head gasket

ok i changed the radiator today on a 2.5N/A defender as the other one sprang a serious leak, now its looking like the head gaskets gone as its pumping loads of white smoke out the exhaust.

My question is whats a reasonable expectation for man hours to change this gasket? By a mechanic i should add as its not a job for me, i need a ballpark figure so i can work out what its going to cost and to make sure they dont screw me around, i've just moved house and have to find a garage that i can trust again!!

Cheers, Mark

well i can do this job in a few hours its not that hard, plus the parts are cheap at around £20 for a head set. might be worth doing the valve stem seals while the heads off, shouldnt add more than an hour, they're quite easy too.
Best to get some quotes in.

i wouldn't expect more than 2/3 hours, the engines on these are really simple.

The only garage i could get a str8 answer out of late this afternoon was 'a day' which is 8 hours...that seemed a bit excessive...

**** that i can swap an entire engine in 4 hours.

There u go - do it urself n do it right - dont pay thru the nose for these grease monkeys just off the street to fook it up.
If ur gonna fook it do it urself - that my motto.
Seriously tho I never take my vehicles to a garage cept for the MOT - n yes for petrol before someone jumps in

itsa shame your in denmark storm, id come help you.

In all honesty though mate, they are really easy to do yourself. PM POS if your still not convinced, hes done his about 4 times now! Only cos he made mistakes in it though, which are all easily avoided.

i am tempted and have downloaded a very good step by step guide with pictures....only thing thats stopping me is i am so dependant on the landy, i live way out in the sticks, a good 12 miles from a town and if it goes pear shaped then i'm in doggy do-do!!

Once i start theres no going back i suppose...if the garage said 4 hours (at 60 quid an hour) i'd let them do it...but 8?? And he's talking about maybe the head needs skimming....if so its a 2 day job...Anyone else needed to skim the head??

To be honest if someone wants a weekend in denmark i'd pay the airfare...its 100 quid from birmingham or stanstead...i'd still be well in pocket!! And its 40p for a bottle of carlsberg...drink all you want at my expense!!!

Hey Storm - we still talking?

is this the guide you've got storm ?

2.5 N/A head gasket replacement - LR4x4 - The Land Rover Forum

it's always best to get the head skimmed, avoids any doubt, doesnt take long or cost very much to do - just do it just the first time

hey ill take a weekend in denmark! You got all the tools...?

storm99 said:

To be honest if someone wants a weekend in denmark i'd pay the airfare...its 100 quid from birmingham or stanstead...i'd still be well in pocket!! And its 40p for a bottle of carlsberg...drink all you want at my expense!!!

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think you'd cough if you had to pay the excess baggage charge fer me tool kit

Get yourself a Haynes manual off of Amazon / eBay and do it yourself. Make sure you've got the right tools and a good quality gasket set and just step your way through the job. It's only nuts and bolts.

Of course...it was nowt personal, forgotten now

weekend on the beer (shame it's got to be carlsberg) followed by a bit of spannering sounds like fun

Yep thats the one....sorry if i sound like a bumpkin, i have lived in london and L:A, but i prefer the quiet life now (ex forces)...I'd need a machinist to skim the head then....and therein lies the problem...getting it on foot to the town whilst its out of the landy!! Hell of a walk with that strapped to my back!

Yep, tools and booze and a seperate bed and bath (obviously!!)

storm99 said:

Yep thats the one....sorry if i sound like a bumpkin, i have lived in london and L:A, but i prefer the quiet life now (ex forces)...I'd need a machinist to skim the head then....and therein lies the problem...getting it on foot to the town whilst its out of the landy!! Hell of a walk with that strapped to my back!

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some effort will be required on your part, rubbing germolene on it won't fix it

Didn't try germolene yet...i'm just checking whether folk thought 8 hours labour was excessive...and it seems 'yes' is the answer, so i'll throw myself over it this weekend, after ive been to the market and stocked up with fags, booze, plasters and a good w**k mag...oh and a tin of beans for sunday lunch!!