Head tends to micro fracture you get tiny little cracks all around. In my experience they can take a good overheating with no issues but some do go. I’ve seen some use a red dye that shows up all the cracks clearly.

Do not skim the head they are not suitable for skimming.
 
RangeRoller dt said:
Head tends to micro fracture you get tiny little cracks all around. In my experience they can take a good overheating with no issues but some do go. I’ve seen some use a red dye that shows up all the cracks clearly.

Do not skim the head they are not suitable for skimming.
Click to expand...

Opinion is a bit split on that. Some reckon you can take the tiniest bit off, just a sort of polish more than anything else. You're right though, usually the head on the diesel cracks before the gasket goes.
 
Yer the head turns to margarine when it is cooked.

I've had one skimmed, just for a laugh as the customer was a tight arse and a skim was £40 IIRc

It didn't explode, however no idea if its still going..

Nowt worse than giving them RV8 heads though ;)
 
Perry8421 said:
Just about to do hg on one iv bought so this was useful haven't done one of these but will get oe gaskets interesting about skimming not sure what to do as think it may have been overheated
Click to expand...
A 2.5 with HG issue for sale near me, by coincidence a chap who sold me his series 3 about ten years a go. I feel the need for another P38 project in my life as I have finished working my way through the L322, it is a bit of a dog (P38, not my L322) but nothing I haven't had to sort on previous P38 and only just out of MOT with a history which doesn't read like War and Peace. It has had the standard exploding radiator and the seller thinks the HG has gone. I bought a similar P38 A few years back... radiator had exploded and took out VC fan and water pump big style! I chucked some parts at it and had trouble free towing/motoring for a year before selling on... only issue was someone had fitted a "hot start" chip but after ripping it out and timing the fuel pump it started straight up every time. What other than cracked head or failed HG would cause the radiator to self destruct, being plastic doesn't help I know. The seller has fitted a power chip which might have led to it's early demise? I would call myself a competent home mechanic but after reading the last posts about the "finite" art of setting up the replacement head, I don't feel so confident. The project isn't economically viable if I have to pay a garage to do the work.. unfortunately, I imagine a lot of the "old boy" experts have moved on to a better place by now and unless your car plugs into £10k of diagnostic equipment, your left scouring the interweb for advice?
 
Excuse me if I miss something,I'm sure someone else will add to my post,I'm still in shock after the news of The Original"old boys" passing. As long as the money's right to for it may be worth putting a rad on it and see if pressurises,if it doesn't check the fan is working when hot and for any leaks Check the water pump while the rad is out in case it has a plastic impeller that may have disintergrated .
 
tomcat59alan said:
Excuse me if I miss something,I'm sure someone else will add to my post,I'm still in shock after the news of The Original"old boys" passing. As long as the money's right to for it may be worth putting a rad on it and see if pressurises,if it doesn't check the fan is working when hot and for any leaks Check the water pump while the rad is out in case it has a plastic impeller that may have disintergrated .
Click to expand...

+1. Original water pump with plastic impeller known to disintegrate. Cooked head tends to crack rather than leak but not a hugely daunting task if you can find a decent one (pressure tested).
 
Competent home mechanic you will be fine.

Read up RAVE, ask your silly questions here so its straight in your head, and take your time do it right first time
I’m a bodgerer and tinkerer, breaker of the unbreakable and I can do it from LZ tuition alone but I would need my friends here even if only for emotional support. They have talked me out of giving up and through to success many many times
 
RangeRoller dt said:
If they get to the point they need skimming they’re shagged.
Shouldn’t do it for maintenance sake it won’t help.
Click to expand...

Don't know, chap. Just know some people claim to have done it. Given how prone they are to cracking I wouldn't do it. Be interesting to kbow how that one Henry did got on.
 
tomcat59alan said:
Excuse me if I miss something,I'm sure someone else will add to my post,I'm still in shock after the news of The Original"old boys" passing. As long as the money's right to for it may be worth putting a rad on it and see if pressurises,if it doesn't check the fan is working when hot and for any leaks Check the water pump while the rad is out in case it has a plastic impeller that may have disintergrated .
Click to expand...
"old boys" refer to the chaps I used when I had series diesels and Discos about ten plus years a go... they were in their 80s then. A lot of the old time mechanics have shut up shop near me or gone into semi retirement, picking and choosing work. The only "old timer" still going is a belligerent old @&*t who I try and avoid.... "whatta you won't to buy that pill of poo for?" is his usual comment! I imagine most on here are millennials or squeeze in fixing their Land Rovers after School.... coughs, bollux!
I am not sure if the purchase of the RR will happen, seemed to remember the seller based his prices on pristine examples and how his lump of mud and rust could look and run after someone else spends a small fortune.... typical Farmer! He wanted £800, then £650 and I feel it's value is nearer to £500... doing most of the cosmetics/electrics/mechanical myself it's still going to be another £500-700 in parts and a long way off being pristine... clean and usable workhorse rather than forecourt beauty! I must admit to having rose tinted glasses when it comes to anything Land Rover.
 
jimmacD said:
"old boys" refer to the chaps I used when I had series diesels and Discos about ten plus years a go... they were in their 80s then. A lot of the old time mechanics have shut up shop near me or gone into semi retirement, picking and choosing work. The only "old timer" still going is a belligerent old @&*t who I try and avoid.... "whatta you won't to buy that pill of poo for?" is his usual comment! I imagine most on here are millennials or squeeze in fixing their Land Rovers after School.... coughs, bollux!
I am not sure if the purchase of the RR will happen, seemed to remember the seller based his prices on pristine examples and how his lump of mud and rust could look and run after someone else spends a small fortune.... typical Farmer! He wanted £800, then £650 and I feel it's value is nearer to £500... doing most of the cosmetics/electrics/mechanical myself it's still going to be another £500-700 in parts and a long way off being pristine... clean and usable workhorse rather than forecourt beauty! I must admit to having rose tinted glasses when it comes to anything Land Rover.
Click to expand...

Most on here are over 50 I would think. The odd youngster pops in. Most are male.

You can easily spend a grand on even a reasonable example of a P38. They're all getting old.
 
tomcat59alan said:
Perhaps someone should do a poll,age and motor trade experience.;)
Click to expand...
I think by default older Land Rover ownership comes with a crash course in vehicle maintenance... obviously this doesn't refer to the newer stuff or the chic brigade but thems of us "enthusiasts", short for.... puts up with poor build quality, expensive running costs and general flak from the great unwashed about our poor motoring choices! Being honest, we probably enjoy basking in the glory of fixing our old rides whilst others spend thousands on their ultra reliable euroboxes just to maintain the dealer warranty?!
 
On the subject of skimming - I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone as I might just have been lucky but I had a few thou ground off one about 4 years ago (Grrr probably remembers when as he lent me his timing tools - I now have a new set now by the way). Car's still going strong now about 30k miles later although that head is now on a different bottom end. The reason for surface grinding rather than cutting was to avoid removing the pre-chambers and it was only done because the head had already been pressure tested and was known to be free from cracks but had a little warp in it. To be honest, I'm not sure if the amount it was warped by might have pulled out as the bolts were tightened, but the machinist recommended it and if he can build XK engines for cars racing at Goodwood, he can tell me what to do with a cylinder head.

Regarding age, I'm only just half way to fifty myself in years, but have always been told I had an old head on young shoulders so perhaps I behave like I'm a little closer!

Rich
 
Went to have a look at the P38 project with possible HG issues after an exploding radiator.... wished I hadn't, not because it was better than in the pictures but because it was a huge steaming pile of Farmer's poo and the price kept falling as we talked!
Turns out the pics were taken last Summer, I was concerned that the driver's window was open in the pics.... and yep a wet Winter had taken it's toll on the interior.... "that will clean up" says he, no it fecking won't. needs a new interior plus A, B and C pillars! Exhaust has rusted out, heater controls have been bypassed with bits of wire, tyres are U/S and a bullet hole in the windscreen before you start to think about the state of the electrics and everything else that goes wrong.
Switch gear, seat adjusters, gear knob and handbrake lever had been chewed away!
Why I wished I hadn't gone.... the price dropped from £850 to £500, I said it was still too much.... £400 or he keeps the only nice stuff on it, Mondial alloys and a wooden steering wheel, then £250-300! I left it with him... It is always good to go and view a car you don't need or want. He did however have a very tidy Blue/cream P38 jammed in a hedge... might provide parts for car A or be a better proposition. Car A wasn't... run away screaming but I also didn't have visions of touring the French Riviera in it. Doable with a lot of work to get it up to "usable". You might think that £250-300 is a good price for a parts car.... yes if there was anything worth salvaging! As a knock about in truck it was doable and would keep the miles down on my L322 plus be slightly cheaper to run, this was my thought process for trying to thrash out a deal over the next few weeks, unless a deaf, dumb and blind person offers him £500. Should I pay £500?
 
jimmacD said:
Went to have a look at the P38 project with possible HG issues after an exploding radiator.... wished I hadn't, not because it was better than in the pictures but because it was a huge steaming pile of Farmer's poo and the price kept falling as we talked!
Turns out the pics were taken last Summer, I was concerned that the driver's window was open in the pics.... and yep a wet Winter had taken it's toll on the interior.... "that will clean up" says he, no it fecking won't. needs a new interior plus A, B and C pillars! Exhaust has rusted out, heater controls have been bypassed with bits of wire, tyres are U/S and a bullet hole in the windscreen before you start to think about the state of the electrics and everything else that goes wrong.
Switch gear, seat adjusters, gear knob and handbrake lever had been chewed away!
Why I wished I hadn't gone.... the price dropped from £850 to £500, I said it was still too much.... £400 or he keeps the only nice stuff on it, Mondial alloys and a wooden steering wheel, then £250-300! I left it with him... It is always good to go and view a car you don't need or want. He did however have a very tidy Blue/cream P38 jammed in a hedge... might provide parts for car A or be a better proposition. Car A wasn't... run away screaming but I also didn't have visions of touring the French Riviera in it. Doable with a lot of work to get it up to "usable". You might think that £250-300 is a good price for a parts car.... yes if there was anything worth salvaging! As a knock about in truck it was doable and would keep the miles down on my L322 plus be slightly cheaper to run, this was my thought process for trying to thrash out a deal over the next few weeks, unless a deaf, dumb and blind person offers him £500. Should I pay £500?
Click to expand...
Sounds like he should pay you!!? :eek:
 
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