300tdi engine

Hi,

Completely new to Land Rovers and need some advice.
Bought my first Discovery last week it's a 1995 300tdi auto. It drove great and pulled like a train without any issue. I Changed all filters and oil before setting off on a journey to Cornwall to collect my caravan. Drove great no issues on the way down but on the way back it started to develop some problems.
When leaving after filling up with diesel it started to vibrate when accelerating between 25-40 mph but settled after 40mph and was ok on cruising, about 50-60 miles into the journey I was going up a steep hill out of Cornwall when it started to loose power developing a rattle from the engine and the truck was shaking quite badly. As I got to the top of the hill I took my foot of the accelerator and the temp gauge shot through the roof instantly and engine cut out. The AA recovered me to a safe location, whilst waiting for a mechanic to attend after letting the engine cool I checked the oil for water (no sign) and I filled up the radiator and cranked the engine and the water shot 12" out off the filler tank. By this point I knew the head gasket had gone but when the mechanic arrived he lifted the engine cover and noticed the heat had melted the coolant temp sensor on the top of the engine and said there is a good chance I'll need a new engine.
I need to know through experience if I'd be wasting my time taking the head off getting it skimmed & pressure tested replacing all necessary gaskets and rebuilding or better off getting another engine.
This leads me to my next question I'm capable of repairing and changing the engine but due to work commitments I simply don't have the time so would appreciate if anyone could recommend a good and reasonably priced mechanic in the Rotherham area and typical costs as I usually do all my own repairs but as I've just started a new job and moved house it's both time and nowhere to change an engine if this is the route I have to take.

thanks for looking and await your reply ( and my Land Rover being recovered from Cornwall )

Derek

eek, the top sensor is for egr not your dash gauge btw.

did you check the coolant level at all?

i'd pull it apart to see how badly it's damaged.. but it probably needs a new head on it. not hard to do.

re new engine, well it depends.. if you can find a good one with low mileage for a good price.. then swapping it is easy enough as well.

if it's unknown to you, it's a gamble isn't it

btw, i assume this was a private sale not via a garage

i would swop engine ,,as it happens ive got a 300 tdi out of a auto disco engine is complete and ran very well ,250 pound buys it all

Thanks for replies
Yes it was a private sale and I checked the coolant before I left. It was the recovery bloke who told me it was a coolant sensor and kept on saying I've worked on these before and if the sensor melts due to heat the engine has had it. Getting the aa to recover the land rover so it should be back for the weekend. Will take the head off when I get it back and do some investigating. If it needs engine I' definitely be interested in the engine major trauma 2 but don't have facilities to do the job do you know off anyone who could swap engines for me and if so do you know roughly what they charge

djfw said:

Thanks for replies
Yes it was a private sale and I checked the coolant before I left. It was the recovery bloke who told me it was a coolant sensor and kept on saying I've worked on these before and if the sensor melts due to heat the engine has had it. Getting the aa to recover the land rover so it should be back for the weekend. Will take the head off when I get it back and do some investigating. If it needs engine I' definitely be interested in the engine major trauma 2 but don't have facilities to do the job do you know off anyone who could swap engines for me and if so do you know roughly what they charge

Click to expand...

well, he wasn't wrong.. just that coolant sensor is for the egr not your gauges and it must have been v hot to melt it

goodluck

yeh mate i no a fella in maltby ,hes green oval mad lol ,,but he is good and cheap ,probaly about 100 pound to swop engine ,i would change clutch too while its out imho

Cheers do you gave his number

Sorry typo error do you have his number