Wise minds of dweb I summon thee

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
Thanks in advance guys,

Back story is that I bought a 2000 d2 last week. It had high miles (237k) but a salvage title from being rear ended. The body was in good shape and the interior was good. Under the hood was really clean but I could see some oil leaking from VC gaskets. Drove and shifted good so I bought it. I knew I?d have to get a better rear bumper and valve cover gaskets. But I didn?t see any coolant leaks and no three amigos so I thought it was a good deal.

Drove it an hour home and two one hour trips the next day(thanksgiving). All fine no overheat or leaking coolant. The VC gaskets did begin to leak more than anticipated but I knew those were gonna be fixed. Friday I changed the oil.

Saturday I drove it 5 miles to Walmart. I was going to get the rest of the fluids and do the whole truck when I get out I see a cloud of what turns out to be steam. It?s literally raining coolant under the truck. I pop the hood and it?s coming out somewhere behind the engine but I can?t see where. I don?t panic because I didn?t think head gaskets leaked this bad. Surely it?s a hose of sorts that has come loose.

So I shop and get some water to put back in the tank. My mechanic is about one mile from Walmart so I just drive it there. While I?m on the way wouldn?t you know the three amigos pop up but that a side note.

Drop the keys off Monday and tell him what happened. He calls me later and advised that he would need to take off the intake and coil packs to see the leak and told me how much that would be.

He called me this morning. He said man I think it is the head gasket. He has concerns about changing them on an engine with such high miles and was even concerned that maybe the block had warped because of how bad it was leaking. I told him that these HG go all the time and when it?s not a slipped liner they normally are fine. At least that?s my understanding.

He mentioned that he gets used engines with warranty and would call them to check if they have any. I told him I would some digging too.

Anyone have the block warp or issues with the head bolts messing up threads on exit? Those were some of his thoughts but I just don?t know.
 

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
Do head gaskets leak that much fluid? I mean driving good for three hours then just boom! Don’t seem probable

Question is do I get the hg done and hope it will be fine?
 

Mike26

Well-known member
Jan 29, 2008
244
1
Dallas
so long as the motor isn't knocking, change HG's (if that's the issue), machine heads, and run it. I'd take care of the entire cooling system while your in there. Water pump, hoses, radiator, fan clutch, thermostat (mod it with the inline sbc 180 deg, throw that artificial heart in the trash)
 

Swedjen2

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2018
594
127
California
Is your machanic familiar with Rovers or a general mech? So it was raining coolant and he "thinks" its a head gasket. IF you have the original coolant reservoir, those will crack and spew forth, cuasing rain-like conditions. You can get an aftermarket aluminum one with a sight glass at www.Allisport.com - not cheap, but a work of coolant tank art.
Read this - Robison has some excellent write-ups. http://www.robisonservice.com/articles/RonR_march2006.php
 

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
Is your machanic familiar with Rovers or a general mech? So it was raining coolant and he "thinks" its a head gasket. IF you have the original coolant reservoir, those will crack and spew forth, cuasing rain-like conditions. You can get an aftermarket aluminum one with a sight glass at www.Allisport.com - not cheap, but a work of coolant tank art.
Read this - Robison has some excellent write-ups. http://www.robisonservice.com/articles/RonR_march2006.php

It definitely was coming from the rear of the engine not the coolant tank. But thanks for the heads up.

He is a general mechanic so There is that. I called a Rover shop here in town for a second opinion. He said he obviously couldn?t say cause he wasn?t looking at the truck. he stated he has been hesitant to do HG on trucks anymore because they so often end up with slipped sleeves also. He said sometimes the overheating process messes with the sleeves. Idk. I feel like I def did not over heat the truck but history is unknown.

I considering just doing the HGs and see what happens. How often do the head bolts strip the threads coming out? I think he?s just worried about the aluminum block and hesitant it won?t actually fix it.
 

mgreenspan

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2005
4,723
130
Briggs's Back Yard
So if it has fluid in it, what does it do when running now? You didn't say it overheated just loads of steam after you stopped. Sounds like you should at the very least take it to the Rover mechanic that you spoke to on the phone instead of your general mechanic whose first suggestion is replace the entire engine. He'll be better suited to determine the source of the leak that's causing the steam to come off the rear of the engine.

If I had to guess it hasn't been used much lately. You driving it 3 hours and putting fresh oil in it clearly made the valve cover leak more. So really, you have only yourself to blame for this. You clearly should have left it sitting in a driveway like the guy before you. ;)

There is also a stock type clear/opaque coolant tank that you should replace the original black one with instead of the expensive Allisport one.
 

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
So if it has fluid in it, what does it do when running now? You didn't say it overheated just loads of steam after you stopped. Sounds like you should at the very least take it to the Rover mechanic that you spoke to on the phone instead of your general mechanic whose first suggestion is replace the entire engine. He'll be better suited to determine the source of the leak that's causing the steam to come off the rear of the engine.

If I had to guess it hasn't been used much lately. You driving it 3 hours and putting fresh oil in it clearly made the valve cover leak more. So really, you have only yourself to blame for this. You clearly should have left it sitting in a driveway like the guy before you. ;)

There is also a stock type clear/opaque coolant tank that you should replace the original black one with instead of the expensive Allisport one.

Lol, I do blame myself.

It is clear type tank. They are abundant at the junk yard I had extras laying around when I had my old D2.

And I agree with you about taking it to the Rover guy. But it?s already there and I trust the guy saw coolant coming from the head gasket. I just am unsure of his fear of aluminum blocks. He is a good dude so I trust him but not exactly a Rover specialist.
 

Swedjen2

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2018
594
127
California
Have the Rover guy fiddle around with it. The PO probably overheated it....so your Rover guy should do all the leak and pressure tests to see how bad it is. That includes checking the codes to see what's been recently cleared. (Amigos and who knows what else)
A D2 with 237K on the original engine is rare indeed.
 

roverover

Well-known member
Feb 27, 2005
3,819
28
68
Lancaster PA
www.UsedLandRoverParts.com
Have the Rover guy fiddle around with it. The PO probably overheated it....so your Rover guy should do all the leak and pressure tests to see how bad it is. That includes checking the codes to see what's been recently cleared. (Amigos and who knows what else)
A D2 with 237K on the original engine is rare indeed.

All my personal Rovers have 200k on them
 

kade

Well-known member
Oct 15, 2013
235
7
Upstate, SC
So they said they took the intake off to see the leak better and it was still leaking out of the head gasket.

If I already bought the head gasket kit, what should this repair cost? He gave me a ball park figure of 2k. Called rover shop and they said the same thing. I’m having a hard time accepting that the repair is going to cost more than the truck
 

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,754
561
Seattle
C'est la vie with Rover ownership. $2,000 for a head gasket job is a low price, assuming that figure includes the machine work on the heads - an important step of the repair unless you enjoy replacing head gaskets frequently.

If you want to weigh your options I encourage you to read this Discoweb thread on the DIY approach to replacing head gaskets. It will help you to evaluate if you want to take it on yourself. If you already have the head gasket kit you should be able to complete the job for less than an additional $500, although YMMV.

If the truck is otherwise mechanically sound (recognizing that is subjective) and free of rust, this could be a worthwhile project. In other words, if you plan to keep the truck for a while and it's worth more to you than just the cash value, then do the repair. If you don't have the interest/capacity for fixing it yourself or the price is too steep, then maybe you cut your losses and walk.