The plan for the D2 Project
After the last few days, I have been planning out the direction I want this project to follow. There are some big projects that are going to demand attention from the start, the first of which is stopping a coolant leak that I caught shortly after starting this thread.
When purchased, the truck's engine block was clean. I knew it must have been pressure washed, and was certain there were some gremlins hiding. As we all know, buying a Rover is an emotional decision and I had the perfect excuse to get my dream truck because my prior vehicle was not working in New England winters. I was paranoid about failures and checked coolant, oil, and other fluid levels at least every week (still do). My significant other was making fun of me because I would also turn the radio all the way down frequently to listen for failures. Nothing went wrong, but I started to notice a copper glimmer in the coolant reservoir. I called the dealer who sold the truck (who assured me the head gaskets were replaced at their shop about 10,000 miles prior) and mentioned the evidence of stop leak. He brushed it off and stated that when they do head gaskets, they throw a bottle of stop leak in as a precautionary measure. Well, I knew this was bad news and instantly knew that they would not touch my truck in the future. Fast forward a few months and I notice the coolant reservoir is a tad low. I top it off and start investigating. I notice the area below cylinder 4 has quite a bit of grime on it, but the head is still very clean. I make note of this and continue keeping an eye on all fluids. You can probably see where I am going with this...
I also keep an eye on the engine temperature with an OBD2 tool that sends live data to my phone, as I know the engine temperature gauge will only let you know when your engine just cooked beyond repair. I never saw the temperature go out of range, this is still the case. But, the coolant has started leaking at a measurable rate and I have had to top it off twice since starting this thread. It never got low enough to alarm me, but I figure it is best to park it and avoid any catastrophic failures. Upon close inspection, I can see where air is coming out between the head and block under cylinder 4. I thought new head gaskets would be the fix, but here comes the difficult part. Their are no coolant passages from block to head around the inboard cylinders. After researching this topic, I found some articles on the block perforating between the coolant jacket and the cylinder liner. The coolant then pushes out above the liner and out the side of the block when the fire ring blows out. It looks like the only fix for this problem is top hat liners, which seal directly against the head gasket and don't allow coolant to seep out. The liner is sealed top and bottom (top against head gasket, bottom against an o-ring seal).
So here is my immediate plan. I want to do a stock build on the engine with top hat liners and get the heads milled flat if needed. I will have to check on if the pistons can be reused, as I know the piston skirts can wear on these engines. I want to make the engine better than new, as I want to keep this truck for life. Though it is painful to think of the cost for this service, I know after properly correcting the errors made during manufacturing will make this engine a robust, and dare I say reliable, engine.
After straightening out the engine, I plan to put a lift on it. I am thinking 2 or 3 inches, not sure yet. I will add 16 inch rims and more off road capable tires at the same time. Also going in around that time will be a CDL linkage.
Later yet, I want to get the ladder for the rear door and a full length rack (I love the Safety Designs one, but will have to see what I can find). I also plan to add some drawer system to the cargo area. I may get out a welder and other tools and fab up a system of my own. While in fabrication mode, I will probably also make some underbody armor. I would like to fab my own bumpers and sliders, but may end up ordering them. It seems that cost of ones available on the market are comparable to what I would pay for materials and extra tooling to do my own. Another strong reason to go the commercial route with the front bumper at least is that ones from ARB (maybe others too) are airbag compliant. This rig has to serve as my daily driver, so I don't want to deal with legal troubles should I get in an accident.
I am sure there will be many more modifications in preparing this rig for my uses, but I hope to share the build with the overland community along the way. Here is to many adventures. :friday:
