Head Gasket, easy to do for newbie?

Got bored at weekend so started on taking bits off engine as need to do rocker cover gasket. also noted that there is oil on bulkhead/engine lower down so asume head gasket mite need doing. so question is, is this causing oil down there?and do you reckon i can do it?
cheers
p.s if someone's in nottingham they can do it for me , only joking, one reason for geting landy was to get oily and learn a bit
cheers

I wouldn't go straigh for the head gasket just yet!

The rocker cover gasket might be the culprit, a quick check, although not always the correct indicator for cracked head gasket is a loss of water in the cooling system, a mayonnaise type substance (emulsification of oil) in the oil or oil filler cap.

You haven't mentioned which engine you are running but land rovers do leak. It is part and parcel of runnning one and only a full strip down and rebuild using modern gaskets, checking mating face tolerances and plenty of hylomar will ever cure that. As long as oil consumption isn't excessive, I wouldn't change the head gasket.

If you do however still want to change it, ensure you use the manual, it is invaluable. Make sure that your work area, tools and mating faces are scrupulously clean before reassembly and always torque things up in the correct way and to the correct tolerances.

My first head gasket change was on a rover K series when I was 21, on the side of the road, using a haynes manual. It was actually a lot easier than i thought and worked first time. If this a bit of a project then I can see no reason in stripping and cleaning the engine but if the engine is having no issues with runnning, I'd leave the HG alone.

monkfish24 said:

I wouldn't go straigh for the head gasket just yet!

The rocker cover gasket might be the culprit, a quick check, although not always the correct indicator for cracked head gasket is a loss of water in the cooling system, a mayonnaise type substance (emulsification of oil) in the oil or oil filler cap.

You haven't mentioned which engine you are running but land rovers do leak. It is part and parcel of runnning one and only a full strip down and rebuild using modern gaskets, checking mating face tolerances and plenty of hylomar will ever cure that. As long as oil consumption isn't excessive, I wouldn't change the head gasket.

If you do however still want to change it, ensure you use the manual, it is invaluable. Make sure that your work area, tools and mating faces are scrupulously clean before reassembly and always torque things up in the correct way and to the correct tolerances.

My first head gasket change was on a rover K series when I was 21, on the side of the road, using a haynes manual. It was actually a lot easier than i thought and worked first time. If this a bit of a project then I can see no reason in stripping and cleaning the engine but if the engine is having no issues with runnning, I'd leave the HG alone.

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I did a 2286 diesel on the drive using the Haynes book of lies in January when I was 18 on the drive...

As said though, rocker cover gaskets on 2 1/4s do seem prone to leaking.

Thanks for replys. engine seems to go well. no gunk in oil filler cap. il start with rocker cover and clean block and bulk head up and see. iv heard i will never stop it leaking. going to do all drain plug seals at some point and do breather pipe from overdrive.
cheers

Petrol or Diesel? Both easy to do, wait for spring weather if you can no sense getting frostbite off the spanners unless really required.
If you do go ahead spend the extra money on a good quality head gasket, I always re torque after warm up and again after 500 or so miles. Not really required with modern composite gaskets but something I still do.

Also might be worth checking the oil feed banjo on the offside rear of head might want nipping up or new washer? But if it does need head gasket no drama wifey did hers with no previous training.

Thanks for replies. never heard of banjo thinga me bob but that could be the culprit, cheers. think i need to order the green bible to improve my knowledge and get me doing bits and bobs.
cheers

Welcome to the wonderful world of Landy maintenance.
While the haynes manual is pretty good, if you can stretch your finances to the official workshop manual - it's even better.

There are free copies out on t'interweb too - and the parts manual will let you see exactly which part you need to order.

Just google "land rover manual"

As mentioned before, it's time consuming to make any land rover completely oil and water tight. remember when these things were built, just about every vehicle leaked!

I got mine pretty well oiltight, just a slightly damp gear box but no drips. Sump starting to show signs of rust. Then a long main road/motorway haul and the rear main is ****ing out again. It was my second attempt and neither lasted more than a year or around 8000 miles. Gonna park on a sheet of plywood and live with it.

I work on old aircraft, we have a saying "If it leaks, you know there are still fluids in the system, when it stops leaking, worry"

zeaphod said:

As mentioned before, it's time consuming to make any land rover completely oil and water tight. remember when these things were built, just about every vehicle leaked!

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If you manage to make any Land Rover oil and water tight keep it to yourself or you'll be accused of witchcraft and burnt to death in a giant wicker man. :flame2: