Comments by "John Burns" (@johnburns4017) on "I Fixed a DEAD $1,400 Auction Range Rover for $100 in Parts! It Runs AMAZING!" video.

@Jeff N The engine is German. Cork was used for rocker box covers a long time ago - never seen it used for anything else. At the time of this cars manufacture no cork was ever used in British made engines. After-market companies made better non-cork gaskets. Thermostat gaskets were made from a paperish type of material, needing sealant on each side to make the seal. Rubber would perish quickly. Until rubbers were improved, British makers (and that includes Ford and GM in the UK) kept away from the material for seals.
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If you get this car for zero dollars then you pay for a new head gasket, you have one hell of bargain, and a brilliant vehicle to drive.
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@stiggyness1976 They are also made in Liverpool and China for the Chinese market - it the car to have there. I have a relative who works for JLR. He has a very different opinion than you. He says JLR know their market for each model and the operating conditions & how they are driven in that market. No one buys these to use for three years on desert roads, so it is not built to those standards, although the original 1970s Range Rovers could do that, which were built for operating on farms in 4x4, with rubber mats and a slanting floor to brush out the mud. They make the car to suit to the buying market and the operating conditions of how they use the car. JLR are highly focused on image, as that what sells these cars, and reliability. Despite what US auto Internet plants say, Range Rovers are reliable. They drop in the table when a new model is introduced when the gremlims that show up after customer use have yet to be eliminated. A new so-called unreliable model in its first year would not be in the table in the second.
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@mugs2169 On upmarket cars likes these with masses of unnecessary gimmicks (that is what sells them), the electrical systems are always extensive. The problems tend to be on parts that rarely get used. Like an electric seat moving motor that has not been used for years with the seats rails not greased.
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@mugs2169 What you write applies to any vehicle with over 200K miles. That this car has gone over 200K miles is a testament to its build quality. It was not designed, or built, to reach those miles. An automotive design engineer friend told me, cars are designed to have minimal Noise, Vibration, Harshness (NVH) for the first five years. After that they can rattle all the way. The makers do not want them to last longer than 10-12 years. He says low NVH can be extended way beyond five years by regular servicing and using high quality fully synthetic oils, in the engine, transmission and diffs. He says change manual transmission oil at 500 miles to get rid of harmful swarf, then at half the intervals of what the makers say - similar with engine oil. Also when the dampers wane use high quality gas dampers. Also tyres that improve the noise intrusion as well.
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@Jeff N You could buy gasket paper. A sheet of special paper that say you would press a thermostat housing on leaving an imprint. They cut around the imprint giving you a gasket. Then use a smear of gasket sealer on each face. I believe it is still available as vintage car restorers use it to make unavailable gaskets. This is also instant gasket out of a tube, which many do not like using.
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You have to replace the thermostat.
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