steve58

Maybe the manuals were written by women and they can't make their mind up? It's not my logic, rather fact of physics, you stretch a head bolt, it gets thinner, hence when 1 reuses it, it's not as strong as it was originally designed to be. One of the points of having torque to yield head bolts and laminate single metal type head gaskets particularly in high compression diesel engines and hi tech petrol engines is to reduce cylinder bore distortion and hence questionable ring seal with the cylinder walls. That's another very technical issue and I'm not going to go into that here and besides I'm finished with this topic. I'm out of here. CU

I don't want to flog a dead horse, and I'm not interested in proving myself right or anyone else wrong regarding this matter. I've attached the torque chart for the 300TDi which clearly shows the torque to yield settings of the head bolt tensions. Sorry everybody concerned, but torque to yield head bolts ARE NOT REUSABLE because they ALWAYS stretch, and no, they don't go back to their original length when you undo them. If you do reuse them, use them at your own peril. Thanks cipx2 for your post regarding the manual, saved me doing it as well. Cheers

BogMonster I did not take your reply as an argument at all. Likewise this reply to you is not meant as an argument or criticism, so please don't take it that way. Referring to your quote from the manual of 5 uses is OK for the head bolts, did you initially read that in a Haynes manual by chance? The reason I ask that is from my personal experience I believe Haynes manuals are a waste of money and riddled with misinformation. Maybe Haynes are good for general service routines etc but anything more involved regarding engine reassembly or parts there of I would not take as a definitive guide or recommend same. The Land Rover factory supplied manual on the other hand as 1 would expect is very accurate in most details. Interesting thing is that the LR factory manual that I DL via the links as a PDF, states to discard the head bolts after removal. The head bolt suggestion I made may not solve the OP's problem, however, he can certainly look into it if he so chooses. The original reply I made to the OP merely skims the surface as far as his problem is concerned, hopefully he will get a fix soon. Because I initially joined this forum to get information regarding the appalling ABS braking issues with my recently purchased Discovery 1, and at the same time read about some other very beneficial information (Particularly from Les Hensons tutorials - Thanks), I wanted to pass on some of my information that in this case may be helpful to the OP. As a mechanic for the first 5 years of my working life, and as an engine reconditioner,builder & machinist hands on for 25 years since then, I may have some knowledge that may assist some others that are having issues regarding engines. After all, as sections on this very forum display so much helpful information, knowledge should be shared, you can't take it with you. Cheers

Generally speaking, worldwide engine re-building practice suggests that torque to yield type head bolts (those that are tightened with angular reference as well as with a tension wrench) should be replaced because bolts stretch. That becomes even more important in countries with extreme weather temperatures at both ends of the scale. If a person can't afford to replace the head bolts, the next best thing is to compare the measurement of the intended reused head bolts to a new set to make sure the lengths are very close before refitting them. Because of the extra cost, the vehicle owner ultimately has to make the decision as to whether to risk having to redo the job because of a failure possibly due to reused old head bolts. A common reason used by head gasket manufacturers to not warrant head gaskets is if the head bolts are not replaced.

You should use new head bolts every time you replace the head on these engines because they can stretch permanently. Also it's a good idea to run a thread tap down all the head bolt holes to clean them out and make sure there is no excess oil or water in the threaded holes (blow them out with an air line after you have cleaned the threads - wear safety goggles). At least apply oil or light grease under the head of each bolt as well as the threads of the bolt before fitting-tensioning them as well. Make sure the head gasket surface area is spotlessly clean and devoid of any old gasketing material. Clean the top of the engine block with a flat new oil stone as well. Get the head checked for hardness, there is a simple check that your local engine rebuilder should be able to do (takes less than a minute). Check your cylinder head with a straight edge (not a ruler) and a .002" feeler strip (a human hair or tally-ho paper is 004" and is to thick!) for flatness longitudinally, diagonally and across the narrow dimension of the head gasket facing area for true flatness of the gasket surface area. If you can fit a .002" feeler strip at any place between the straight edge and head gasket surface get the head resurfaced in a mill with a PCD finishing cut then check for flatness again. PCD (Poly Crystaline Diamond) can be used on these heads because they don't have precom chambers, and that PCD tip will easily give a mirror finish which is always needed particularly on metal laminate gaskets. Use a good tension wrench and follow the head gasket manufacturers torque pattern and tension guides, not haynes manuals, because IMO haynes manuals are not worth a crumpet. If the gasket you have bought did not come with the torque guide your using an inferior gasket. Hope that helps point you in the right direction. Cheers

As far as I know they are not compatible, different part #.

It's a bit of fiddling around, but you should be able to read the logged fault codes of the ABS Ecu using information available on this excellent forum. That should point you in the right direction. I noticed you mentioned your wheel bearings have been replaced not long ago? 1 detail easily overlooked regarding the front ABS sensors is the amount of CV joint shaft end float. The very nature of bearing shaft support for that makes it absolutely critical to keep that end float to a minimum. I set mine up to .08 mm (approx .0032"). I was fortunate enough to be able to make my own spacers on a lathe and finish the thickness on my surface grinder. Again on this forum there is details of how to set that end float up properly. Unfortunately in my case that and many other fixes did not rectify my ABS problems, it turned out to be another issue with the Ecu.

A friendly word of advise- Never ever fill a petrol or diesel fuel tank with water before welding it. Particularly if it's a petrol fuel tank it can and will probably explode with harmful consequences. Your tank is probably plastic anyhow, so get a hi-amp electric (no flame) soldering iron and plastic weld it using some model kit parts frame plastic as the filler. After you have finished filling it, rough it up a bit on the surface where you filled it, get some araldite and coat the area for an extra seal. Silicon available in my country at least reacts negatively (turns to jelly which you don't want in petrol or diesel) so i would not use that. The safest way to weld a metal petrol tank is to either remove it and soak it in a caustic solution overnight, then pressure cleaning it before welding, or alternatively defume it with carbon monoxide from a cars exhaust for a long time to neutralise the fumes, again, please don't fill a tank with water ever before welding it. Cheers

Your stated brake issue you experienced like so many I have read about on the net is almost identical to mine. Just bought a 96 tdi auto and after 30 years as a mechanic and engine machinist I am absolutely appalled at the ABS set up on these vehicles. After checking the fault codes and clearing same, and checking the relevant factory manuals in a hope to find a solution to the issue (non-existent) I have decided to revert the system back to a complete non ABS system (Removing everything relative to ABS in the process) and using all components including brake lines unions etc off an earlier non ABS vehicle. Land Rover clearly state in the manuals that if the ABS system fails the brake system reverts back to a normal system which is absolute rubbish. To my way of thinking, just 1 occasion of a failed backup brake plan is enough to scare the carp out of the driver and at worse cause an accident. At a new genuine cost of $5900 Au for the ABS pump I decided to buy another SH ABS pump cheap to pull apart to actually find out what it does and how it functions. Despite what Wabco make out there is no rocket science involved. Interesting thing is the ABS pump is merely a collection of 8 "On-Off" solenoids together with a 12 volt eccentric shaft "Pump" motor which in turn drives 2 hydraulic spools to marginally increase-direct brake pressure-flow. It is very easy to check the ABS pump assy with a pressure brake bleeder and a 12 volt power supply to check the function. The problem turned out to be the ECU for the ABS which decides to turn off the brake flow in the ABS assy as it sees fit and me as the driver just has to lump it. Really interesting for me on 1 occasion when I was pulling up at some toll gates to pay the second toll on the motorway