Land Rover Repair: discovery 03 rattle in dash board, blown head gasket, cylinder liner

Question
John
Yes, we had the water sound but it went away by itself. If we don't do anything about this rattle will we suffer some other kind of damage??
You're the best! thanks for your responses.....
shelley






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Followup To
Question -
John
you've been so helpful in the past. We have a rattling sound in the dashboard up front by the defrost. short of taking apart the dashboard (which is not covered under warrantee) have you had any inquiries about this before?
Answer -
Hi Shelley,

yes, I've heard of rattles and even water sounds from inside the dashboard.  Usually, its associated with the heater matrix and part of the cooling system.  The repairs are often performed by removing the dashboad.  Yikes!  Not something a Do-It-Yourself owner wants to hear.

Sometimes the cooling system develops an air blockage that can be flushed out.  Other times, the blockage has to do with a flange or some other part that has broken off and is loose inside that area.

Best of luck,

JohnMc

Answer
Hi Shelly,

thank you for the compliment.  I'm just a LR owner like you.

This rattle should not be allowed to continue.  IF it is related to the cooling/heating system, you could find your Disco having more serious problems and thus increase the repair bill.  

For an '03, I'd repair the rattle while it's still JUST a rattle. Worse case, engine overheats and results in blown head gasket (or even worse - cylinder liner drops: bye, bye engine!).

If it costs you $600 to open up the dash and repair the rattle, it would be much better than a $2000 headgasket job.  Engines from dealer are about $7000.  

May sound extreme but I've answered Q's from other owners who have had this happen.  

Best of luck Shelly and let me know what happens.

Regards,

JohnMc