PhD_Polymath
Observer
It has been awhile, but I am now on course to start rebuilding the engine in the Disco. With the insane weather here in Massachusetts, I have not been able to make any headway. I dream of the day that I can get a place with a garage. Anyways, I may have a friend who will allow me to use part of their garage for pulling, rebuilding, and reinstalling the engine.
I plan to do a complete refresh on the engine, while fixing some flaws from the factory engine build. I am going to install flanged liners in my block with an o-ring seal at the bottom. If the block has any concerns that the resleeve isn't going to remedy, I will source a new block. From there, I am having the crank, rods, and pistons checked and machined or replaced if necessary. I will check the cam and lifters for wear and replace if necessary. I have a new timing set, gaskets, radiator, thermostat, motor mounts, oil pump gear, plug wires, water pump, ARP head studs, and some other stuff coming from Lucky8. Once the machine shop lets me know if any bearing surfaces need cutting, I will order bearings accordingly. I will also have the machine shop clean and correct the heads for flatness as well as do a valve job. Spark plugs, etc. will be purchased locally. If the heads have any cracking the machine shop is not confident in repairing, I will also source replacements. Once I button up this engine, I plan to use standard green coolant. Hopefully the rebuild will at least give me a few years of reliable service.
In the true spirit of Land Rover owners, I am going to watch every system like a hawk upon completing the engine rebuild. Aside from the engine rebuild, I plan to get an Ultragauge to monitor coolant temperatures. I have an app that I was using, but feel the permanent gauge will get used all the time (I used the app most of the time, but not always). All of this stuff is costing a bit (hence the amount of downtime so far), so I will probably hold off on any mods for awhile after this. However, if I can swing it, I may order up the Ashcroft CDL kit. I think that would be the best next change to make with the Disco for improving its capabilities.
As I do the engine work, I plan to document the process with photos if possible. I have seen some tutorials on head gaskets here and there, but no really thorough Land Rover D2 V8 engine overhaul from pulling to initial firing and it may be neat to have something like that for reference. I have experience in overhauling engines, but have never done such work with a Land Rover engine. It will be quite a learning experience for me. Cheers!
I plan to do a complete refresh on the engine, while fixing some flaws from the factory engine build. I am going to install flanged liners in my block with an o-ring seal at the bottom. If the block has any concerns that the resleeve isn't going to remedy, I will source a new block. From there, I am having the crank, rods, and pistons checked and machined or replaced if necessary. I will check the cam and lifters for wear and replace if necessary. I have a new timing set, gaskets, radiator, thermostat, motor mounts, oil pump gear, plug wires, water pump, ARP head studs, and some other stuff coming from Lucky8. Once the machine shop lets me know if any bearing surfaces need cutting, I will order bearings accordingly. I will also have the machine shop clean and correct the heads for flatness as well as do a valve job. Spark plugs, etc. will be purchased locally. If the heads have any cracking the machine shop is not confident in repairing, I will also source replacements. Once I button up this engine, I plan to use standard green coolant. Hopefully the rebuild will at least give me a few years of reliable service.
In the true spirit of Land Rover owners, I am going to watch every system like a hawk upon completing the engine rebuild. Aside from the engine rebuild, I plan to get an Ultragauge to monitor coolant temperatures. I have an app that I was using, but feel the permanent gauge will get used all the time (I used the app most of the time, but not always). All of this stuff is costing a bit (hence the amount of downtime so far), so I will probably hold off on any mods for awhile after this. However, if I can swing it, I may order up the Ashcroft CDL kit. I think that would be the best next change to make with the Disco for improving its capabilities.
As I do the engine work, I plan to document the process with photos if possible. I have seen some tutorials on head gaskets here and there, but no really thorough Land Rover D2 V8 engine overhaul from pulling to initial firing and it may be neat to have something like that for reference. I have experience in overhauling engines, but have never done such work with a Land Rover engine. It will be quite a learning experience for me. Cheers!