Defender 300 Tdi Engine Swap

Last posted in Feb. Engine swap in 1996 Defender 90 completed with new clutch, HD fork, master cylinder, clutch adjustment (thx Mike Britannia) rad, water pump, and fluids. Untested low mileage overhauled engine bought in good faith and sat in shed for 2- years.

Elation when it started then sorted timing. Sat watching it tick over noticed loss of a lot of oil (litres). Cleaned mess up, cleaned engine and searched 4 leak.

Rookie error had not tightened jubilee on the
Breather hose where it joins crank breather at or below level of oil filter. So it ran alright when oil thick. As it warmed it oil pi55ed out from that and made its path to the floor.

Beyond that a second leak visible. Along the full length of the narrow rear edge of the sump pan. Exiting there making its way down the bell housing casing out of sight and dripping off the black steel lower bell housing braces.

Also noticed drip from dry bell housing to gearbox joint rear of the wading plug.

Tidied and left the project alone as needed a break.

My aim was get it running, MOT and then continue restoration new rear door etc whilst checking the engine out on a few short runs. Then if necessary engine back out and new main rear seal (now have Turner engineering one).

I have read up more on the forums and a number of people suggest T seals on the rear main bearing are 95% cause of leaks in this area. Agree or disagree?

I have the recommended silicone sealant and was going to pull the pan. Removed all bolts it’s stuck like sh1t and note need more space to remove. Looks like cracking the ball joints on the steering tie rod and removing might just give enough space. Thoughts?

Thinking remove pan, clean up, remove starter for access and main cap, replace T seals reseal sump with silicone and bolt up.

Then having secured that jubilee breather clip, back to run engine and check it out, get it MOTd check for leakage at that stage and either engine out fit Turner seal, or if limited drip leave it for now continue other improvements, drive it etc and come back to the main seal later.

Grateful for members tips or thoughts.

It is an issue with 300tdi crank sealing, and it is mostly not with the T seals but with the sealing of the main seal housing to the block. You may notice the Turner housing has a couple of extra holes on lower edge [ there for 2.8 version ] It is better/stiffer than others. Turner state you may use these on a 2.5 but this would need drilling/tapping in the bearing block. Most fit with a good RTV silicone on gasket and this works fine.

tottot said:

It is an issue with 300tdi crank sealing, and it is mostly not with the T seals but with the sealing of the main seal housing to the block. You may notice the Turner housing has a couple of extra holes on lower edge [ there for 2.8 version ] It is better/stiffer than others. Turner state you may use these on a 2.5 but this would need drilling/tapping in the bearing block. Most fit with a good RTV silicone on gasket and this works fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback. 2/3rd leak is along the sump pan to bellhousing edge and 1/3rd from the dry joint bellhousing to gearbox. I struggle getting my head around the source. Would it All be from a rear main seal leak, or will the sump edge seal be suspect too. I watched videos on being careful sealing this sump area as it’s a narrow mating surface.

Well there's the question, how many leaks are there and the only way to know is to take it apart and see.
Check the leakage amount for a bit and if little live with it and do the lot properly engine out
If you think sump has been messed with that may be worth a try but not the bearing cap.

jer_300Tdi_90 said:

Thanks for your feedback. 2/3rd leak is along the sump pan to bellhousing edge and 1/3rd from the dry joint bellhousing to gearbox. I struggle getting my head around the source. Would it All be from a rear main seal leak, or will the sump edge seal be suspect too. I watched videos on being careful sealing this sump area as it’s a narrow mating surface.

Click to expand...

Thanks for you advice.

I agree best whole out, check it out, fit the Turner quality seal. Just want to run it longer first and give it a drive to check engine good. It sounded good, no ring blow by pressure at oil filler, etc.

So I’ll try to prise the sump pan off clean it and reseat and seal it watching out for the rear main thin edge.

Fill and retest and go from there.

Thanks again.