300tdi Head gasket replacement?

hey guys i was just wondering if anyone has changed their head gasket them selfs and how difficult it was to do this or even if you went to a garage to have it done how much?

Doing mine on 20th/ 21st March

Loads of info on here about what and how, and RAVE covers anything missing

From all I have read and found out its not too bad and any competent diyer can manage it as long as you follow the basic rules

valve push rods returned to same place as they came from
torquing up properly
cleaning before ripping apart to stop dirt getting in

Only use OEM head gasket not pattern part, see how many have failed on this forum (Elring seem to be OK) but from some one I know works on landy engines (landy mechanic) he never uses anything but OEM


What you worried about specifically?

push rods etc dont have to be kept in same order vehicle be long dead before it makes any difference unless they are worn on ends in which case change ,check head gasket is fitted right way round ,head bolts 40 nm then 60 degrees and 60 degrees then 10 bolts around bores a further 20 degrees ,60 degrees equals 1 bolt flat easier than angle guage,drain coolant from brass bung on passenger side of block 13mm spanner better than filling bores with coolant .bolts can be used several times

jamesmartin said:

push rods etc dont have to be kept in same order vehicle be long dead before it makes any difference unless they are worn on ends in which case change ,check head gasket is fitted right way round ,head bolts 40 nm then 60 degrees and 60 degrees then 10 bolts around bores a further 20 degrees ,60 degrees equals 1 bolt flat easier than angle guage,drain coolant from brass bung on passenger side of block 13mm spanner better than filling bores with coolant .bolts can be used several times

Click to expand...

Kin bollox you speak

which bit didnt you understand i know my grammar is poor but not much more than some on here

jamesmartin said:

push rods etc dont have to be kept in same order vehicle be long dead before it makes any difference unless they are worn on ends in which case change ,check head gasket is fitted right way round ,head bolts 40 nm then 60 degrees and 60 degrees then 10 bolts around bores a further 20 degrees ,60 degrees equals 1 bolt flat easier than angle guage,drain coolant from brass bung on passenger side of block 13mm spanner better than filling bores with coolant .bolts can be used several times

Click to expand...

Yep Landy engineering makes ALL push rods EXACTLY the same length to a thou of an inch
Must be my mistake and dealing with Jap bikes and Rover / MG engines where bouncing a valve off a piston caused catastrophic failure obviously Land Rover had a manufacturing system which guaranteed finer tolerences and the difficulties of ensuring the rods are returned to the same valve is way too much trouble, just throw them back in and know that valves will not play patti cake with pistons and fuel consumption / power output will not be affected in any way at all with wrong valve clearences

Do you feel lucky?

valve clearance is adjusted on the tappet screw ,valve bounce has nothing to do with push rods been changed ,the only reason they used to be ketp in same order was that of uneven wear should stay matched with its conter part ,this is not necessary with modern materials ,if not worn oil pressure through rocker means that rod dosent touch rocker ,bottom end has brass follower ,do you know what your talking about

thanks for the help guys gave me a better understanding on how to do it cheers

Just done mine

Off the top of my head

Remove top of airbox
Remove IC pipe from turbo to IC
Remove hose from intake to IC
Remove intake manifold
Remove exhaust manifold
Remove fuel pump to injectors pipe
Remove injectors
Remove glowplugs & wire
Remove oil seperator from side of head
Remove rocker cover
Remove rocker shaft
Remove pushrods
Crack off headbolts in reverse order (basically start front and back and work your way to the middle)
Lift off head

Think that was it but i am sure i have missed something. Dont forget the get the head skimmed and it might be worth pressure checking as well. Yuo dont want to put it back together to find its cracked

what happens if you dont have the head skimmed?

quite easy job on 300 replace gasket with 3 hole err5263 if you dont know what your is,manifold and turbo can be left on exhaust and oil pipes and pulled away enough to remove head,there is not enough room to remove or replace rear 2 head bolts so holod them half way with peg or clamp when refitting ,watch out for valve caps loose on valve easy to drop down oil way ,adjusy tappets 8 thou number nine method after head tightened down,but do drain cooloant from brass block plug otherwise bores will fill and headbolt holes,if you need help or not sure you could ring me ,i do them regulary

cheers martin its not something im sure whether im gunna do yet my disco has done 136,000 miles so its getting close to needing it i think my brothers defender 300tdi blew up around 200,000 so lol

only skim head if necessary ie gasket grooves in head ,if very warped or bent it will move again as heat relaxes internal stresses in aliminuim,also valves depth from head has to be maintained as close contact with piston ,they should be pocketed (recut deeper )to keep clearance ,many may be lucky but thats what it will be down to

ahhh right cheers for your help martin

elmer_d said:

Yep Landy engineering makes ALL push rods EXACTLY the same length to a thou of an inch
Must be my mistake and dealing with Jap bikes and Rover / MG engines where bouncing a valve off a piston caused catastrophic failure obviously Land Rover had a manufacturing system which guaranteed finer tolerences and the difficulties of ensuring the rods are returned to the same valve is way too much trouble, just throw them back in and know that valves will not play patti cake with pistons and fuel consumption / power output will not be affected in any way at all with wrong valve clearences

Do you feel lucky?

Click to expand...

Not had much to do with primitive push rod engines then?

Must the head be skimmed

Dicovery maniac said:

cheers martin its not something im sure whether im gunna do yet my disco has done 136,000 miles so its getting close to needing it i think my brothers defender 300tdi blew up around 200,000 so lol

Click to expand...

eh, it either needs it or not there is no in between, no reason with good maintenance a head gasket can't last for loads more than 200000 ,but if showing no sign of blowing or pressurizing or coolant disappearing why change it ,PS. 136000miles is not even broke in for a maintained 300tdi the engine will normally out live the vehicle.

kevm38 said:

Must the head be skimmed

Click to expand...

no its best left unskimmed unless head face is damaged or head is warped more than a few thou,what ive posted earlier is all correct the other 2 misunderstand