Shit. It finally happened. Head gaskets.

[kennith]

Looks like I've got exhaust gas in the coolant.

A hose I was about to replace let go on a test drive, and the DII dumped its coolant. Thought I could get away with new hoses, but no such luck. Everything was right for a while, until I went to PA and the temperatures dropped.

That set her off on the misfires before warmup.

Looks like I'll need head gaskets.:victory:

No coolant ended up in the oil, though, it's not overheating, and I've got no funny noises, so I suppose it's a best case scenario.

I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity to sex up some top end bits and just swap them out when I pull the old stuff to reach the heads; maybe even pull the engine to do some detailing here and there, and move those god damned coils to a better location.

What do you think? Should I save time and pick up some rebuilt heads, or dick around with mine?

If I go rebuilt, I can take time with mine and match them up with another set of manifolds for future installation.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[JohnB]

Its all what it looks like when you take them off. Hopefully the gasket has let go in the obvious spot. If not well then it gets interesting. I always prefer to use my parts. At least I know who had them.


That being said I am sure you will dip your heads in gold and massage the bits until they shine like a new born butt.

 

[kennith]

Its all what it looks like when you take them off. Hopefully the gasket has let go in the obvious spot. If not well then it gets interesting. I always prefer to use my parts. At least I know who had them.


That being said I am sure you will dip your heads in gold and massage the bits until they shine like a new born butt.

I'd love to use mine, but I may not have time enough to get everything done the way I want. It's not as if I'm going to sell them or anything, so I can still put them on later when I spend more time with the engine.

I'll have to ask around, but the shop I use for that sort of thing has a habit of taking a long time do get things done.

I suppose it will come down to time and cost.

And yeah, the way I figure it, so long as I'm pulling the stuff off of there, you should be able to slide your nuts across the engine without a snag by the time I put it back together.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[Tugela]

you should be able to slide your nuts across the engine without a snag by the time I put it back together.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the new standard of quality workmanship to which we should all aspire.

 

[Devildog01]

While your doing the hg you might as well do arp studs and do the water pump while your there. And throw some 4.6 internals in.

 

[rovercanus]

Will Tillery has a great deal on heads if you want to go the pre-set up route.

 

[p m]

... and that is totally worth it. I hate tearing shit apart and leaving it for a week or whatever it takes to have heads rebuilt.

 

[msggunny]

Kennith, i have a set of heads that needs rebuilt from my D2. Might be able to save a bit of coin by not having to have them shipped and get them rebuilt locally.

Let me know, i work at Stone Bay now so its not too far for me to drive to you.

Im not here a lot anymore so email me at msggunny at gmail

 

[leshassell]

let me know what your coil pack relocation solution is. it'll take someone smarter than me to figure it out but I would think converting to a coil on plug setup would be feasible and save a lot of headaches down the road

 

[p m]

let me know what your coil pack relocation solution is. it'll take someone smarter than me to figure it out but I would think converting to a coil on plug setup would be feasible and save a lot of headaches down the road

Everything is feasible - but why? It won't save any headaches down the road, just add new ones. You'll be replacing four dual-ended coils with eight single-ended coils; maybe the coil drivers in the ECU can handle the different load, maybe they can't. You will also have nothing to physically hang the coils onto - likely meaning drilling and tapping holes in the valve covers - and then worry about oil leaks from/under the covers.

The only problem with D2 coil pack is its location - D1 the same, to much lesser extent. Not that the coil pack is anywhere high on the list of unreliable D2 components.

 

[mjbrox]

maybe if you took better care of your shit this would not have happened.

 

[mbrummal]

maybe if you took better care of your shit this would not have happened.

Oh man, I laughed at that comment.

 

[jymmiejamz]

I think the coil pack location on a DII is great, it is kept safe from water by being high up and at the back of the engine.

 

[p m]

I think the coil pack location on a DII is great, it is kept safe from water by being high up and at the back of the engine.

I should've expressed myself better. Coil pack location is bad for replacing the wires and the coil pack - not for normal operation.

 

[kennith]

Yeah, I'd rather be able to replace the plug wires without tools, or swap a coil without a contortionist than protect them that much from water.

I'm still pondering precisely what I want to do.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[jymmiejamz]

Yeah, I'd rather be able to replace the plug wires without tools, or swap a coil without a contortionist than protect them that much from water.

Or you could just buy quality wires and not have to worry about it for a long time. If you have a '99-'02 without SAI you definitely don't need any tools to replace the wires. It also only takes about 10 minutes to pull the upper intake, and if you're really cheap you could just reuse the gasket in most cases.

 

[SGaynor]

Or you could just buy quality wires and not have to worry about it for a long time. .

I was thinking this myself. How often do the wires go? I had Kingsbornes for nearly 8 years, 50K mi. Packs are 11-12 years old, 110K miles.

 

[kennith]

Or you could just buy quality wires and not have to worry about it for a long time. If you have a '99-'02 without SAI you definitely don't need any tools to replace the wires. It also only takes about 10 minutes to pull the upper intake, and if you're really cheap you could just reuse the gasket in most cases.

I'm running Magnecors; they've been quality enough so far.

The point is, it's something I ought to be able to reach without removing anything. The coils are in a stupid place.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[p m]

The point is, it's something I ought to be able to reach without removing anything.

No you don't. Pretty much like a transfer case interlock solenoid.

 

[Tugela]

Kennith, I think you are encountering similar challenges to loading a backpack full of gear for a hiking trip. It's handy to have ready access to all your gear so you can quickly adapt to changing conditions or needs, but the reality is that you can't put everything in the lid of your backpack.

It would be nice to have access to everything all the time, but you don't need to quickly unpack your sleeping bag in the middle of the day so you put it in the bottom of your pack. You'll need your sleeping bag to put in your tent after that is set up in camp, but by then you have unpacked everything else from your backpack already. Some items are more useful than others to have handy. In my pack I make sure I can quickly reach my raincoat, snacks, water, first aid kit, and navigational aids. Everything else can stay buried until I set up camp.

In a Disco it would be nice to have simple access to everything, but for some components the need to reach them is so infrequent that by repositioning them you reduce access to something else. I drive a D1, and I have a wingspan of 6'7"; the location of the coil pack has never bothered me so maybe I can't relate to your specific situation. There's only so much space in the engine compartment so you have to prioritize access. I'd rather be able to check my coolant, fill my washer fluid reservoir, stow the jack, and open the fuse box than reach the coils.