Mike_H

Cheers, Ian. As luck would have it, they're about 3 miles from my work! Will pay them a visit!

For example, are these any good - they're sold by RPI engineering, via ebay. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Land-Range-Rover-P38...1742.m153.l1262 I try to buy OEM quality parts, but if I can avoid paying OEM prices for them, I prefer that route. Any idea who makes the composite gaskets - Elring Klinger maybe? The ones in the ebay link probably aren't OEM, as they're composite gaskets, but with the extra row of bolt holes (unless it was available as a service kit), but RPI seem to be a reputable company - and they should be, having seen the price list! Thanks

While I'm on, I see lots of composite gaskets for sale from different sources, and at different prices. Any recommendations? Also, where's the best place to buy a new set of exhaust manifold bolts? ...and finally, would you put the heads on with or without the rocker shafts? It strikes me as easier to put them on without, and pop the pushrods in afterwards - any thoughts? I think that's how they did it on the assemby line at Solihull too.

Hi Geoff Thanks for the input - all useful stuff There's a huge bill in the history file for a cam (and I think timing gear) replacement a couple of years ago. I did have a look down in the valley, and it looked shiny, new, and pointy in the right places. Overall, there was no sign of steam cleaning in the heads or bores (as you can see from the pics) and plenty of head gasket failure, so I'm inclined to think it's not a liner issue. We did mark one of the heads slightly when taking it off (those damn wires bolted to the back that we only saw once we started moving it), but I don't think that in itself warrants a skim. What does worry me slightly is that I'm not sure we got the bolts in 100% the right order - got a bit confused between middle and outer row, and the ones hidden at the back. They were still taken off progressively though. So I'll check heads and block for flatness and take it from there. Thanks!

Thanks - good food for thought there. I'll check the head faces for flatness, and see what that yields. I have some contacts in the cylinder head biz, so I wasn't expecting to pay more than about £30 a head for a skim - also still need to check the liners out. Someone's advised me that there's a clearance figure to check - 3-5 thou proud of the block face. Is that right?

Thanks for the input, folks! So you'd expect a 'cold water decoke' effect if the liners were leaking? There's certainly no evidence of that. The varnish under the gaskets seemed like evidence of big leaks to me though. Also, I was thinking we should have the heads skimmed anyway. It's been suggested to me that we need to get the inlet manifold skimmed as well, so that the ports line up (although even a very heavy skim is only about 1mm, and I've read that the composite gaskets are thicker, so it should just about cancel out.) The car's got a pretty hefty history folder, with lots of engine work, including a new cam. Don't think there's any for the head gaskets, so those could well be the originals (car's done 120k). I'd have to say I'd be nervous about buying a 2nd hand engine, as it could have the same problems, although if it's a known good one, it's certainly an option. ...and I have some annoying newbie questions... 1. Head bolts - are they reusable, or stretch ones (I think they're stretch and we need new ones, but no sense in throwing money away if we don't have to) 2. Tab washers on the exhaust manifold - are they needed? One exhaust manifold had them, the other didn't. 3. Is there a limit of how far we can skim before valve-piston clearance is a problem? 4. What's the opinion on the outer row of head bolts on the Pre '95 MY engines - leave them out, put them in finger tight? Do the composite gaskets have holes for them anyway? 5. The push rods got mixed up - I guess we need to check valve clearances - is that right? 6. What's the best method of cleaning the block face? I've never done an ally one before (lots of ally VW heads on iron blocks, but not ally blocks). Thanks for any input... I really wish I'd paid more attention - all those times I was at the v8 line and I haven't got a clue!

Firstly... Hi All. I'm new on here! I'm not a Land Rover owner, but I did used to work there... had an office 20 yards from the old V8 line, back when they still built them on AGV's. Anyway, more on that later... first, the reason why I'm posting on here. A friend of mine has a Range Rover Classic with a poorly engine. It's not really worth spending thousands on a new motor for it, so I suggested we should pull the heads off and have a look. The symptoms were very much like a blown head gasket or cylinder liner problem - pressurising the hoses, losing water, overheating. Anyway, we took the heads off over the weekend, and here are some pics... I've wiped the loose oil off the gaskets and heads, and it doesn't look great to me... but I don't have anything to compare them with... opinions please? At some point in the last couple of years, it's had some 'Wonder Seal' type of chemical in the engine. This fixed the problem for a little while, but it soon went again. Left Hand Head Right Hand Head And the tops of the blocks - Left Hand First and the Right... In all the pics you can see there are some varnish marks across the gasket, and the metal faces... I think it's been blowing all over the place, but I'm not sure. Also, does anyone know much about Cylinder Liner problems? How do you tell if they're leaking? There's a little bit of bore wear, but nothing terminal...