In the process of changing the head gasket on my 1998 2L diesel Freelander. Have had the head tested, skimmed, valves and seats recut so head is ready to go.

Was going to refit yesterday but discovered the locating dowels for the head are plastic. Seem to remember hearing/seeing/reading somewhere that these were replaced on later models with steel ones, but there was nothing in the headset.

So does anyone know if later dowels were steel not plastic

yes you're correct - the new and preferred dowels are steel as they keep the head stiffer. You can also change the oil rail as there is an uprated version which prevents the engine from moving on heat-up as well as the remote thermostat which keeps the engine at a lower temperature. You should also change the head bolts as well, to be sure. Hope it goes well, there is a lot to be said for proactively replacing these things i think, planning on buying them and fitting them over a weekend when i've got nothing better to do. PS replace the antifreeze with the reddy pink stuff, not the blue stuff.

PS I think the dowels generally come with the MLS gasket - OEM - Cylinder Head Gasket - Multi Layer Steel - K Series at www.rimmerbros.co.uk. Presumably you have the MLS HG?


Oil Rail is about £50 from rimmers. Might save lots of frustration in the future.

Don't know about the 2L Diesel but the comments above are true for the 1.8 K series petrol engine.