im pretty sure the head gasket is about to go. i popped to my local motor factors and the reccomended using a land rover gasket that is a 2 piece thing with a softer part going against the head that fills any gaps on the head.

also said you can cut down the head bolts once and use them again.
i didnt like the sound of it much so thought i'd check if anyone has done it before of heard of it.


any thought on if i should use the standard gasket or the land rover one.
and should i pay 40 quid for new bolts or is cutting them down ok?

 

Use LR head gasket, also there is a part at the bottom of the engine aswell that the head bolts go into, this part has also been uprated. I would also use new headbolts, no point scrimping it is only £40

 

any ideas when it was uprated? the engine is only 4 years old and never been apart before.

 

it may not be a name you immediatly think of when talking Rovers.

but try speaking to Martoon @ Reyland, hes an ex Rover man and will able to suppy you the goodies you need, or probably even take on the job for you if you didnt want to do it yourself.

 

It is LR specific, it won't be in your car. i will try and find a picture of the new lower rail

 

The top one is the new part

 

quite a well known swap for teh LR gasket, they are Stainless steel i believe... i owuld get new bolts, not point in "saving" £40 now, but loosing it in the long run when the gasket goes again...

 

i'll give him a bell. i'll be doing it my self but if he can post out all the bits i need it would be handy

 

anyone know what land rover model and year the gasket is from just so i can check a few prices.
and is the lower rail from the same car?

also what head bolts do i need, the rover ones for my car, or the land rover ones?

 

Tried the 2 piece LR gasket on my competition engine.

It blew itself to bits within 3 miles

Went back to the standard elastomer bead type and its been fine since.

Dont cut down the bolts - they are stretch bolts

I have also upgraded the ladder rack at the bottom of the engine.

 

Freelander headgasket kit, 1.8k series engine.

 

mine is a 1400, will it still fit?

 

Not a clue never bothered with the 1.4 version. All i know is on all the cars my mates fitted a freelander gaskets kits to have been fine with no problems.

 

get on www.rovertech.net they will tell u instantly if not do a search as i know this exact info is on there!

 

Which gasket you use depends on how much liner protrusion you have...

If your engines over heated then the liners will have sunk and you migt have to use the std gasket (elastomer type). The Multi-layer steel works well BUT ONLY if you skim the head and the cylinder liners stick up enough.

Alex

 

Get a payen multi layer gasket this also comes with a seperate top gasket as well , just done one this weekend , it had water leaking out of each front couner of the head , points the watch

new headbolts 30Nm then 180 degrees and 180 degress ( skim cylinder head)

with the head upsides down the castings in the head are very poor use a die grinder or dremmel to relive the casting to the right size.

get engine to tdc before removel all 4 pistons should be half way down the bore , do NOT turn over when head is off this moves the liner seals at the bottom of the bore.

and get your cam timing right

 

Isnt there an issue with the location dowels too?

Something to do with them using plastic ones which are shit and enable the head to move independant of the block? Iirc the fix was to replace them with metal ones.

I seem to recall this being fixed with later engines so may not be a problem in your case.

 

cowie its the freelander one for a 1.87, just the head gasket, also change the water pump and thermostat also

payen is the one to go for as they fixed the problem for BMW

if you need the parts i got em on the shelf mate as i sell a few of em pmsl

all the k series head gaskets are MLS as it was the first engine made with it, they are alot more reliable now though,,,,, take a look at the latest engines with MLS gaskets,,, the ones from toyota look alomost like shims

 

[quote=packman;3671701]Get a payen multi layer gasket this also comes with a seperate top gasket as well , just done one this weekend , it had water leaking out of each front couner of the head , points the watch

new headbolts 30Nm then 180 degrees and 180 degress ( skim cylinder head)

with the head upsides down the castings in the head are very poor use a die grinder or dremmel to relive the casting to the right size.

get engine to tdc before removel all 4 pistons should be half way down the bore , do NOT turn over when head is off this moves the liner seals at the bottom of the bore.

and get your cam timing right[/quote


ignore the tdc part, just line up the timing marks and that puts all 4 pistons level, i know thats what he means he's just described it wrong but everyfin else he says is correct

 

this should have metal dowels if its 4 years old

 

oh and if the water pipe at the side of the inlet manifold still has the small ballbearing in it then knock it out as it lets the water flow better(yes i have done several million of these)

 

cheers for all the advice guys. hopefully i'll get it done next week.
it hasnt gone yet but misses quite badly when u start it and clears by the end of the road. has new plugs and leads on it. and after 55000 not exactually easy miles i think its decided to do what they all do at some point.

 

will do, cheers mate

 

im pretty sure billy who looked at angi's car has done a few of these if you get stuck mate

 

Ill give you a hand at the weekend, I am free. Where you doing it?

 

Was always told when i got my coupe turbo to get a "klinger" head gasket as rover heads well known for the oil leak.
Also heard of LR ones used but heard they didnt last. Rovertech.net is one of the best forums for advice on rovers.Used it all the time with my coupe turbo.Still wish i had it!!

 

Coupe Turbo engine is a T series and not a K series, totally different engine.

 

Its not designed to flow water though...

Its designed to allow air to return to the header tank - hence it being called a Jiggle Valve.

The ball is held in the closed position, acting as a one way valve, by the water. As air circulates and rises to the highest point it will move towards the ball. As the ball will fall through the air water will momentarialy flow and move the air into the header tank.

Alex

 

probably some time next week as im at work all weekend!

probably do it at ollies, he said he'd help me if i help him throw that v6 into the astra and the xe in the corsa. so weve got a busy day coming up. lol

i'll let u know when were gonna do it