Freelander re-build - Head gasket

Hi all

I am currently putting a 1.8 K series freelander back on the road, which has stood for around two years.

Having completed the final job for MOT last night the god damn head gasket went on pulling out the shop. No 2 cylinder full of water, eggy exhaust, milky oil filler yadder yadder.

Luckily the engine was relitevely cold when it went so hope fully the head is still straight.

Ordering the gasket kit today and intend to do the timing belt whilst im at it.

My question is this; Whilst messing around confirming the mis fire was the head gasket the heater matrix had a very poor feed and kept requiring a bleed then another and another.

Is this due to air locks in the system as the head gasket had gone or do i have more problems to look forward too. No leaks are apparent and no wet floors.

I work in a well kitted out workshop (military) with some landy fonts of knowledge on hand however does anyone have any top tips before i lose around 14 hours to this lovely task.

Cheers fellas any help appreciated

Airlocks could easily be down to the same rupture in the HG letting the coolant into the cylinder. A simple symptom of this is if you can hear water sort of 'sloshing' from behind the dash when the engine is on.

Don't just do the head gasket. Make sure that you have steel dowels in the block for head location. Replace the oil rail in the bottom of the engine with the 'upgrade' version and use new head bolts. All this will stop head 'shuffle'. On that note, when you remove the head, try and twist to break the seal rather than lever it off and as the latter can disturb the cylinder liners and then you are into another whole world of hurt. From memory the liners should protrude about 2 thou above the block.

Some additional reading for you regarding the K-series HGF problem

Why do head gasket failures occur?