how difficult is it to change a head gasket

My old 110 defender over heated and following that the head gasket has gone. Iv called around five garages in swindon yesterday and none of them have got back to me, so being desperate to get my daily drive running again, I need to get this done.

I am no mechanic and I wouldn't consider myself as good with a spanner but I'm no numpty either.

Iv sat and read the haynes manual, and changed the heater matrix last week, and that went really well. I had planned on replacing the water pump today but the head gasket takes priority now.

So iv spoken to the local landy dealer and they have quoted from £600, plus either a head skim or a new head, anything from a few hundred to over another 1K.

The cost obviously worries me, But should I just bite the bullet and do it my self?

What would you all do?

if you were closer i could of done it for £499.99

easy job , its a push rod engine not overhead cam so no timing issues ,head bolts are 40mn plus 2 x 60 degrees which is 2 bolt flats done in 3 stages ,dont forget to reset tappets ,err5263 should do as gasket

Find an independent,if you were closer I would offer a price

invest in a haynes manwell a job you can do yourself

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I called five independent garages yesterday but no one has got back to me, that's off putting and makes me worry more about if I could do it.

Iv priced the gaskets and replacement bolts and that's about £80. So the question still stands if I am confident or capable to do it, I very much doubt it.

My biggest concerns include putting it all back together correctly, using the right gasket size and i don't even know what things are, like tappets.

If I take it apart I can put it back together, just not confident to do it alone I guess.

How much?!!! My toddler could do a 200 head gasket, have faith and do it yerself mate.

Nevets22002 said:

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I called five independent garages yesterday but no one has got back to me, that's off putting and makes me worry more about if I could do it.

Iv priced the gaskets and replacement bolts and that's about £80. So the question still stands if I am confident or capable to do it, I very much doubt it.

My biggest concerns include putting it all back together correctly, using the right gasket size and i don't even know what things are, like tappets.

If I take it apart I can put it back together, just not confident to do it alone I guess.

Click to expand...

thats why i said use err5263 ,setting tappets is only been able to use a feeler guage and been able to tell when a valve is fully open ,as already said by a nanual and read it

Gasket set is cheap and easy job if the rules are followed, need good tool kit though and a work shop manual is essential if you dont have experience, though this site would give all the answers as needed, just maybe not straight away or in the right order

Worth lapping the vlaves in once the heads off, though again best done if you are confident and have the time.
£600 seems to be average price for sorting head gasket regardless of car make, as 2 clowns (apparently motor professionals) quoted my daughter for same after her car was overheating / water loss with steam coming from under the bonnet.
I took a look and cut half an inch off culprit leaking water hose at the rad inlet pipe and problem solved, total cost 5 mins of time.

OK I'm getting it, the hint that is, you all think its a simple enough task.

Iv got a Haynes manual and I have CD full of defender workshop manuals I got off eBay for £4.

I looked at buying a half decent socket set today, I saw that Halfords have a 120 piece professional set (life time guarantee) for half price now £80. I could buy a feeler gauge their tomorrow if I go back for the socket set.

Whats lapping the valves?

Nevets22002 said:

OK I'm getting it, the hint that is, you all think its a simple enough task.

Iv got a Haynes manual and I have CD full of defender workshop manuals I got off eBay for £4.

I looked at buying a half decent socket set today, I saw that Halfords have a 120 piece professional set (life time guarantee) for half price now £80. I could buy a feeler gauge their tomorrow if I go back for the socket set.

Whats lapping the valves?

Click to expand...

if you only have head gasket issue i would bother stripping head to do that just now

Do a search on you tube for" trailer fitter 200tdi " videos he does some very good tutorials.

Blackburn said:

Do a search on you tube for" trailer fitter 200tdi " videos he does some very good tutorials.

Click to expand...

+1 on that

yep, do it. I had no 'spannering' experience, I'm clumsy and have a terrible attention span but even I managed it. I watched the trailerfitter videos, looked at the workshop manual, got the cheapest set of required tools and spent around 12 hours on it.

My tip would be use new bolts and studs when putting it all back together. I snapped a few old bolts before they got any where near to torque... having to extract snapped bolts really slowed things down!

It was also a good excuse to try out a timelapse on the gopro -> Land Rover 200tdi Cylinder Head Replaced - YouTube

its a simple job, when you know how. the best thing to do is read the manual (as you have) you must understand it, and then start taking things off. the only special tool you will need is a torque wrench. just take it step by step. if you have any questions post the here and every one will be happy to help.