Land Rover Repair: Land Rover Gaskets & Engine Overheating, head gasket failure, head gaskets

Question
Hi John,

We have a 2001 Discovery with 150,000 miles. It is leaking coolant and the repair specialists said that we need the head gaskets replaced.

Because the temperature gauge has come on multiple times, they are also concerned that there is engine damage.  (They fixed one leak 6 months ago. The temperature gauge had come on 10+ times, but the car ran fine. Recently, it came on twice and I added coolant immediately). They cannot detect whether there is engine damage until they remove the head gaskets.

We are trying to decide what action to take. It is expensive to replace the head gaskets and even more expensive to rebuild the engine.

We are wondering what you would recommend. Have you seen this occur frequently? Do you believe there could be engine damage? Please advise.

Thank you very much.

Heather

Answer
Hi Heather,

yes, I've seen Disco head gasket failure many times.  I don't think it's a problem that affects ALL Disco's, like the ABS, TC and HDC faults, the air suspension problems, the random power window failures...but headgaskets can develop leaks.

This can happen to any engine. If the temperatures are so severe, they can damage the engine even to the point where they are beyond repair.  Your engine has these sleeves that line the interior of your cylinders.  The sleeves are welded in place and these welds can melt under extreme temperatures.  The sleeve lining then drops and that's it for the engine.  Nothing can be done.

You may be fortunate and only the headgasket needs replacement.  Local mechanics could perform cylinder compression tests to determine if that aspect of the engine is within spec.  Timing can be measured too.  

I think with the headgasket repair, the mechanics will have an excellent advantage to see if any engine damage has happened.  I hope your mechanics are not trying to inflate the repair bill.  If you doubt their integrity, go somewhere else.  

Make sure you see the 'damage' before approval of any repair.  Have a mechanic show you the damage and throughly explain the damage and the necessary repairs.

IF it was my engine, I would determine the cost of repair and compare it to a salvaged replacement.  I found dozens of 4.0L engines at www.car-part.com for under $1500. Add another $800 for installation and you see what I mean.

Some salvage yards will even do the install for an extra few hundred dollars.  Something to consider.  You may get an even better engine.

Let me know how things turn out...

Regards,

JohnMc