Freelander Head Gasket Replacement!!!!

Giving you the benieft of the doubt Mdickey666666. This is for your information. If this is known to you then all well and good.

It's not just a case of getting the head smooth, its case of getting it flat as well. Once any remains of the gasket are removed from the mating faces, it is likely the result will be a smooth surface anyway, unless the breakdown area has caused burning and material errosion. When the head is bolted to the block it is important that the holding force by the head bolts is evenly distributed over the mating surfaces, acting through the head gasket. If the head is not flat, within a tolerance, then there will be high pressure and low pressure zones within the gasket. The low pressure zones could then 'blow through', leading to premature gasket failure and you're back where you started. Distortion of the head can occur due to the repeated thermal cycling that the head will obviously experience during normal engine operation. The head bolts hold the head square until they are removed. There is no way you can square the head up by adjusting individual bolt torque levels as there is no way of measuring the surface pressure distribution.

This flattening process can not be done by hand. It must be done using a vertical milling machine, driven by a trained machinest. The machine will literally skim the surface of the mating surfaces so that all areas are at the exisiting low spot levels. The head is then checked using a surface analysing machine to determine the level of flatness error is within tolerance.

Consideration of swarf control must made so to ensure that no swarf is left within the head that could enter the engine. Cleanliness can not be emphasised enough as any material, especially ferris, in the combustion chambers will damage the cylinder walls and ultimately lead to a lack of compression. Such damage will require the liners re-ground, such a major job as to make an engine replacement a serious consideration if this were to happen.

As Laurance says, if the mechanic claims he can, or is intending to do this by hand, then I would seriously consider whether he is up to the job. You don't need an LR specialist to do this, just a competent engine mechanic with a contact with a good engineering works.

I hope this helps.

mdickey666666 said:

Did not mean to offend anybody, just trying to get some extra advice... I don't know anything about engines, mechanics, etc.. I'm worried my mechanic might now either, because there is only one LR dealership in the entire state that I live in and its a long drive away. I'm just trying to learn about this vehicles and keep a watchful eye on my mechanic

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A competent non LR Garage based mechanic with the proper tools/workshop manual & machine shop contacts would be able to tackle the job. Sadly, it doesn't sound like you have a great deal of faith in your mechanic in which case if it were me I would find somebody more competent through local word of mouth. My Garage that I use for trickier jobs are not LR specialists but I wouldn't have any hesitation using them for any job engine or otherwise as they have proved to be very very good for the past 10 years.

The car needs to get running otherwise its dead money (how much is it worth?), seems to me there are two options...

1. Going for the full monty - skim, decoke, timing etc. If you are going to do this you are going to need a mechanic that you KNOW is going to do the job properly given the financial commitment, but you will have a 'top' recondition for your money.

2. If you have doubts about the mechanic, or whether you can afford it, or can't get the parts or the torque/timing data etc then I'd get the mechanic to change the gasket(s) as cheaply as possible and sell it on quickly. If you are lucky and there is not too much distortion or scarring on the head a newly compressed head gasket with a good dollop of gasket seal should hold things for a while. The chances of that gasket blowing again without the full job is pretty high.

Not an easy choice, but believe me it is no fun wrestling with a dodgy head week after week because you havent got the money to do the job properly. Mind you, you get to know the engine pretty well if you take the head off three or four times! Never done it on a V6 though, twice as much fun/mysery!

A couple of thoughts. Can you identify which head is leaking (so you dont have to take off both heads)? Does it blow at the join? Can you get you get your ear near enough to hear it of feel it with your hand?

And, I know that LRs are not common where you are, but if you can get a head from a scrap yard from an obvious wreck (if it was in an accident the chances are the head was flat enough not to be leaking when it crashed). Chancy, but you might be lucky.

For my money, in your position, I'd get rid. If you havent got the opportunity to be sure the job is done properly there is the risk of it swallowing the money you do have and still having a leaky head.

Good luck