Taking on head gasket job

[EJB90]

So the dealer believes my head gaskets are blown after doing a compression test after my 99 DII overheated. I was driving, the temp light came on and I instantly turned off the car maybe 2 seconds after the light came on. So hopefully no block or liner damage but we'll see once I get in there.

I got the In Search of the Experience video and printed out everything I should need from the RAVE manual. I am ordering the composite HG kit from Atlantic British as well as head bolts. I have all the tools they mentioned in the video and manual. I also have two to three experienced gear heads. The third has done a bit of work on his 1995 and 2004 discos.


Does anyone have any other final tips or tricks before I start this stupid process. Is there anything else I should replace while I have the entire engine taken apart? Also, assuming there are no major problems about how long does this take?

 

[crown14]

I thought the video gave all the tricks and tips??

 

[adriatic04]

no tips, never done it myself, but for those who havent you should take pics and post your experience so the rest of us know what to expect when/if needed :banghead:

 

[kk88rrc]

So the dealer believes my head gaskets are blown after doing a compression test after my 99 DII overheated.

Do you have the numbers from the compression test?

 

[EJB90]

I can go into my files and check to see if it is on the dealer receipt. I don't think they are. They said they were quite confident it is a head gasket. There was also a lot of coolant in the oil.

 

[jymmiejamz]

How many miles are on the truck? You may want to consider replacing some of the hoses and thermostat. It wouldn't hurt to clean out the oil pan if you bought the truck with high miles and don't know the service history.

I haven't seen the video, but when you buy your parts you may want to consider buying the two small plastic hoses that go from the expansion tank to the radiator and throttle body heater because the become very brittle over time and are pretty easy to break and cheap to buy.

Had your truck been leaking coolant for a while, or did it just all of a sudden over heat? I would guess that if its the head gaskets then they have probably been leaking for a while if it is indeed the head gaskets. Do you have any misfire codes? I would recommend pulling the spark plugs and checking for coolant or a steam cleaned cylinder. That would tell you if you likely have a cracked liner.

Also, I think coolant can get into the oil through three of the bolts on the front cover that are supposed to have teflon sealant on them.

 

[pjkbrit]

can we be sure it's not a bad valley pan gasket leaking that coolant into the oil pan? I agree with kkrc here....show me the compression numbers. That's the only way to be sure that you need to be pulling heads.

 

[pjkbrit]

can we be sure it's not a bad valley pan gasket leaking that coolant into the oil pan? I agree with kkrc here....show me the compression numbers. That's the only way to be sure that you need to be pulling heads. The Dealer will have you believe anything that results in a $2000.00 job!

 

[crown14]

riiiiiight

 

[flyor]

I'm in the process of replacing my right now. The heads are at the machine shop getting the surface cleaned up. I'm probably going to replace the timing chain and gears too. The valves were done about 35,000 miles ago so I'm not doing them again now. Depending on how many miles you have you may want to consider doing the valves and replacing the valve seals.

 

[EJB90]

It had been leaking for a while. I also consulted my indie guy (Robison Service) who thought it was probably the HG too. I will see if I can find the numbers.

BTW my truck has around 93,000 miles.

 

[Agent]

A good swivel socket will make getting the head bolts closest to the firewall out mucho easier. I was able to get mine without bashing in the firewall.

 

[CandiMan]

A good swivel socket will make getting the head bolts closest to the firewall out mucho easier. I was able to get mine without bashing in the firewall.

Amen to that. I'm sure there's many way to skin this cat, but for me, a good swivel socket (not a socket attach to a universal joint) and small extension worked perfectly. No bashing of the firewall needed.

 

[MotoBando]

To make access easier, you may want to undo the motor mount nuts, raise the motor from underneath with a jack, remove the mounts and lower the motor back down. This will give you added clearance near the firewall if you do not have a swivel socket but will add time to your job. Be sure to clean the mating surfaces of head and block so they look perfect (assuming resurface on heads, but remove all signs of any grease with brake cleaner or something). Take your time with it and be sure to use new bolts, torque in sequence per RAVE, and go 15ft lbs then 90 degrees, then 90 degrees again. Get a torque angle gauge...or mark the bolts with a paint pen so you can monitor the torque angle as you go.

Of course while you are in there look for other possible issues like a steam cleaned piston from a coolant leak which could imply bigger issues...but a quick scan of your old gaskets could dispel that if they were the source of a leak.

 

[jymmiejamz]

Removing the motor mounts would be a hell of a lot of extra work IMO, especially since he probably won't be doing this on a lift. I would want to keep work under the truck to a minimum. If you don't have a swivel socket either buy one or "massage" the firewall with a hammer to allow access to the back head bolt.

 

[benlittle]

Video? Interesting...

Unfortunately you probably won't know whether it's a head gasket or valley gasket until you're in there.

I've done a few head gasket jobs on rovers and it's not really as hard as people think. Intimidating but not hard.

IMO there are three things to pay attention to. A) Not busting head bolts while removing or replacing. B) Not stripping head bolts while removing. C) Not cross threading plenum bolts into the head.

Everything else IMO is just piecing together and takes time. If you do any of those three, you're in for a lot more work. Those were the only things that I have been stressed over but that's just me.

X2 on the brittle plastic hoses but I don't know about them being cheap. I had to buy one for my old DII and the bastard was like $30 Bucks!!

 

[AfiRover]

Replace the "brittle plastic" hose with 5/8 rubber line you will need about 6 feet avail from napa

What you need to know is cause and effect...
Did your truck over heat and cause the HD to go or did the HD go causing the overheating ? I always replace the water pump .thermo ,hoses IF needed ..

What I did not see on your shopping list (if its a d2 bosch )is an ERR6621 plunium gaskit you will need it to and you might as well replace the deicer while your at it
afi

 

[EJB90]

Ok so I thought I'd update everyone. After changing the oil I fired her up and quickly rolled her into the garage.

My dad and I started on the process yesterday. We've been going along pretty good with no major issues- just annoying things every step of the way. Getting the alternator out was a bitch. Some of the multiplugs were on pretty good. Getting the coil pack bolts off of the intake was the biggest pain so far- crawling into the fucking engine trying to find the outer bolts in the limited space, limited vision, and mess of wires... and it turns out you only have to do the top bolts to get the intake off. Once its off you have a ton more room. We've been going pretty slowly making sure we label everything so it gets back on and in the right place. It's not as hard as it initially as it seemed. Putting it back together seems more intimidating at this point.

Right now we're down to the rocker covers, I just need to get a 12 point 5/16 extra deep socket to get them off. I'll be interested to see how disgusting they're going to be. The oil + coolant mixture sat around for about a month before it got drained out and had turned into a nasty cake batter thickness mixture.

Question: When lifting the intake manifold off the rest of the engine, two metal washers fell off. What did they go to? They have to go to either 2 of the 6 manifold bolts or the upper coil pack bolts.

 

[adriatic04]

Don't need deep socket just get 5/16 for 1/4 inch. Either way works but 1/4 is needed

 

[CandiMan]

Can you provide a pic of the washers in question?