Whats the fastest time to change a head gasket

Hi all

After a few problems recently I went to a 4 x 4 specialist and they did a test and my head gasket has gone :-( hey quoted me £650 + VAT to do the work. After the smelling salts woke me up I decided I have nothing to loose and am going to try doing it myself as I only paid £800 for the vehicle anyway.

My question is this - given the tools what's the average time it takes for a semi competent person to fit a new head gasket on their own ?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheer - Dave

davidporthcawl said:

Hi all

After a few problems recently I went to a 4 x 4 specialist and they did a test and my head gasket has gone :-( hey quoted me £650 + VAT to do the work. After the smelling salts woke me up I decided I have nothing to loose and am going to try doing it myself as I only paid £800 for the vehicle anyway.

My question is this - given the tools what's the average time it takes for a semi competent person to fit a new head gasket on their own ?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheer - Dave

Click to expand...

The record is 12 minutes, but nothing worked properly.

Ha ha - Maybe I should re-phrase it and tag on the line.

"a successful fitting of a new head gasket"

I doesn't take long once you have all the information and parts on hand. The head will need to be checked to see if it's straight and usable. The liner heights will need to be checked to work out which HG you're going to fit. Getting the parts and getting the head work done [if needed] takes time. The actual removal and reassembly can be done in a day.

You have probably thought of this too but replacing the water pump and thermostat is advisable. Adding a stronger bottom oil rail maybe something you'd consider too? Fitting new aux' belts too?

Thanks for the reply I appreciate it.

To be honest as the car owes me nothing and I cant afford to get a garage to do it I am just going to put a new gasket on and not check the head or get it skimmed etc.

A kill or cure repair I guess - I know a lot of people hate it but am going to put some "steel seal" in tomorrow morning to see if it sorts the problem out as I have water going into the exhaust.

I got a bit lost on your reply when you mentioned liner heights lol

davidporthcawl said:

Thanks for the reply I appreciate it.

To be honest as the car owes me nothing and I cant afford to get a garage to do it I am just going to put a new gasket on and not check the head or get it skimmed etc.

A kill or cure repair I guess - I know a lot of people hate it but am going to put some "steel seal" in tomorrow morning to see if it sorts the problem out as I have water going into the exhaust.

I got a bit lost on your reply when you mentioned liner heights lol

Click to expand...

That's the 12 minute job of which I was speaking.

is that a thumbs up for trying the steel seal product then ??

Sure. Why not. It's only a wasted 800 quid.

davidporthcawl said:

is that a thumbs up for trying the steel seal product then ??

Click to expand...

Dont use Steel Seal, it probably wont work and will make a god awful mess when you have to take the head off/flush the system out. Liner height refers to the cylinders. Its a removable liner (But DONT move them). When the heads off check the liners are roughly level with the block, and not below the block. You can use a steel ruler to check this or your finger.

Use a "Payen" gasket of the MLS type preferably, and either Payen stretch bolts or MG Rover/Landrover. Dont be tempted with the cheap stuff off e-bay (Or you will end up doing it all again soon after). I recommend you get the head checked as well. But if your just going to hope for the best head wise, i cannot over emphasise the use of the Payen Gasket.

As mentioned, throw a water pump and new belt set on it whilst your at it. And if not already fitted, consider a PRT thermostat mod.

Loads of info on here about all of this subject. This post has to be considered concise.

I've just done the head gasket on my K series, see the three legged dog post.

Do not attempt to rush it... you'll screw something up, see it as a challenge over a weekend or a couple of weekday evenings.

Get yourself the following things to hand:
SAIC head gasket kit
Water pump
Timing belt kit
E12 torq socket
lots of instant gasket
cam box sealant - different type of instant gasket
torque wrench
new rocker cover gasket

Takes about 90 minutes to get the timing belt off and strip off the cams first time (I can now do it in about 30 minutes, I've done it about 20 times in the last two weeks :| )

An hour to take your time getting the head off, then an hour to clean it up and check whether it needs skimming. If it needs skimming, budget two days to send it off and get it skimmed.

To change the oil rail on the bottom of the engine is a b*****d of a job. You have to take the plate off that bolts the sump to the IRD to the block and there's a bunch of very large, very fiddly bolts. 2-3 hours to do it right.

Budget two hours to torque the head down, take your time and do it right, an hour to get the cam box sealed back down, another hour to seal up the rocker cover and 90 minutes to put the timing back together.

It's quite a therapeutic process to be honest, just don't try and do it quickly.

I was in a rush to put the sump back together and forgot to put the oil pickup back on, made the sump job 4 hours in the end...

Longbolt and B32R many thanks for your replies.

I have decided to keep the landy and not scrap it and do these things over the next few weeks without pressuring myself.

No doubt there will be a few additional questions but I am sure I will find the answers and tip on here and off you guys.

Cheers

Dave

Dont bother with the steal seal mate i tryed it on mine a few weeks back it it didnt work so i cut my loses and sold it on to a dealer.

Thing is with these engines, they're actually really simple - and a pleasure to work on because you've got SO MUCH space around them while working.

I'd actually rate the head gasket on this engine to be doable by someone with very little wrench skill... if they have the patience to take their time and be methodical.

Something I should have said, don't buy the gasket before you take the head off - take the head off, check the liner protrusion and if they're uneven/sunken get yourself a payern elastomer gasket. If they protrude/are flat with the block, get yourself an MG N-Series gasket, they're a lot more robust than most of the other K series MLS gaskets.

One other thing, make sure you have some way to get the crank bolt out, you'll need either an impact gun or a breaker bar and a cheap crank locking tool.

If in doubt, just ask here

There's a lot of posts here and in mgrover.org about changing head gaskets. Spend a few hours reading before you start.
Good luck