if you can find the "smoking gun"
I found mine and it's satisfying to know you have definitely discovered the source of the problem.
Alright, I'm off to the garage to mount those coil packs and install the plenum. The 12 pack of Lagunitas IPA is chilling in the fridge as I type, the tunes are spooled up and I'm ready for a nice Saturday one on one with the Disco
atriot:Just wanted to add my .02-
I just did my head gaskets(2003 w/SAI)- purchased from Will Tillery as well, he ships FAST. I opted to order heads as well as plug wires and gasket set so I would have everything I needed for the job, and preferably wouldn't need to stop midstream. Here is what I wish I would have done differently:
1. I should have bought the 9mm allen socket before starting- I thought I had it, and had to stop while I was on a roll-
2. I would have said "no" when work wanted me to be available for a quick call.
3. I would have had lunch and dinner (and beer)ready to go before starting
I am a backyard mechanic with some skills, and was able to complete the job with my 14 yr old son helping me (learning) in one day. Here is the breakdown:
8:15-12:15 teardown- Had to stop to get parts, food, and get on a call for work from 12:15- 4
4-6- dinner and break
6-1am put back together, started engine, stumbled along- had to sleep
8am- started like a champ.
SO about 11 hours total, and I am not a professional mechnic.
The rear head bolt needs a 1/2 in wobble adapter and a 6 pt impact socket(sears) just buy them, don't try and get around it. I attempted the work without a breaker bar, but opted to buy one when it was obvious it was needed.
For the fan, I read in a thread somewhere that someone used a small pipe wrench to hold the pulley while loosening with a large crescent wrench....worked like an absolute charm.
In the final analysis, it looks like the gaskets had been done before, but the heads were not resurfaced- grr.
I bled the system as per RAVE, and so far it is running great- THANKS DISCOWEB!
I just did my head gaskets(2003 w/SAI)- purchased from Will Tillery as well, he ships FAST. I opted to order heads as well as plug wires and gasket set so I would have everything I needed for the job, and preferably wouldn't need to stop midstream. Here is what I wish I would have done differently:
1. I should have bought the 9mm allen socket before starting- I thought I had it, and had to stop while I was on a roll-
2. I would have said "no" when work wanted me to be available for a quick call.
3. I would have had lunch and dinner (and beer)ready to go before starting
I am a backyard mechanic with some skills, and was able to complete the job with my 14 yr old son helping me (learning) in one day. Here is the breakdown:
8:15-12:15 teardown- Had to stop to get parts, food, and get on a call for work from 12:15- 4
4-6- dinner and break
6-1am put back together, started engine, stumbled along- had to sleep
8am- started like a champ.
SO about 11 hours total, and I am not a professional mechnic.
The rear head bolt needs a 1/2 in wobble adapter and a 6 pt impact socket(sears) just buy them, don't try and get around it. I attempted the work without a breaker bar, but opted to buy one when it was obvious it was needed.
For the fan, I read in a thread somewhere that someone used a small pipe wrench to hold the pulley while loosening with a large crescent wrench....worked like an absolute charm.
In the final analysis, it looks like the gaskets had been done before, but the heads were not resurfaced- grr.
I bled the system as per RAVE, and so far it is running great- THANKS DISCOWEB!
WOW! I can't believe it's been a year since I did this job. I guess it's a good time to update status. When I did the head gasket job I had 120k miles, I now have 140k miles.
The head gasket repair has been great so far, (I am knocking on wood as I type this). 20k miles ago, no problems at all. No leaks whatsoever, no overheating, runs great. I am very happy with the job, and VERY THANKFUL TO DISCOWEB FOR THE HELP.
I still get CEL codes no and then, always 422 and 327, I have a cheapo $35 OBD2 reader that I just reset the codes and go on my merry way. I can't imagine having a mechanic look at it every time it throws a code, what a joke.
I have had a few unrelated issues, but hey it is a 9 year old Land Rover with 140k miles, so what can you expect. I plan to give the truck to my daughter when she turns 16 in a few months, I like that it is big, heavy, slow, has GREAT visibility and owes me nothing. Plus it still looks good, runs great, seats 7, has some style for a 16 year old, heck even the navigation system still works, albeit with 9 year old software.
So thanks for those who helped me through this project.
The head gasket repair has been great so far, (I am knocking on wood as I type this). 20k miles ago, no problems at all. No leaks whatsoever, no overheating, runs great. I am very happy with the job, and VERY THANKFUL TO DISCOWEB FOR THE HELP.
I still get CEL codes no and then, always 422 and 327, I have a cheapo $35 OBD2 reader that I just reset the codes and go on my merry way. I can't imagine having a mechanic look at it every time it throws a code, what a joke.
I have had a few unrelated issues, but hey it is a 9 year old Land Rover with 140k miles, so what can you expect. I plan to give the truck to my daughter when she turns 16 in a few months, I like that it is big, heavy, slow, has GREAT visibility and owes me nothing. Plus it still looks good, runs great, seats 7, has some style for a 16 year old, heck even the navigation system still works, albeit with 9 year old software.
So thanks for those who helped me through this project.
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Dan B said:Is your center diff leaking yet?
dan and I follow each other around, although we dont know each other. He is on spot with this, plus if you didnt reseal your front cover nicely that will probably start up soon :rofl::banghead:
im sure youre daughter will be thrilled. I am planning on doing the same...but my daughter just turned 4...
Dan B said:Is your center diff leaking yet?
It drips a bit, I added white Shepherd and it cut it down significantly. I honestly don't care about little leaks, as long as they remain 'little leaks'. I know that some pro mechanic will come on and disagree, however my opinion remains that if you really wanted to chase every little drip on these rigs you could spend thousands and thousands of dollars, to have a leak free truck for a couple months, until something new started dripping.
For me, as long as it starts, runs well, and doesn't drop a gallon of fluid a week, I am happy. I own the truck, it's worth maybe $5000 on a good day. I don't think I could buy a 4wd SUV that is as safe and good looking as this for anywhere near $5000.
I am happy, long as it stays running!
Hey I have a question for you guys.
I'm about to start the same job that everybody, has done on my D1 but, I've seen many of you guys speaking about using a breaker bar, to remove the bolts closest to the firewall, is there a specific reason why you're not using an impact gun for the removal of the head bolts, besides the space restriction I imagine with a swivel impact and extension combination it shouldn't be a problem, or is it a no no since we have aluminum heads on aluminum block?
I'm about to start the same job that everybody, has done on my D1 but, I've seen many of you guys speaking about using a breaker bar, to remove the bolts closest to the firewall, is there a specific reason why you're not using an impact gun for the removal of the head bolts, besides the space restriction I imagine with a swivel impact and extension combination it shouldn't be a problem, or is it a no no since we have aluminum heads on aluminum block?
Its cause aluminum heads and block. I read it could damage the threads. I am in the process of doing mine, and so far a 48 inch breaker is working fine. I just needed a friend to push down on the socket when I was removing the bolts near the fire wall. The socket keep slipping off.
I guess it makes sense I'm glad i ask since i was about to make a huge mistake. thanks for the help, I guess I'm going to have to buy a bigger breaker bar
