Discovery cracked cylinder head- fix or replace?

hi I'm new so ta for any help you can offer
I have 2001 Disco TD5. To cut a long and traumatic story short it is the second I have had in 9months after buying a write off(chassis) from an ex-friend. After finding one with a very good chassis and replacing gearbox and many other parts ( by this point I'm in love with vehicle if not cost) on second the cylinder head has cracked (180,000 miles). I don't (yet) have skills or dry workshop space, but have a decent mechanic locally.
Should I a) get second hand engine ( John Daunter £650) and put that in. b) get mechanic to replace cylinder head (and gaskets/seals etc) c) get recon engine - where? d) get second hand engine and get it reconditioned before fitting it. What this has cost me so far is so bad for my families finances that I really need to come out the other side with a vehicle I can use for 2-3 years for towing. Any advice greatly appreciated. My expertise is canvas so any help required sourcing or fixing this I'd love to help. Cheers

Hi and welcome!
Ive had a similar experience to your ref heads, etc.
I also went through the options!
Heres my feedback
a) Not a bad option, but you must have a chance to see/hear it running first, check for noise, smoke. I would avoid cheap ebay "reconditioned" engines, they can be just cleaned up scrap engines.
b) Replacement cylinder heads will cost anywhere from £600 (Autotech) to £1200 (AMC) + fitting, thought about an Autotech head, they "look" ok and are cheap.
c) Recon engines are a minefield! Some may be ok, but a TD5 is a complex beast, not easy to recon on a budget.
d) You recon the original engine, but it will not be cheap, mine cost £3K incl the new AMC head and I did all the work myself.

You coud also buy a CatC/D D2 that "Starts and Runs" and break it yourself.

If your on a budget, I would go for option b)
If you choose option a) Choose a decent breaker, Ive used "Gentlemen of Salvage", for bits, not an engine, they seemed ok.
With Disco prices now very low, there are lots more D2s around with minor accident damage/rust that are being scrapped, with decent engines.

A Disco is never going to be a cheap option as a working vehicle but that doesnt mean its not going to be cost effective. Mine has done a lot of trouble free miles since I rebuilt it, I use it off-road for work, so it pays its way.
Mark

http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/45313406?searchId=1887806237
Heres a possible spares ship, or even a fixer upper!

Hi mate a decent second hand engine would do...

You would ideally want to see her fire up from cold though and see it running before you part with any cash... Whilst the engines out it would be a good idea to inspect and renew the water pump if needed ( easy to do when out) and other things like seals etc unless you want to go down the new turner head route which is great but very costly... So costly in fact you could buy another d2 td5 for the same sort of money and keep your one as a doner as you mentioned it has a solid chassis ( plenty about that don't)

Anyway I'm not a mechanic but lots of my family (farmers) all have Td5 and they are good work horses... Better than the new tdci manure

If it was me AMC head, you I do not know.

AMC is the way to go, if you amortise the cost over the potential usage, its a good investment, but its a fair whack of up front cost!

Hi thanks everyone, what is an AMC head?
One more point, I'd like to run my Disco on biodiesel.
Is this possible and is there anything I can do to engine while I'm potentially rebuilding it to make it work better with bio diesel, or is it just not possible.
John Daunter, my local decent Landrover breaker have 20+ engines but they are all out of vehicle.
They test them before taking vehicles apart and only keep decent engines whole, but they don't even note mileage and only give 30 days warranty. They charge 650. Everything I have bought from them has been good but engine obviously different kettle of fish. I have been told to get 'EU3 ' (later) engine as they are less prone to cylinder head cracking, is this so?
Its going to cost a lot whatever I do, hence me asking advice from people who know more than me.
Cheers

Ok I've found AMC Head, it's worth more than rest of vehicle, which I don't mind in itself but it might outlast the economic lifespan of my discovery, that said I probably need to adjust my thinking about what is economic with this vehicle. Thanks I'll keep saving up.

Hi
Yes the AMC head is not a cheap part!
But quality wise it seemed to fix the issues that (the later) TD5 heads had, mainly the injector pocket cracking leading to engine run away.
It should certainly outlast, or last as long as the rest of the vehicle!
If your using the car for work, lots of towing etc then it should be viewed as a sound investment.
Your local place sounds like it has a decent selection of engines, 30 day warranty is useful.
Its really going to come down to personal choice, I advised someone on here a while ago who was looking for a Disco for work use that there are other vehicles that will be: cheaper to fix, cheaper to run, (probably!) more reliable, than a Disco.
I stuck with mine and, thanks to plastic money, got an AMC head, because I hate the thought of a car letting me down on a snowy road in the middle of nowhere!
So far my Disco (after the re-build, and the follow up AMC head)) has been good as gold!
If you do change the engine, you should get the engine that matches the one you have, that way it will fit straight in and you wont have to muck around with swapping the ECU as well.
Mark

To follow up on your other questions.
The later 15P/16P EU3 engines seem to have less head cracking than the early 10P engines, which I understand was to do with cooling water galleries, but the EU3 engines (anecdotally) seem to have more issues with the injector pockets cracking, usually No1.
As for biofuel, well thats a huge area for debate, so I wont comment!

I run mine on decent quality, fuel, I rarely use supermarket fuel.

Thanks Markomate2, I'd love to do proper job with AMC head, i just don't have funds, this year, this vehicle has already cost twice what it is worth, which again might be a naive approach to Landrovers. I'm going to speak to breakers today, see if I can get an engine with some providence from them thanks for tip re. later engines also having issues...I thought biofuel wouldn't be straightforward, but I have a Mercedes sprinter 312 that runs on it and wondered if anyone had experience of using it with td5 engine, it's been less fashionable recent years as fuel has been cheap, but it's going to get more expensive...

Any tips on what to look for if you have a choice of 15-20 engines, apart from no oil leaks?

AMC head = deep pockets

Do as the funds will allow... Early 10p engines in my opinion are as good as the 15p both have there flaws

My advice would be obviously check for water leaks ( pink staining )

If you could take the rocker covers off check for camshaft wear

I would go for the one with the least wear at the top end but that just me

Bit of a stab in the dark but good luck Roly!

Roly MarqueeMan said:

hi I'm new so ta for any help you can offer
I have 2001 Disco TD5. To cut a long and traumatic story short it is the second I have had in 9months after buying a write off(chassis) from an ex-friend. After finding one with a very good chassis and replacing gearbox and many other parts ( by this point I'm in love with vehicle if not cost) on second the cylinder head has cracked (180,000 miles). I don't (yet) have skills or dry workshop space, but have a decent mechanic locally.
Should I a) get second hand engine ( John Daunter £650) and put that in. b) get mechanic to replace cylinder head (and gaskets/seals etc) c) get recon engine - where? d) get second hand engine and get it reconditioned before fitting it. What this has cost me so far is so bad for my families finances that I really need to come out the other side with a vehicle I can use for 2-3 years for towing. Any advice greatly appreciated. My expertise is canvas so any help required sourcing or fixing this I'd love to help. Cheers

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about finance issues I would suggest moving away from the disco and TD5 ..you will need at least 2 to 3 donor vehicles to keep the td5 disco on the road

eventually you will spend more time working on it than driving it ..you will also spend lots of money if you don't have the parts

I'm on my last disco running this thing into the ground when it stops I wont be purchasing another
I would rather loose the car than my family .just saying

Hi Some on here do run TD5s on biofuel so its doable.
Some things to look out for, but other forumites, please add to the list!
Open the oil cap, look for "foam/mayonaise", sniff as well, indication of head gasket going/gone.
Check the oil level, again smell it to check for diesel.
Expect to change the front crankshaft seal and possibly the crank damper as well allow £150-£180 for that.
If it comes with injectors they will need to be coded into your ECU, £50 from a friendly garage with the right comms kit.
If it has a water pump check if its been leaking.
If it comes with a flywheel (which it should) check that the DMF is ok.
Also check the rear crank seal is not leaking, but again budget for a replacement £15

Just saw the post by ozzy, Id agree that you shouldn't try to run a D2 on a budget unless its a spare/fun car.
But Id disagree with having donor vehicles, unless, a) They are free, b) You have lots of space to put them!

My 15p engine cylinder head became porous at 53,000 miles. Solution - AMC head, but it's in a very low mileage 2005 Defender, so clearly worth the expense.

Well I would go AMC route as I will go galvanised chassis route when mine rots.

Already got a brand new rear ARB and modded valve block to sort out the rusty ACE pipes

Hi I have an 10p Td5 head available complete with green top injectors rocker cover camshaft inlet ect ... £100. I removed from my defender due to bottom end failed 13weeks prior to this the head was pressure tested skimmed and refitted with new bolts gasket .. turned out it was bottom end nock .!! 140k head .. dan

13E41V said:

Hi I have an 10p Td5 head available complete with green top injectors rocker cover camshaft inlet ect ... £100. I removed from my defender due to bottom end failed 13weeks prior to this the head was pressure tested skimmed and refitted with new bolts gasket .. turned out it was bottom end nock .!! 140k head .. dan

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How much for injectors?

Since Ive no use for it £80 will buy it. You would normally pay that for injectors alone .

If they are green top injectors I will buy the head, the green tops are usually in the 15 p
10p has the black one I think.
Assuming Disco Devon doesn't want it.