The story of my first Disco HG job (with a final freak out)...

[///M3///M5]

So I dove in to do HGs, t-stat, water pump, etc. on the Disco about 3 weeks ago. Tore the whole thing down in a day and got the heads to the machine shop. Only struggle was the driver's side rear head bolt, but it finally came off. I then got really busy with school and did not have time to go back up to the shop for another 3 weeks (yesterday). So I work from 1PM until 4AM yesterday at a slow and steady pace with nearly no hiccups. Get back today around 12PM to finish the last few things and change the oil, add coolant, etc.

Cranked her up and WOW! First turn of the key after she got fuel pressure back. Running like a champ. I let it run for about 30 mins watching the coolant level and everything and noticed a crack in one of the PLASTIC coolant hoses (why the hell would they make a coolant hose plastic). Repaired that, cleaned up, and got ready to head home in my car (finally had it back).

I was so surprised it went without hitch that I was calling my girlfriend to tell her about it. As the phone is ringing I was hoping on the interstate and get to about 50MPH and boom: loud noise, smoke, and the car will no longer accelerate. I costed to the next exit as I watched the temp gauge climb and stopped in a Home Depot parking lot. Opened the hood, pulled the fan shroud off only to see that I had cracked another plastic coolant hose putting the final piece on: THE DAMN FAN SHROUD COVER.

I go into Home Depot and buy a flat head, 10 water bottles, and a bag of hose clamps. I did a quick repair in the parking lot by cutting up my last repair (lucky I had slack hose). Low and behold, it cranks right back up after about 8 bottle of water. On the way back to the shop I notice the car will no longer climb above 3,000 RPMs and I fear the worst: I popped the damn head gasket when it got hot!!!

I get it back to the shop add a lot more coolant again and let it idle, watching it smoke and billow all over the place. I drove it around the parking lot after letting it cool down and it still had the same symptoms. Head hung low, I walked to go get the compression gauge. As I reapproached the car, I noticed a lot of coolant spray around the intake box, so I pulled the cover off and the filter out. WOW! About .5 in of coolant in the bottom. The I thought hmmmmm...How's that MAF sensor liking being coated in coolant? Let's just say, it did not like it at all!

Clean the sensor with some BPC, buttoned it back up again AND.....

SO FAR SO GOOD!

 

[barefoot]

good for you man.....

arent you glad you did it yourself?

 

[///M3///M5]

Yeah. I mean I have a lot of experience working on cars, just no LRs. I've probably done 50 HGs or so in the past. This one was hell though. So many little struggles here and there. My back and legs are killing me.

Also, I never sat in an engine bay to reach a bolt before this either...

 

[crown14]

I prefer working on these to working on cars anyday.

 

[barefoot]

I prefer working on these to working on cars anyday.

no shit! lots of room...

i need to replace the secondary air injection pump im my saab. was looking under there the other night and all i could think was.....fuck.

 

[ArmyRover]

Congrats brother, glad it seems like everything worked out with minor hiccups

On the saab front try doing the back plugs on a 2.5 v6 saab when you have to remove the intake :banghead:

 

[///M3///M5]

I mean, I would definitely prefer this over a VW (water pump is like doing a HG) or SAAB, but I know BMWs like the back of my hand. I can do a full HG job in under 5 hours if I have another head sitting next to me. I don't think I could ever get it down that pat on the Rover.

I actually found there was not much room in some places for how much ROOM there is. If the motor were moved foward about 2-3 more inches (hell even 1 inch) EVERYTHING would be a lot better.

 

[ptschram]

I prefer working on these to working on cars anyday.

X a bazillion!

Glad you got it going and hopefully, you won't have any additional interruptions.

 

[Butch]

Glad to hear it all worked out for you.

 

[scottagnew101]

I If the motor were moved foward about 2-3 more inches (hell even 1 inch) EVERYTHING would be a lot better.

I assume your working on a DII, think about doing the spark plugs and wires too. Man that would make life a lot easier!

Scott

 

[Jon K]

Is there a link anyone has to a start-to-finish guide on replacing the HGs on these things?

 

[arcticrover]

The RAVE was pretty helpful when I did this. . .

 

[roverMc]

I assume your working on a DII, think about doing the spark plugs and wires too. Man that would make life a lot easier!

Scott

X 2

 

[Ed Cheung]

Is there a link anyone has to a start-to-finish guide on replacing the HGs on these things?

Off my head the list below pretty much cover all. and there should be loads of pics on this sites just search.

Run a compression test on each cylinder
Unbolts the Throttle assemble, air duct and maf
Unbolts Fuel and return pipe
Unplug the fuel injector wires and fuel temp and coolant temp wires, TPS wires, stepper motor, oil sender, coolant temp sender, etc. and move the wire harness aside.
Take out the sparks wires distributor cover and take out the spark plugs take out the belts.
Unbolt all the bracket for holding the alternator, steering pump(with distributor cap off there should be enough space but a slow process) and the a/c compressor and push them forwards to clear it away it from the heads.
Drain 1/3 of the coolant so the level is lower than the cylinder heads. Take out the upper radiator hose, and the 2 hose for the heater, PVC hose.
Unbolts the 10 bolts holding the intake assemble to the block, the 2 bolts with bracket that holds it at the front and back double check all hoses and wires are clear from it and yank it out
Unbolts the exhaust headers
Unbolts the valve cover
Unbolt the rocker arm and take them out and the push rods as well
Unbolt the heads bolts following the order from RAVE.

Take the heads to the shops with your backup car if needed.

Reverse the above order and done.
Run another compression test for sure.

 

[EJB90]

The RAVE manual is good to have especially for the torque ratings. But really its tearing it down and putting it back is pretty self explanatory when you look at it closely. Everything comes off and all the wiring harnesses are in the right places.

Just be aware of the harness that goes on the inside side of the power steering housing. I accidentally left mine on the outside edge and realized that the harness could no longer reach one of the sensors.