Would You Do This?

Hi, been lurking a while but I must be a lucky P38 owner because I've just had to carry out routine maintenance for 3 years

That lucky spell came to an end 3 months ago when I started loosing coolant. Took a look and it seemed to be leaking from the left hand cylinder head at the front. This was confirmed by my local Indy.

Anyway in those 3 months I've pretty much done nothing accept top up coolant with a 50/50 mix, using approx half a pint every 1,000 miles. The Rangie is running sweet. Starts on the button, good MPG, no sign of over heating or build up of pressure in the system.

In August we are driving to Southern Spain, do you think thats a trip too far for a leaky P38?

The reasons I've not done the head gasket are because we plan on trading in for a Mk3 RR within a year and to pay out £1,000+ for a repair
(I wouldn't do this myself) for a motor worth approx £2,500 in PX seems a bit of a waste.

Any opinions gratefully received.

i would try and bring the part ex forward if possible as any defects will be hammered by the dealer!

£1000 is a bit dear in my opinion for the h/g baering in mind they are gonna be paying around 100 quid for parts, labour is gonna be a day/2days, thats around 400 quid a day labour!!! i doubt very much they will spend 20 hours on your car(=40 per hour which is about fair for most mechanics)

if you have been lurking long enough then you will have seen my escapades with heads and blocks, i can do it now quite rapid and i'm by a long chalk no mechanic!!!

i think you need to learn the hard way and get stuck in or off load it asap to a dealer, you could put some bars leak stuff in to seal it up as a first step, this may work or cause more damage to rad. it hasnt affected mine(yet) when i put bars leak liquid in to seal a small leak on the water pump!

I'm based not far from London and £1,000 is the cheapest quote I've had, one independent wanted £1,500! I've done many a head gasket over the years, many moons ago, lacking enthusiasm for big jobs these days.

I've covered nearly 5,000 miles since I first discovered the leak with no issues, I was just trying to gauge anyones experience of undertaking a journey to hotter climates with a simular problem

with the p38 engine, if it overheats it probably will kill the engine, it may survive tho so it really is a 50/50 but bare in mind that if it does go you can kiss goodbye to the best part of 3k for a repair!

the h/g is simple if you have the experience! they look complex but are no more hassle than a small engine, prolly less as they are pushrod!

my opinion is to get it on drive/somewhere convenient and change the gaskets at your leisure( providing you have the time before the journey) i can out and in the engine in around 2-3 days, as i said i'm no mechanic. i would be very reluctant to take a long journey with a potential disater on board!

as for the price, its not worth it in my opinion to be paying someone what you can clearly achieve yourself but at 10% of the cost

for the sake of £50/60 for a gasket kit and head bolts,i would fix it maybe a pain having to strip it and fixing it only to offload it soon,but i would rather spend a small amount,knowing it will p/x no problems,then the whole engine go,v8,s are the easiest engine anyone can work on,no timing to set up,relevant easy access but v8 engines do rely heavily on an efficent cooling system

No, becouse Sods Law says if I did, it would boil its block JUST at the top of a mointain, at something near mid-night, with no-one who spoke Engklish anywhere to be seen, a man with a shot-gun and a goat at the side of the road, and a tow-truck driven by what look like WWII resistance fighters was the only other vehicle to pass!
So I'd stay at home, and have to remiond myself of that immage while the old bludger kept on going and going, happily bveing topped up every journey, to taunt me, sayting 'I could have made it you know..... look....... haven't missed a beat, have I'!

I wouldn't risk a long run.

I have run my old 3.9 with a leaky head gasket, I have run it with a leaky radiator - it has never over heated but at the same time I could never be 100% confident of getting to where I was going - on a long journey youjust don't want or need that sort of uncertainty and like the other have said, head gaskets ona V8 is not difficult and would be easily capable of being done at a leisurely pace in a week end for very little money.

Do the gaskets yourself and be happy, drive to Spain p/x it job done.

You have all confirmed what I was thinking, that this would be a journey too far. Looks like next weekend is taken of. Although there is plan B. Hire a car for the journey, what I'll save on petrol will cover the cost of the hire. But a 1,250 mile jaunt on mostly motorway is right up a Rangie's street, so I'll be gutted to go down that route.

do the head gaskets you know you want to . cant drive all tha way in a poxy little hire car and leave your RR on the driveway you ll hurt its feelings

SteelSeal.co.uk Head Gasket Fix
have a look on this site i havent used it but there is a good head gasket repair solution as far as they say with out taking the head off

We sell Steel Seal and i have to say it's great well worth it.

Have to say tho if it was my Landy it would have the head gasket done on it, but if your selling it then whats the point.

Yeah, I'd rather do the gasket, etc rather than rely on some additive.

hammy2909 said:

Yeah, I'd rather do the gasket, etc rather than rely on some additive.

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Like i said its good stuff we sell loads to traders and that (Rover K series engine anyone?). But if you have the time and the know how i would always do the head gasket.

For every good story you hear about K Seal, Bars etc,etc, there seems to be a bad one about blocked water channels and rads. Heater matrix would be my worst fear, they seem to give enough grief on older motors without adding anything that might aid a blockage!

We've decided to go down the new head gasket route, and if the old girl behaves herself afterwards, we might even extend her stay in the family.

I've traced my water leak to a blown gasket, water emerging from the front corner of the block. Spoke to my local indy about it and he advised trying the steel seal first - he says he's done 4-5 P38's with it and none of them have leaked yet. Obviously he said doing the gasket is the best solution, but I'll save that for when I have more time. He reckoned 10hrs max for a head gasket if it was a difficult one, looking at £500 all in.

Jock

Head gaskets all done and dusted. No more coolant leak but don't think the rainy weather in the UK at the mo is much of a test, still a bit apprehensive about the long haul to Spain. But whats the worst that could happen, a holiday at the side of the road waiting to be recovered, loads of grief from the missus Wheres that car hire brochure

fortgrange said:

Head gaskets all done and dusted. No more coolant leak but don't think the rainy weather in the UK at the mo is much of a test, still a bit apprehensive about the long haul to Spain. But whats the worst that could happen, a holiday at the side of the road waiting to be recovered, loads of grief from the missus Wheres that car hire brochure

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good luck with the trip to spain,hope it all goes well,keep us posted as to how it goes.

Will do. Not leaving for another 3 weeks so a bit more time to check the gaskets. RAC route planner has return trip down as 2500 miles, so we'll cover at least 3000 with a bit of messing about down there. The poor old girl won't know whats hit her.

i went out for a 50 mile run in my p38 on friday and the eas went t*ts up,bloody rangey,s who,d have one hey.

At least you've got a decent back-up motor