Hi guys! Im new to this forum and have had my p38 for about 6 months now. This past weekend I went to change my valley gasket as it was pouring oil. Once finished I realized I have a bigger issue as I had a bit chuffing sound and a lot of air coming out the oil fill hole. I did a compression test and have only 2 bar in cylinder four compared to 9.5 in the rest. I assume it’s a head gasket and am going to replace it. I would like to know if anyone has any advise and if I can just change the one head gasket or must do both. Cheers!
P38 4.6l gems blown head gasket
- Thread starter Doddsy700
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Depends why the HG has gone. Personally I would do both & check things like core plugs, thoroughly clean everywhere, etc.
Check the heads for flatness & measure the camshaft lift as well. No point in not doing other stuff while it's apart.
Check the heads for flatness & measure the camshaft lift as well. No point in not doing other stuff while it's apart.
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I did mine on my Mum's driveway in February 2016 under one of those gazebo things. It was pretty easy to do, the biggest problem for me was all the rusted and siezed bolts that I had to deal with.
Have you got RAVE? The proceedure is very clear in the manual.
Took me two weekends to do the lot. I'd do both sides seeing as you're in there. I got a kit from Turner Engineering that I was very happy with. I'd condsider getting some replacement bolts for the exhaust headers, exhaust joints, and heat shields. If they've never been off the car you may well have to destroy them to get them apart.
Have you got RAVE? The proceedure is very clear in the manual.
Took me two weekends to do the lot. I'd do both sides seeing as you're in there. I got a kit from Turner Engineering that I was very happy with. I'd condsider getting some replacement bolts for the exhaust headers, exhaust joints, and heat shields. If they've never been off the car you may well have to destroy them to get them apart.
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While you're changing one, you may as well do the other as they are likely the same age..
You'd hate to have to do another strip down in the near future
You'd hate to have to do another strip down in the near future
brianp38dse
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Looks like you found the problem there 
Still worth inspecting all the other bits like cam lift and condition of lobs.
Still worth inspecting all the other bits like cam lift and condition of lobs.
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+1Looks like you found the problem there
Still worth inspecting all the other bits like cam lift and condition of lobs.
How many miles has it done, is it the original camshaft? I'll bet there will be at least some wear on one or more cams
Never heard of RAVE. Going to look it up thanks! Surprisingly all the exhaust bolts came fine apart from 3 of the m8 bolts or the heat shields. We were very surprised and thankful
Ahahah yeahhh think so! It’s done 172000 ish km about 106000 miles I think. Yes I want to put a Kent cam in but currently as an apprentice mechanic the budget is a bit limited but definitely going to do it in the future!
RangeRoller dt
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You can download RAVE for a fiver. Well worth it. It’s like a fully comprehensive Haynes manual for RRs.
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You can get RAVE for free. Look in Technical Archive.
If you skim heads more than 2-3 thou make sure they do inlet face as well. Otherwise you can get issues fitting the manifold.
If you skim heads more than 2-3 thou make sure they do inlet face as well. Otherwise you can get issues fitting the manifold.
Datatek
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The download is free and it is way more comprehensive than a Haynes manual.
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Here is the copy of RAVE that @pwood999 prepped...
we.tl
It's the official Land Rover manual for the P38 and few more besides. There's a PDF of the manual in there... but also if you want you can install the .zip file in an older PC, and you've got access to all the tech bulletins that were issued over the years.
It sounds like you'll be doing your own spannering, if you are, it's an absolute must.
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It's the official Land Rover manual for the P38 and few more besides. There's a PDF of the manual in there... but also if you want you can install the .zip file in an older PC, and you've got access to all the tech bulletins that were issued over the years.
It sounds like you'll be doing your own spannering, if you are, it's an absolute must.
Datatek
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RAVE will run on Win 10 in compatibility mode.Here is the copy of RAVE that @pwood999 prepped...
WeTransfer - Send Large Files & Share Photos Online - Up to 2GB Free
WeTransfer is the simplest way to send your files around the world
It's the official Land Rover manual for the P38 and few more besides. There's a PDF of the manual in there... but also if you want you can install the .zip file in an older PC, and you've got access to all the tech bulletins that were issued over the years.
It sounds like you'll be doing your own spannering, if you are, it's an absolute must.
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You'll also want to check the tolerances on the rockers if you skim, you might need shims
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Please check the existing camshaft for wear. Once they start, they can go in no time at all. A like for like replacement is very cheap and will tide you over until you save up for a better one
RangeRoller dt
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I could never get the free download in tech section to work. Could be different to what is there now. Bought a digital download in the end and run in compatibility mode
Henry_b
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Elring gaskets.
I'd suggest ARP studs which makes the job far easier and the likely hood of pulling a thread out of the block is greatly reduced, expensive though £230 for the last set I bought.
Engine looks relatively clean, but that's no consolation pull out each tappet in turn and inspect the faces for wear, same for the cam.
I'd suggest ARP studs which makes the job far easier and the likely hood of pulling a thread out of the block is greatly reduced, expensive though £230 for the last set I bought.
Engine looks relatively clean, but that's no consolation pull out each tappet in turn and inspect the faces for wear, same for the cam.
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https://drive.google.com/drive/fold...QM0xNRG8?resourcekey=0-B95w6tVVa9XUdcjyAqMZsAUse this link. It’s free & works for >50 peeps so far.
