I have an 03 Discovery II. I have the symptoms of a head gasket problem but I'm not sure. I took the truck to the dealership for a coolant pressure test and carbon traces were found in the water. I also got a second opinion and got the same results. I was getting a misfire in cylinders 5 and 7. I think that was the 2 cylinders. I hear the sloshing of the water inside the dash or below the dash. I just checked the oil to see if there was oil in the water and nothing. I am starting to see steam coming from the engine but I don't see water on the ground. The water in the holding tank goes out very quickly. The truck has never run hot. What can this possibly be? Also, it has probably been 2 months since I had the pressure test done. I didn't want to tear the motor done for experimental surgery so I continued to drive it. Sorry for the long story. Any help is appreciated.
another coolant problem
- Thread starter sean6079
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2004
- Posts
- 10,473
- Reaction score
- 181
Could be a bad head gasket.... if you are loosing coolant fast no matter how you slice it I would have it fixed soon.
cookwithgas
Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2007
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
I'm right in the middle of an intake manifold "valley" gasket change. I got the old gasket off tonight and it is a mess. I could actually see coolant dripping from the back of the engine. After I got the lower intake manifold off I could see a large puddle on the valley gasket. The back, driver side bolts were only finger-tight! Most of the bolts on the driver side were loose! I bet the guy at the factory was sleepy that day and forgot to tighten them! The car only has 63K miles on it and it's leaking coolant! I'm taking it slow and haven't broken anything yet
In any case if you decide to tear it all down I may be able to help you out since I just went through it. I have a lot of nuts and bolts to put back together still however.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska
2000 Disco II
In any case if you decide to tear it all down I may be able to help you out since I just went through it. I have a lot of nuts and bolts to put back together still however.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska
2000 Disco II
Hi Scott,
Hope this is not to late, You need to replace the head bolts also. they are stretch bolts and around $100. a set. And true up the face of the heads. If not you could be redoing soon. Just went through this myself. Looking at the date on your post we did it together.
Dennis
Hope this is not to late, You need to replace the head bolts also. they are stretch bolts and around $100. a set. And true up the face of the heads. If not you could be redoing soon. Just went through this myself. Looking at the date on your post we did it together.
Dennis
cookwithgas
Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2007
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
Dennis:
The job is done - I replaced the intake manifold (valley) gasket and did not remove the heads from the block. I used the old bolts and torqued them gradually up to 38 ft. lbs. The wife and daughter drove it around for a week with no water leaks. I found a few fresh oil spots under it however. I have been out of town and just got back last night so I haven't been able to see where it is coming from but it is probably one of the rocker cover gaskets I may have installed improperly. They were difficult to place properly and I may have over-tightened one of them. I used the thick, rubber gaskets from the Land Rover dealer.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska
No More Fried Glycol Smell.
The job is done - I replaced the intake manifold (valley) gasket and did not remove the heads from the block. I used the old bolts and torqued them gradually up to 38 ft. lbs. The wife and daughter drove it around for a week with no water leaks. I found a few fresh oil spots under it however. I have been out of town and just got back last night so I haven't been able to see where it is coming from but it is probably one of the rocker cover gaskets I may have installed improperly. They were difficult to place properly and I may have over-tightened one of them. I used the thick, rubber gaskets from the Land Rover dealer.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska
No More Fried Glycol Smell.
Wow, that's pretty cool that you were able to change your own valley gasket. 
I wouldn't be able to do that by myself. Maybe I'm just not game to try.
I'm glad you sorted out your coolant loss. Well done.
Lawrance Lee
'99 DII V8 auto
Melbourne, Australia
I wouldn't be able to do that by myself. Maybe I'm just not game to try.
I'm glad you sorted out your coolant loss. Well done.
Lawrance Lee
'99 DII V8 auto
Melbourne, Australia
cookwithgas
Member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2007
- Posts
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
Hi Lawrance:
It really isn't that big of a job if you take it one step at a time. I worked on it a little each evening over a period of three or four weeks. I've seen a few write-ups on the process so I won't do that again. I posted some pictures of the process on my website here:
http://www.cooknwithgas.com/Valley_Gasket.html
The only hard part is removing several of the electrical connections without breaking them and figuring out how to release those strange hose clamps. If you have any questions, email me and I'll try to help. It is worth the trouble if you are leaking coolant from the valley gasket.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
It really isn't that big of a job if you take it one step at a time. I worked on it a little each evening over a period of three or four weeks. I've seen a few write-ups on the process so I won't do that again. I posted some pictures of the process on my website here:
http://www.cooknwithgas.com/Valley_Gasket.html
The only hard part is removing several of the electrical connections without breaking them and figuring out how to release those strange hose clamps. If you have any questions, email me and I'll try to help. It is worth the trouble if you are leaking coolant from the valley gasket.
Scott Laughlin
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Hi Scott,
Thanks for sharing the pictures. That's just awesome.
Got a question for you - I'm curious why you powder coated the intake manifold and then painted it black. Was it simply for asthetics, or is there some benefit in doing this? I noticed that the manifold looked very "weathered", like it had a lot of surface corrosion. This has intrigued me a lot because I look at my old intake manifold (1999MY) and it doesn't look that aged.
Anyway, looks like a top job. Mine isn't leaking coolant at the moment but I better not say anything else, otherwise I'll jinx it.
Lawrance Lee
Melbourne, Australia
Thanks for sharing the pictures. That's just awesome.
Got a question for you - I'm curious why you powder coated the intake manifold and then painted it black. Was it simply for asthetics, or is there some benefit in doing this? I noticed that the manifold looked very "weathered", like it had a lot of surface corrosion. This has intrigued me a lot because I look at my old intake manifold (1999MY) and it doesn't look that aged.
Anyway, looks like a top job. Mine isn't leaking coolant at the moment but I better not say anything else, otherwise I'll jinx it.
Lawrance Lee
Melbourne, Australia
