Casper & Outono - 2x 1998 Discovery 1 Builds
- Thread starter Outono
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Outono
Well-known member
Feeling proud today. We got the cooling system buttoned up and everything working better than expected. But as usual, it didn't go without incident.
While replacing the oil cooler lines with Trailhead 4x4 ones, my wrench slipped and I dented the oil filter housing. We weren't sure if this was going to end in a nightmare scenario where the thing would leak continuously, but so far everything appears to be in order.
Those Trailhead lines are expensive, but they're super high quality and worth the swap if you've got the cash to blow. I wish I could do the same for the other hard lines on the driver side of the radiator.
It all came together so well. We opted to pass on the new condenser fans because the OEM Densos were working just fine and, frankly, I didn't feel like taking on more work than necessary. The radiator slipped right in, the hoses right on, but the fan clutch has become a bit of a question mark. Despite being brand new, it wobbles too much and it's unclear if its from the water pump or if I just didnt attach the clutch to the blades evenly. It works just fine, but its worrisome. Im going to swap another clutch onto it tomorrow to see how it does. I really hope it's not the water pump because that would be a total nightmare.
The time finally came to fire the truck up. We didn't attempt any fancy bleeding procedures, we just kept the radiator and reservoir open, heat on, and engine at idle until there weren't any more bubbles. We closed the radiator, kept the reservoir open, and held the throttle for a bit. This produced a number of big bubbles and eventually brought on the heat. Once we couldn't get anything more out of the reservoir, we capped it and took the truck for a spin.
Wow! What a difference this has made. The vehicle stays cool no matter what you throw at it. Air on full blast, high throttle, long idling, it doesn't matter. I can't say for sure every piece I threw on was needed, but im glad I did it all. Whereas my old temps would hang around low 200s normally without air (it would keep climbing if the air was on), now I never see it above 195 at its highest. And even then, it nearly immediately goes back down to the mid / high 80s.
For reference, I used the following parts:
I'll be putting this thing through its paces in Death Valley in just 10 days so let's see how it handles its first big trip.
While replacing the oil cooler lines with Trailhead 4x4 ones, my wrench slipped and I dented the oil filter housing. We weren't sure if this was going to end in a nightmare scenario where the thing would leak continuously, but so far everything appears to be in order.
Those Trailhead lines are expensive, but they're super high quality and worth the swap if you've got the cash to blow. I wish I could do the same for the other hard lines on the driver side of the radiator.
It all came together so well. We opted to pass on the new condenser fans because the OEM Densos were working just fine and, frankly, I didn't feel like taking on more work than necessary. The radiator slipped right in, the hoses right on, but the fan clutch has become a bit of a question mark. Despite being brand new, it wobbles too much and it's unclear if its from the water pump or if I just didnt attach the clutch to the blades evenly. It works just fine, but its worrisome. Im going to swap another clutch onto it tomorrow to see how it does. I really hope it's not the water pump because that would be a total nightmare.
The time finally came to fire the truck up. We didn't attempt any fancy bleeding procedures, we just kept the radiator and reservoir open, heat on, and engine at idle until there weren't any more bubbles. We closed the radiator, kept the reservoir open, and held the throttle for a bit. This produced a number of big bubbles and eventually brought on the heat. Once we couldn't get anything more out of the reservoir, we capped it and took the truck for a spin.
Wow! What a difference this has made. The vehicle stays cool no matter what you throw at it. Air on full blast, high throttle, long idling, it doesn't matter. I can't say for sure every piece I threw on was needed, but im glad I did it all. Whereas my old temps would hang around low 200s normally without air (it would keep climbing if the air was on), now I never see it above 195 at its highest. And even then, it nearly immediately goes back down to the mid / high 80s.
For reference, I used the following parts:
- Nissen radiator
- Flowcooler high flow water pump
- Mahle fan clutch
- Superstant 180 degree thermostat
- Allisport reservoir
- Trailhead 4x4 oil cooler lines
I'll be putting this thing through its paces in Death Valley in just 10 days so let's see how it handles its first big trip.
Outono
Well-known member
Casper is listed for sale
1998 Land Rover Discovery - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle...
This is a single owner Discovery 1 that was dealer serviced nearly its entire life at Land Rover Newport Beach. I am the second owner and purchased it earlier this year. • 144,500 miles • Automatic...
orangecounty.craigslist.org
Outono
Well-known member
Ever since I got D1V2, I had a sinking feeling that the engine was not what it was described. Despite having been re-gasketed, it sure didn't appear so and it didn't quite run like it had been refreshed. Take the cooling system for example; there was no thermostat in the engine, some of the lines were nearly 10 years old, and the water pump was corroded - surely some of this would have been tended to during a refresh...
Well, just 2 days before a week long trip to Death Valley, and after months of hard work getting this truck ready to go, the head gasket began to let go.
It's hard to see, but what this shows is the head gasket starting to leak near the front of the engine. It's not bad by any means, but it's enough for me to worry about this vehicle getting stranded. When the engine gets to operating temp, it begins to squirt coolant in small amounts, which finds its way onto the front axle and, at times, on the driver's front shock. At the moment it's largely just drips, but over time it will be a more continuous stream.
I could always pour in some liquid seal, but I dont think id ever shake the worry that it's one unlucky minute away from a more serious problem.
For the meantime, I've borrowed my brothers FJ Cruiser for the trip, but I need to decide fairly soon on what I want to do here. I can get a shop to re-gasket the engine (again) or I can double down and throw in a refurb block from Rover Parts, RPI, or Turner. The latter will be much more expensive, especially since I need a shop to do it, but I wont have to bother with this engine for the foreseeable future. The former leaves me open to more failures, especially since I do not know the history of this engine.
I've sunk a ridiculous amount of money and time into this thing. And while I justify it by reminding myself it's my main hobby, it's hard to swallow another $3,000+ repair - much more if I replace the block.
What would you all do?
Well, just 2 days before a week long trip to Death Valley, and after months of hard work getting this truck ready to go, the head gasket began to let go.
It's hard to see, but what this shows is the head gasket starting to leak near the front of the engine. It's not bad by any means, but it's enough for me to worry about this vehicle getting stranded. When the engine gets to operating temp, it begins to squirt coolant in small amounts, which finds its way onto the front axle and, at times, on the driver's front shock. At the moment it's largely just drips, but over time it will be a more continuous stream.
I could always pour in some liquid seal, but I dont think id ever shake the worry that it's one unlucky minute away from a more serious problem.
For the meantime, I've borrowed my brothers FJ Cruiser for the trip, but I need to decide fairly soon on what I want to do here. I can get a shop to re-gasket the engine (again) or I can double down and throw in a refurb block from Rover Parts, RPI, or Turner. The latter will be much more expensive, especially since I need a shop to do it, but I wont have to bother with this engine for the foreseeable future. The former leaves me open to more failures, especially since I do not know the history of this engine.
I've sunk a ridiculous amount of money and time into this thing. And while I justify it by reminding myself it's my main hobby, it's hard to swallow another $3,000+ repair - much more if I replace the block.
What would you all do?
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SkiWill
Well-known member
Well, after I sat down and got a good cry out of the way, I'd think about the rest of the vehicle, what condition everything is in, how long I intended to keep it, and what trips I intended in the future and with whom.
If it were just me, I'd probably get the head gaskets done and realize I'd be bored with it and moving on in a few years anyway. Plan with some extra water, good hiking boots and backpack as a backup, and go have some adventures.
But it's not just me 90% of the time as I have the family with me. So, if you're traveling with people who will either not tolerate or would be in jeopardy by a remote breakdown, then I'd ask why you were traveling in a 25 year old D1 (or any 25 year old vehicle for that matter).
The way I see it you have three options:
a) Get a shop to do a head gasket repair, roll the dice, and go on adventures. That's the Land Rover way and leads to great stories.
b) Plan on keeping the thing for 10 years understanding that it will take a ridiculous amount of time and money to keep a 25 year old vehicle reliable for remote travel and likely cost nearly as much a car payment per annum and go full long block and be done with it.
c) Get a newer vehicle because you have to cart around wife/kids.
Option C may not be applicable, but if it is, I'd get a newer vehicle and actually spend time on adventures with the family rather than with wrenches in hand. Otherwise, I'd say it comes down to how dedicated you are to keeping this vehicle around. If it's a 10 year commitment, do it right and get a quality long block. If you're only going to keep this a couple of years and move on to the next project, just get a head gasket job done.
Good luck.
Outono
Well-known member
Thanks for the thoughtful response!
I've gone through enough old vehicles to know what it takes to bring one up to a semblance of reliability. I think this one stings more than most because I was so sure I had fixed every known issue before this trip, only to be foiled at the very end.
You're right in saying that I ought to look at this more as an adventure than a total loss, but after missing out on another epic trip a few years ago due to a breakdown, I am particularly sensitive to missing out on this one.
The D1 is a long term investment, which is different than most of the other trucks that have come and gone in my garage. And with that in mind, it makes most sense to swap in a good block and get the most out of this thing for the next 10+ years. It's going to hurt my wallet, but the future adventures will be well worth it.
Now I just need to nail down the details of what sort of block and build im going to run with.
I felt the same when I had my 2000 D2 TD5. I like doing remote camping & it got to the stage that I wouldn’t feel comfortable going >1000km from civilisation. I ended up selling and buying a D4. Although I do miss the D2, the D4 for reliability, comfort and a general good family care can’t be beaten
You seem to be very capable hobbiest/mechanic and definitely look to be doing quality work.
Why not just repair gasket? I wouldn't do block unless I had to and likely would get used one from Will Tillery. In 10 rovers I had one bad and I knew it on purchase. Slipped liner.... or maybe cracked, was a while back.
I would choose option a, but would do my best to find the root cause, but it seem a like have addressed my of the potential auses.
Why not just repair gasket? I wouldn't do block unless I had to and likely would get used one from Will Tillery. In 10 rovers I had one bad and I knew it on purchase. Slipped liner.... or maybe cracked, was a while back.
I would choose option a, but would do my best to find the root cause, but it seem a like have addressed my of the potential auses.
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That's > 1200 miles in and out, likely 100 gallons of gas or 60 gallons of diesel. That's a lot of jerry cans! ;-)
I am not yet convinced an LR4 is more reliable than the older vehicles.
Outono
Well-known member
Thanks for the kind words!
I could repair the gasket and be on my way, but not having known how the engine was treated before leaves a big question mark. I know the engine came out of a RRC, was re-gasketed (allegedly), and then dropped into the D1. However, that work is not documented and when I reached out to the guys who did it, they told me they don't recall and don't have records. Not ideal...
A new block solves a lot of issues (and potential ones), but its much more expensive so we'll see. I need to think on it a bit more.
Won't you know more once you see cylinders?
You have done a lot to cooling system, is the only thing left inspection of cylinders? Sorry if these are lame questions, I am not engine guy.
Is there a way to determine year of engine?
Outono
Well-known member
Yea so the engine will need to be opened up to find out the condition. If everything looks great then I might just do the gaskets and call it a day. My gut tells me it won't be great, but you never know. There is a bit of valve noise at the top, but that's fairly common. I also have a lot of noise on cold start up, like the oil pump isn't happy, but that goes away when warm. Actually, I put some Ceratec in it recently and that really quieted things down.
Not sure ill be able to determine the engine year, but theres probably a serial number somewhere. Im also not an engine guy so this is all new to me. I dont have space to do the work myself so its going to be expensive
Not advising you try this at home(at least if you want to keep your wife) but I have discretely pulled off a Mercedes v8 engine rebuild in a guest bath of ground floor retirement apartment once upon a time. Hardest part was getting it in and out of the car under the carport under cover of darkness. . .