blown head gasket

[Alk-3]

I was on my way home and about 50km's into a 300km trip the heat stopped working, so I pulled over, and sure enough, there was very little coolant in the rad. I noticed there was a bit of moisture around the engine bay, and when I checked under the valve cover breather, there was foamy oil. yup coolant in the oil.
I added what coolant I had to the rad, and limped to a service centre to assess the damage. under proper lighting I could see the crankcase was taking on a lot of coolant. The oil pressure was still fine, didn't change at all. the temperature gauge stopped working when I did the valves/gasket last week. I assumed I had damaged the mechanical (non electrical) sensor while I was woking on it, but now I wonder if that's the case at all. I will have to test it to see is I get a reading in boiling water.
I had enough supplies to do a full oil change, and could have purchased enough oil to do another if I wanted to limp home, doing oil changes along the way, but I decided I'd rather not risk a spun bearing. So my wife, myself, our two dogs all piled into a tow truck for a $440 ride home.
So, I'm going to drain the engine of coolant, and do an oil change tomorrow to flush out the water from the crank case.
Last week I replaced the head gasket while doing a valve job. When I had the head off I foolishly didn't even check it for flatness, and just put it back on. there is coolant seeping out from between the head and block near the front of the engine.
I did retorque the head bolts to 65 foot lbs, after warming up the truck when I did the head gasket, and assumed everything was fine.
so, by the time a remove the head again, and refit another set of new valves, and install new guides, and ream them to fit.. which I have never done before, so I don't even know that I could do it, and I'm sure I don't have the required tools to do the job. Then I still have to get the head machined flat again, and hope that it didn't over heat enough to cause any serious damage..
I think at this point I would be ahead of the game to remove the old head, set it aside and buy a new turner high performance head complete ready to drop onto the engine. (about $950 CAD to my door).
I know it will cost more money to do it this way, but I know it will be done right, and done faster than I could otherwise do it, if I tried to rebuild the old head…
Anyway, it's been a frustrating ordeal, and this is the first time the truck has ever let me down. but in the end, I will not have to go through the trouble and time of rebuilding the head on my only vehicle.
now for a follow up question.. should I replace the head bolts while I'm at it? I will be ordering what I need tomorrow, and my shopping list is as follows:

turner HP head
head gasket
intake and exhaust manifold gaskets
intake and exhaust studs

anything else I might need?
Does Rovers North sell the mechanical temperature sensor that fits into the head?

[siiirhd88]

You shouldn't need to replace the head bolts unless thay are corroded or badly pitted. You'll likely need a valve cover gasket and the t-stat housing gaskets, too.

The mechanical water temp gauge uses an alcohol or naptha type liquid in the thin tubing from the bulb sensor to the gauge. It actually works as a pressure gauge, raising the needle on the temp gauge as the sensor liquid expands into a Bourdon tube with temperature rise. Unfortunately the mechanical gauge is a sealed unit, but they can be repaired. There are specialty shops that repair them, but I once saw a web site that detailed an owner fixing his own gauge.

Sorry your gasket has failed again. I've had the same problem.

Bob

[Alk-3]

Hey Bob. The bolts look fine, I was just wondering if they stretch, and should be replaced. the bolts felt overtightened when I first removed them, which might explain why the head gasket was not leaking, even with the head apparently being warped to some degree.
I do have a bunch of gaskets left over from doing the head gasket last week. I purchased an "upper end" gasket set, but I will need a new valve cover gasket at least.
I wonder if the thermostat bulb is still working fine, but the coolant issues has prevented it from being able to form a reading. I think I will test it in boiling water to be sure it's dead, then try to find a replacement. *I think* the gauge in the dash is a generic parts store gauge, but I'm worried I may not be able to find one with the bulb and bolt threads the right size to fit the land rover head..

[Lance]

I just installed a temp. gauge a few weeks ago, got it at Napa. It came with a couple different sized bushings to fit many engines. I think it was about $15.00. It's the capillary tube type, nice gauge for now. hope to find a way to repair the original someday.

[SafeAirOne]

When your temp gauge reads low and you don't have any heat coming from the heater and you KNOW the engine isn't cold, stop! It's a classic sign that your coolant is very, very low for whatever reason.

I'd be willing to bet that your temp gauge is just fine--It is designed to read liquid temperatures efficiently, not air temperatures.