2nd head gasket set in a year

[mbruneaux]

I had the head gaskets done a year ago next month I was going to do them myself but life bit me in the a$$ so I shipped it. It was leaking then from the rear of the head but now I believe it's internal to the cylinder(s). It's not leaking anywhere outside but it will burn through a gallon every 60 miles, it's parked. The oil is clean and there are zero drops on the ground, I really thought consuming that much coolant would make a lot of white smoke but it doesn't at all. Although I haven't followed the vehicle while driving. I contacted the shop to see if they would redo the job and I'm waiting to hear back.

PT I will probably be calling you for parts.

[helievacpilot]

That much coolant can't be vanishing into thin air. Have an oil analysis done to be sure.

[mbruneaux]

Originally Posted by helievacpilot

That much coolant can't be vanishing into thin air. Have an oil analysis done to be sure.

They scoped the cylinders and #4 appears to be the culprit, he says that usually when it leaks this way it's a block but he is sending the heads out to have them checked to be sure. I have another motor for it in a donor vehicle so it will probably be towed back here and I'll work on it when I can. I'll pull the donor motor out, tear it down and go through it while it's out including a 4.6 cam, oil pump and new lifters. I just need to find the wife a vehicle to haul the 4 kids around. I've been eyeing an old suburban as a bug out vehicle anyway.....

[mbruneaux]

This is going to be my project for the summer. The Rover is getting towed back here tomorrow and I will start pulling the engine to be "top hatted". The labor cost to have it torn down and rebuilt was insane. Now I just need to find a good machine shop in Southern Connecticut. I called D&D about their work but haven't heard back. This won't be my first engine rebuild but it's been a while and never a Rover. It will be a great excuse to buy a few new tools!! I have the manual and any advise will be appreciated.

[saharatj98]

It's not much different from a domestic V-8...Everything is aluminum so make sure you have a inch pound torque wrench too and follow every spec and sequence for everything and you'll be fine...There is nothing exotic or high tech about it... I found tearing mine down pretty un-eventful. It's even easier if you do not have the SA crap I do...Priming the oil pump can be a bugger, just keep cranking on it with the spark plugs out and it will go after 30 seconds or so. Lube the top end good on assembly and all will work out fine.

[Disco Mike]

Down load a free copy of the Rave Cd, shop manual, it will go a long ways towards getting you thru this repair.

[300WM]

Originally Posted by mbruneaux

This is going to be my project for the summer. The Rover is getting towed back here tomorrow and I will start pulling the engine to be "top hatted". The labor cost to have it torn down and rebuilt was insane. Now I just need to find a good machine shop in Southern Connecticut. I called D&D about their work but haven't heard back. This won't be my first engine rebuild but it's been a while and never a Rover. It will be a great excuse to buy a few new tools!! I have the manual and any advise will be appreciated.

Undertaking a similar "summer project" on my 02'. Will PM you

[mbruneaux]

Bringing back this thread! Well, progress has begun, I made room in the barn, and the Rover is now where I can work on it. I printed out a copy of the engine section from the Rave, a complete list of parts I will need and it's already half apart. I will be putting in a bigger cam, ARP head studs, cooler T-stat and just about new everything.

Just some clear off work on some of my shop benches so I can keep it organized and clean (for a barn) and I'll be tearing into it.

I was contemplating pulling the high mileage engine out of our other Rover (with the rotted frame) and rebuilding that one but decided to have D&D fix this block. It only has 80K miles on it. I plan on doing this right the first time. I emailed PT with a parts list and as soon as I get the block sent out I will order the parts.


Parts
Head gasket set
Timing chain & Gskts
Main bearings
Rod bearings
Rings
ARP Head studs
Rod bolts
Crank bolts
Oil pump Kit
Crower cam and lifters
Oil cooler "O" rings
Oil Pickup "O" ring
Valvetrain shimms
Valve seals

Retinax LX grease
Sealant STC 50552

I will try and take as many pictures as I can.

[cnfowler]

I'm looking forward to the rebuild. Thanks in advance for taking the time to document your work.


Colin

[QBC Luc]

Thinking about doing mine... This will help so much , thx in advance


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App

[mbruneaux]

Well I got it into the barn, got everything in order and took off the other head. What I found when I looked closer was no obvious sign of any "steaming" in the cylinders or the combustion chambers in the heads. All the spark plugs were still in the heads even on the cylinder the mechanic said he scoped?. That made me start thinking there might not be anything wrong with the block. The only coolant I found in the oil was in the valve covers and not a lot since it really didn't lose that much. The head gasket looked new because it practically was.

I dropped the heads off at the machine shop just to get them checked out and even he said he couldn't tell any difference in the condition of the combustion chambers.

I'm going to replace the head gaskets and install ARP head studs and see if my suspicions are correct. I've ordered the gasket set from PT and the head studs from Toddco.

It will probably take me a month to get this done but I'll have pictures.

[mbruneaux]

I ended getting the ARP studs from Summit because for some reason Toddco cancelled my order. I finally got to work on it for a couple of hours tonight and got the block clean, threads chased, ARP studs out of the box but stopped because I couldn't find anywhere in the manual to put thread sealer on any of the head bolts. I could have sworn I saw somewhere someone suggested putting thread sealer on a few of them. Anyone know?

While chaining the threads I found a couple of them got really tight and am hoping maybe the bolts didn't torque right last time.

I also cleaned an painted a few rusty metal bits while I had it apart.

[mbruneaux]

Well, it's together and running!! I've driven it some and let it cool to look for the condensation in the valve covers and haven't found any yet. I will be testing it much more before I say it's fixed.

I noticed something I didn't expect with torquing the heads. I installed them with the ARP studs and then left it for a week, I decided to re-check the torque and on three or four of the nuts I turned it at least an additional 30degrees until it clicked the torque wrench.

I can also say that since I hadn't taken it apart but was putting it back together was an additional bonus! I only have a few bolts left over