Hello everyone, I used to own a series 2 truck, sold it as I was starting a family, and now I’m considering an NAS Defender. There is a 95 near(ish) to me that seems to not suffer from common rust that most in my area do (north eastern US salty roads), and the price seems right. My main concern is that after speaking with the owner he explained that on long trips (2+ hours) he has experienced external coolant drips from the block which he noticed because they hit the exhaust and produce an odor. He thought perhaps bolt tightening might solve the problem, but I’m concerned that there may be a larger unseen problem lurking inside where the leak is originating (not just exiting). I believe the head gasket was done about three years ago. What is everyone’s thoughts on this problem? Steer clear of this one? Budget for immediate head gasket replacement in offer price? Get it and just drive as is until/if leak worsens? Thanks in advance, Mike

Welcome! You can never tell with these Land Rovers.
Find a local Land Rover garage and have them look it over.

The V8 can leak coolant from a lot of places some of which could make it appear to be a hg issue so a pressure test of the cooling system & see what happens. It may be a leak elsewhere that's running off the back of the engine.
Or work on worst case scenario - immediate hg replacement - & price from there.

Thank you guys. Sound advice. It is an eBay auction and it ends tomorrow morning, so I will plan on worst case when I bid. If I do end up with it I’ll do the pressure test and go from there.
Best, Mike