DISCO V8 NO HEAD GASKET FITTED!!??

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lrjohn

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Suffolk

• Yesterday at 14:43

• #1

I posted earlier about the suspected head gasket leak with coolant getting into two of the cylinders as the spark plugs in those two were washed clean as opposed to the other cylinders which are sooty.

So I have gone through the process today removing the right hand cylinder head (it’s a V8 Disco 1 3.5l) and I am totally amazed – there is no cylinder head gasket fitted!! I can’t understand why anybody would attempt to do this, there is definitely no gasket yet somehow it seems to run okay other than for losing a bit of water.

Anybody heard of such a thing and why would somebody do that??

I wasn’t going to remove the left hand cylinder head but I’m not sure I can see if there is a gasket there or not.

All a bit mad!

 

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lynall

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• Yesterday at 14:54

• #2

Are there really thin seal rings cut into the block or head?

 

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lrjohn

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• Yesterday at 15:15

• #3

lynall said:

Are there really thin seal rings cut into the block or head?

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Thanks for getting back to me. No, I just checked and ran a razor blade scraper around the head and the block there is nothing evident. There are marks indicating there was a head gasket in there at some point but definitely not now. I also doublechecked it hadnt fallen away when I removed the head, which would be unlikely, but nothing there.

 

Stanleysteamer

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• Yesterday at 15:34

• #4

 

Interceptorxj

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Bolton, Greater Manchester.

• Yesterday at 15:58

• #5

Any sign of a sealer? Some Rolls Royce truck engines didn't have head gaskets back in the day, they used a hylomar sealer which was licensed by RR (can't remember if it was red or blue).

 

PopPops

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Fareham, Hampshire

• Yesterday at 16:00

• #6

lrjohn said:

Thanks for getting back to me. No, I just checked and ran a razor blade scraper around the head and the block there is nothing evident. There are marks indicating there was a head gasket in there at some point but definitely not now. I also doublechecked it hadnt fallen away when I removed the head, which would be unlikely, but nothing there.

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Mad! I have owned a car which had no head gasket, but it was designed that way...

 

Stanleysteamer

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• Yesterday at 16:05

• #7

PopPops said:

Mad! I have owned a car which had no head gasket, but it was designed that way...

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Go on then, do tell us!

VW aircooled?

 

PopPops

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Fareham, Hampshire

• Yesterday at 16:08

• #8

Stanleysteamer said:

Go on then, do tell us!

VW aircooled?

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Similar, Citroen GS/GSA! Flat 4, but that is where the similarity ends I think.

 

Stanleysteamer

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• Yesterday at 16:20

• #9

PopPops said:

Similar, Citroen GS/GSA! Flat 4, but that is where the similarity ends I think.

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Well they are both aircooled as well!
My dad had one, a firm's car so I never worked on it.

My wife's Chesil Speedster is powered by a very tuned VW aircooled flat four and talking to the mechanic at Chesil was how I found out that they have no gasket.
I have always disliked anything Beetle-ish, so never knew until then.
It appears quite a few bike engines are like this too.