freekander 1.8 where's the oil going?

Hi we have a 2000 1.8 petrol freelander.
We put 3 litres of oil in the car and done approx 450 miles.
And the car is dry of oil there is no spillige under the car neither is there any signs of smoke whilst starting the car or driving it.
Also the header tank is perfectly clear.
I just can't understand where the oil is going.
Any ideas please.

if you start the car and leave it there for a while ticking over, you could check if there is any drips. have you whipped off the sump guard so you can have a looksee?

Do you do your own oil and filter changes? 3 litres is a very large top up or a very small oil change! Are you using the correct grade of oil?[eg Castrol Magnatec 10W40] Is this a sudden increase in oil usage? How many miles/km has the motor done?

Any puddles on the ground where you park?
With the bonnet up can you see any sign of oil leaking out? Is there any oil spatter underneath the vehicle or up on the rear door/glass? Have a look at where the oil filter mount is. Check the sump plug too.
Any oil leaking from under the cam belt cover on the right hand end of the motor as you look at it? Or around the top of the cam shaft cover?

Thank you for a quick response.
The car has done 59,000 miles, we have only just bought the car two weeks ago so I couldn't say for sure whether or not the problem has been on going, but it was only £400 so I suspected something would be wrong.
I topped it up with castrol 10/40 oil.
I have an idea that the car is losing the oil at higher rpm.
Because I checked the car before we left for devon the oil was fine the girlfriend drove it down there a little naughty at about 80 mph, and when we arrived there was no oil left in the car.
I filled it up and told her to take a steady drive back around 60mph when we got home we didn't lose any oil at all.

I've checked for leaks it does look pretty good except some oil under the rocker cover I thought it could be coming out here but surely not 4 litres of oil?
Apart from that the under side is pretty dry.

Leaking valve guide oil seals can cause higher oil loss at high engine speeds. That said 4 litres in a few hundred miles is a lot. As a rule the K series engine doesn't generally loose any between changes.

have you had to top it up again since?

That doesn't sound good nodge, is that an expensive job?
Well we put oil in it when we bought it as it was a little low (just the bottom of the dipstick)
We towed a caravan from Bristol to Devon And drove back which was 200 miles when we got back it didn't seem to lose any oil, we done a but of pottering around about 50 miles.
Then drove back to Devon a further 100 miles.
And it was dry of oil.
Topped it up and drove a further 100miles back and didn't lose any oil.
Like I say it seems to of lost it whilst driving at higher speeds.
As the two trips it didn't lose oil we were just cruising around 50-60 mph. And around town no oil loss.

nodge do you think it's possible the said problem could lose 4 litres over a 100mile drive?

id be expecting to be seeing rather alot of smoke out the back if that were the case

random one, have you checked the breather is clear?

Lol this Disco was just in front of me going through town!
He feels my pain ><

Thanks Vilguy no I havent checked any of the breather pipes.
I know only a little about cars not sure where there located.
Il have a look round later theys would be small hoses right?

Yeh if it burnt that much oil over such a short period, surely it would be smoking like a trouper.

Presumably at higher revs the oil pump is pushing higher pressure, is there somewhere in the oil system external to the block where it could be pushed out under higher pressure and dispersed with air flow. Looking at Rave it looks like the only 'external' parts of the system is the filter, the pressure switch opposite it and the adaptor/moulding that contain them - no oil cooler.

What ever, until you've resolved it I think your fuel consumption will improve!

Pants said:

Thanks Vilguy no I havent checked any of the breather pipes.
I know only a little about cars not sure where there located.
Il have a look round later theys would be small hoses right?

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im afraid i honest cannot remember exactly where it is, its been a while since i looked at a 1.8

but it will be a hose that feeds to the airbox or airbox pipework.

ive been out to have another look over the engine area, the underside sump and on the side where the belts are are bone dry no signs of spillage there.

The Hose where the red marker is had a drip of oil come out when I removed the hose is oil supposed to pass through here?

At the front of the engine where the green markings are was a little wet with oil but not overly.
too the side where the blue arrow is pointing there was some wet oil here but again not dripping.
How strange.

the red one is your rocker cover breather. There will be a little oil in here which is normal.

its a puzzler as that amount of oil would be visible one way or another.

have you sniffed the exhaust to see if its smells of oil? (not a dodgy question!)

vilguy said:

id be expecting to be seeing rather alot of smoke out the back if that were the case

random one, have you checked the breather is clear?

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At almost a litre per 100 miles, I would think that at least some smoke would be evident.

Green and blue arrows show normal oil creep points. These don't loose much without being really noticeable.
With the amount of oil loss, it must smoking like mad or poring onto the ground.

Blue pointer = Camshaft oil seals need replacement can loose a fair amount from there, Easy enough job and not expensive in parts, 1hr job and £10.00 parts

Green marker = Cam cover gasket, Can also loose a fair amount around there £15.00 part and 30 min job


Replace your camshaft oil seals on right hand side (easy side) and cam cover gasket. Also a good service and you should stand more of a chance, Wont cost alot could save yourself loads of hassle

Crank oil seal could leaking into the gearbox but you would probably notice it dripping from some place under the car or a slipping clutch
Are you 100% there is no smoke. Drive it hard and fast at night with a car behind you if it's smoking you will see it in the following vehicles head lamps better than during day light

Ps... make sure it's a mate following and not the rozzers &#128521;

Thanks again for the help.
I will try and find a trustworthy mechanic to price up the seals and gaskets.
Hopefully they don't quote alot more than the guide price given
I'm pretty sure there's no smoke but perhaps il take it down the ring road tonight.

Weve decided to get rid of the landrover and are buying a diesel nextweek instead, hopefully we will get more luck this time.
any major faults to look out for on this model its a td4 sport.