Buying a 300 Tdi thats had a head replacement

[landyman Ash]

Ive had V8s all my life and Im now just about to buy a 300tdi Auto Disco.  What worries me is that only a few months back the head was replaced at a Land Rover dealership.  Its done 120,000 and now runs sweet as a nut.  Does anyone now of anything I should be looking for before I buy this?  I dont want to be replacing the Tdi unit because I didnt pick up something as I know nothing on diesel units.  Any advice would be greatfully received!!!   :lol:

[Budgie]

If the head wa done by a LR dealership then I would hope it was done correctly.  :roll:

Do you know if the cambelt was replaced at the same time? At 120k miles then it should be due for it's second cambelt. Best to get them done about every 60k, just to be on the safe side.  

[ChrisW]

I replaced my cylinder head myself over 12 months ago, the head had cracked between the water jacket and the exhaust outlet so the only symptom was steam coming out of the exhaust.
These are usually more common to fail on the head gasket however, have you checked the coolant system, condition of the radiator etc.
If it was a bad failure it could have resulted in oil mixing in with the coolant and bunging up the radiator/pipework/water pump etc.

One other thing to note was I was experiencing overheating on long runs last year which I was having difficulty tracing - turned out I was carrying a couple of hundred weight of topsoil in the fins of the radiator - good hour with the hosepipe hosing through from the engine side soon sorted that out though!  

[landyman Ash]

Thanks you too.  Looking at the vehicle tonight so I'll find out exactly why it was changed.  Its a 94 300 tdi Auto and its going for £2995 which I was under the inpression was fairly good.  Having never bought anything other then 90s and RRs this is all new ground to me   :shock:  :shock:

[Budgie]

One other thing to look for is rust on the rear floor!!
Pull the carpet & the thick rubber soundproofing in the rear. If the carpet is damp then you may have the old leaking roof problem which in turn rots the floor.
You can replace the floor but it's extra hassel and an extra bargining point!!  

[muddyweb]

Price does sound very good... have a *good* look over it.

[gords]

Does sound like a good price - what spec level is it?

[muddyweb]

http://members.mud-club.com/profiles/muddyweb/gallery/Discovery_Floor

Have a look at that ^^  

Might give you some pointers as to where to look for signs of corrosion.