sportline Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I have a lovely 1997 300tdi 110 which we have been thinking of upgrading to a newer model (2008ish) anyway long story short a lot of money has been spent on my defender over the last months but sadly my head gasket went yesterday Do I sell the car as is, allowing someone to have a project ready for a heart transplant or pay a garage to repair then try selling? if so what can i expect cost wise? am based near slough here she is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 If you can't do it yourself then get a garage to do it, you loose way too much selling with faults! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportline Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Makes sense. Better to buy a replacement engine of eBay £300-500 or get mine sorted? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Err, it is only a gasket, if you were doing it yourself you could do it for less than £100. On a TDI a head gasket is a pretty trivial job, they are simple old things. Pulling and engine out will cost a LOT more than just swapping out a piece of composite material. Get the head checked for warpage at a local engineering firm and bolt it all back up, job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPendrey Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 What the others have said... it isn't such a hard job to do, and there is a guide in the tech archive and/or using RAVE (Google it if you don't know what it is). I did mine about two months ago after much indecision. Really wasn't hard, just take your time and follow the guide. If you're really not comfortable doing it, get a mechanic involved, but don't attempt to sell the truck as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 The worst case is that the head is cracked and would need to be replaced, but that would still be cheaper and more cost effective to fix than just selling it on as a spares/repair. But as it stands now, I'll give you £500 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 If you don't fancy doing it yourself then do a bit of research,find a reputable landy garage and get it fixed ,if you do tackle it yourself even a Haynes manual is a good guide ,don't forget to check the head bolts for stretch and get the head skimmed and crack tested. Just as an indicator to how easy it is to do I have replaced the head gasket on a 200 TDI Disco in 2 hrs ,it was a get it running ASAP fix ,the fail on the gasket was obvious,i couldn't see any warp on the head so it got put back together, it did go again 8 months later and I got the head skimmed then but it is a easy job . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil110 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Buying another engine is not a realistic solution, what guarantee do you have that it will be any better, or as good as, your existing engine. As others have said, the head gasket is not a massive job on a 300. The only thing to be aware of before starting the job is which thickness of gasket you require. It is identified by the number of holes in the gasket, visible just by the air filter. Oh and use genuine parts, they are relatively inexpensive and haven't been composite type for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I might be wrong, but they still *look* composite to me: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Elring-Land-Rover-Discovery-Defender-200TDi-300TDi-head-gasket-ERR1637-/121934913898?hash=item1c63e3216a:g:eRwAAOSwx-9W1Jcn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Oh yeah nearly forgot , DO NOT buy a Britpart Head Gasket ,they are not very good ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 If you don't fancy doing it yourself, go ahead and do it just the same. You may not be mechanically minded but you are not illiterate either. The web is full of how-to's and if step by step written instructions intimidate you, you'll find videos on youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportline Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 Think I may have a go... Need to see what tools etc I need but I guess I don't have much to lose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 How much are you expecting a garage to charge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportline Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 £6-800 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Are you mechanically confident, or have you had all the mods to date done bya garage? Have you worked on engines before? Understand what a cylinder head is/does? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 A 300tdi head gasket is a pretty straightforward job, a days work and parts are cheap. If you're not confident with tools, it shouldn't be an expensive job. I'd charge 350 with a head skim, if you can find a similar small landy mechanic nearby it should be about the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benji09 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I've just bought my very first landrover 90 and it has soo many issues I didn't know where to start youtube has helped me so far Im not at all mechanically minded but everything so far is so simple just take your time and check it twice Example I didn't know how anything worked from the heaters to the gear sticks but in the Last two days I have all working lights indicators interior light a few more to go but you will get there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sportline Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Thanks guys...I'm feeling empowered going to start some videos and see what i can do... if anyone local fancy a beer.... give us a call! called loads of local landy garages the cheapest i can find is £550 but range all the way up to almost £1000 :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 to know of anyones local it does kinda necessitate you telling us where you live..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerfred Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 If it's going to take £500 to £1000 for a garage to get it on the road I don't think you can really loose, you could spend that just on tools to DIY, now with the demise of the Defender it will be worth money, they are increasing in value, even in its sum total of parts. As regards the engine, if you know what needs doing to it you'd be better off doing it rather than buying some engine that you really won't know what it's like until it's in and running, better the devil you know than the one you don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badger Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Pretty sure there is a video online showing you how to change the head gasket, it's really allot easier then you think. I'm mean, yeah I will off to come and do it for you for half the cost of what a garage would charge if you are in a hundred mile radius of me, a beer and some coffee,you may get some interesting stories out of me too, and you will learn how to do it yourself, you don't have to take the engine out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 It isn't a very difficult job because you aren't going to have to worry about the timing belt unlike other vehicles with overhead cams. You will need a good socket set,a can of penetrating oil and a torque wrench. The Haynes manual is a good reference for torque figures of all the nuts and bolts for when you put it back on (don't guess). Here is a good guide from Les on how to take off the head on a 300Tdi..... http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=8179 Let us know what part of the country/world you are in. Someone might be able to help you if you get stuck. Don't use a cheapo head gasket from a blue box! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 to know of anyones local it does kinda necessitate you telling us where you live..... It does state in his first post that he's based in Slough... sportline - I'm not too far away near Farnham so might be able to help out. Can only do weekends although fairly free on those. I'm pretty sure I've got all the tools required here at home. If you've got a garage to work in that would be ideal - I don't. Haven't personally done a head-gasket on a 300 but have completely stripped down and rebuilt a 2.25D so wouldn't be fazed by it. (I've got a 300Tdi 110 myself so familiar with the engines anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Come on go for it. Ed Poore here said that he has completely rebuilt a 2.25 diesel. That's way more complicated than a 300tdi. a head gasket is really nothing to worry about. It may sound like a lot but it's dead simple, believe me. A decent torque wrench, a dial torque gauge and a valve compressor is all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 A decent torque wrench, a dial torque gauge and a valve compressor is all you need. Its even easier than that - You only need a valve compressor if you plan to take the valves out. You don't need to do that if you are just changing the gasket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.