1999 DII blown head gasket - question before buying

[pkelly72]

I've never owned a Land Rover but have owned 3 land cruiser which were all built. Two 80 series with superchargers and one 100 series. All had armor, suspension, most everything. I got divorced about a year ago and had to sell my 97 LX 450 which I loved. I've been browsing on Craigslist locally and found a 99 disco 2 with a blown head gasket. It's fairly inexpensive but before I even call the guy I wanted to see how much would it cost to have this repaired and is there any reputable shops in the Modesto, CA area?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

PK

 

[Green96D1]

Most shops will charge about 1500$ to about 2000$ on HG repairs. I've never had to change out head gaskets but from what I've seen its not a terribly hard job to do. Have you ever considered a Discovery 1. I'm in the Lodi/Stockton Area about 35 miles north of you. I don't know of many rover repair shops in the Valley there are quite a few in the Bay Area. There is a shop in Stockton called "Bill Parks Auto Repair" the shop did some work to my Dad's Discovery 2 and were pretty reasonable for a rover at least

 

[pkelly72]

I'd consider a DI or RRC. Know of any? Not much money but I'll do the work.

 

[Fivespddisco]

Figure 2k and then extras for the things they will find.

 

[crash!!!]

just got done doing a head job on my 99 land rover. my repair shop quoted me 2800. It is not a difficult task with the rave manual, but i do consider myself more mechanically inclined than most. do you have the tools and the space is the main question. I am out about $1000 that includes parts, tools, and even a new/used set of heads. but long story short, it turned out the issue is down at the timing cover. My repair shop is taking care of that. So I have new gaskets on the bottom, top, and front. If you are 100% sure it is a head gasket, there are plenty of guides to get thru it. Now that i have been dealing with this for about two weeks, i am almost ready for my adventure back home to Alaska in the plucky brit!

 

[TomOwen]

Check out NorCalRovers.org and lrrforums.com. Some overlap but plenty of guys who have done the job. Especially TigerDan and another guy, Jeremy, out your way. Good luck

 

[brushogger]

It's really no different than any other V8. You will need to replace the head bolts as they are "torque to yield" and not reusable. Will Tillery on Discoweb has everything you need with quality gaskets and good prices. Lucky 8 is a great source too. You may have to pull the motor mounts and lower the engine a bit to get to get tool clearance on the rear head bolts. I did, but I've heard of others not needing to do this. DIY price was about $600 with gaskets and machine work on the heads. I had them surfaced and the valve seals replaced. It didn't need a valve job as it was pretty low mileage.

 

[LR Max]

I say its about a weeks worth of work (dedicated weekend and after work) for the average person. We used to take all the air out of the front tires and then pull the hood. Gives you great access to the engine. Then I just kept everything in order as I pulled the bolts off. That way I knew what went where with the new bolts, less guessing. Consult the rave manual on the actual head bolts. We used to just run them in with the air wrench then put the paint on bolt heads.

I'd buy the truck if it was in really good condition overall for its age. If the interior is trashed and all the bushings were shot, etc, I'd pass. Also I'd want to actually want the truck (or flip it for a profit). Or if I wanted a project that actually doesn't suck to drive on the interstate.

 

[pkelly72]

Lots of great advice and plenty to think about. Im looking for something that will be reliable and somewhat capable off-road. My heart isn't necessarily set on a DII but the price seems right. Honestly, the guy is asking sub $1000. If I had more money I might look at a decent RRC. I've always liked the lines of those vehicles. But again, I know nothing about LR. Is there a right up anywhere that list the pros and cons for each model and maybe year? Maybe I should take a step back and see what would best suit me and my family. This would be a second car for me and not a DD.


Thanks again. Great community.

Pk

 

[proper4wd]

Make sure it is in fact a head gasket problem and not a bad liner in the block. That will multiply repair costs x5 at least.

Quick way to tell - if the middle 2 cylinders (#3 and #5, or #4 and #6) on either bank are "steam cleaned" inside from leaking coolant, it is definitely a block. If its one of the end cylinders (#1 or #7, or #2 and #8) if could be either a head gasket or a block.

 

[pkelly72]

Got it. In this case, the heads are still on. I'm unsure if the owner would be willing to let me remove the heads for inspection. You do bring up a good point, if I can't see what's going on I might end up spending much more than I can afford or want to spend. This would be a deal breaker. I can't have lawn art or a long term project.

 

[proper4wd]

If you know what you're looking for, you can look through the spark plug holes (or even look at the plugs themselves) to get a good idea.

A lot of people have been burned by what they think is a head gasket, but is actually a bad block.

 

[roverandom]

If you are looking for "reliable and somewhat good off road" I'm afraid your setting yourself up for disappointment. With a D2 you tend to get the opposite, unreliable and very good off road. That of course doesn't mean they are all crap, but they do have more than their fair share of problems.

Pay close attention to OH&D post. Very sketchy buying a undriveable D2 even if it was free!

Make sure you love it 100% then go find one that has been looked after and works properly and buy it. Its going to be cheaper in the long run. Or buy a RRC if you like them. My Point is you will be spending lots of time and money so it's best you really love your vehicle.

My 2c

 

[pkelly72]

Solid advice. Question though - were the RRC equipped with OBDII? Is there a more preferable year for them?

 

[roverandom]

IIRC only the 1995-96 model RRC were OBDII compliant.

As to what is the best to buy that can be subjective.

My own preference is for early two door classics with spartan interiors. Others go for the very last models with the 'soft dash'. If you haul back seat passengers often then the LWB model (93-95) is a very good option with almost limo like rear seat space. It all depends on what you need and what you find personally appealing. Besides the early two door models and the "I would kill to own" CSK, I think 1994 was probably the best year for the classic. But that is just me.

Fortunately you can mix and match quite a bit between all model years and even the Discovery I so you can create your own perfect Rangie according to what you need. That's what I did with my 94 RRC.