Does this look terminal?

Si Click said:

Yup that is the crankshaft bore end cap which, unless it just fell out because it was not in properly to begin with, suggests a substantial overpressure, not relieved by the breather. I think you should check the breather again. Disconnect each end and blow through each; if the pipe is good it may be where it goes into the camshaft cover or the turbo inlet.

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You mean camshaft cap? They aren’t held in by much at the best of times.

Has the DCV been changed recently?

As far as I know, never. Would this cause loss of compression and power? Thanks.

brianconwy said:

As far as I know, never. Would this cause loss of compression and power? Thanks.

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It could cause excess pressure. If you have fuel in your oil the you could take the rocker cover off and put the fuel prime sequence on. You may see where it’s leaking. If you can’t then take the injectors back out and look for cracks. Often it is No.1, and this can happen on the later 15P engines too.

tom1979 said:

You mean camshaft cap? They aren’t held in by much at the best of times.

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I'm sure it is known by more than one name. The OP originally called it a camshaft seal which could be misinterpreted, so to ensure clarity I used the term used by LR in the RAVE, thereby giving a common point of reference and avoiding ambiguity.

I would look at a second hand engine, they are plentiful at the moment with the amount of d2s being scrapped ... even better if you can get one with the turbo and injectors complete

Discodevon said:

I would look at a second hand engine, they are plentiful at the moment with the amount of d2s being scrapped ... even better if you can get one with the turbo and injectors complete

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Try and get the ecu too as they have to match the engine type 10p/15p and the Discovery engine has more BHP 136 iirc.

We have taken the cylinder head off and it looks worse than imagined. I don't know what that white part of the piston is, but it is obviously FUBAR.

Any guesses to what has happened? I am not sure changing an engine is within our capability. But I didn't think changing a clutch was either but we just about managed with advice from here.

Could you not just change out the piston, or is the damage more extensive than a single cracked piston?
Not done it on a TD5, but when a piston died on my SIII 2.25 diesel it was fairly straightforward to replace it once I had the head off.

That sounds good. I had just assumed it would require a seriously complex procedure. Thanks. I will look into it.

I'd be surprised if the bore is OK looking at the pics. Taking the engine out is an alternative way of changing the clutch if you want to look at it that way

We changed the clutch in March by removing the gearbox. How much more difficult is changing the engine, now that the cylinder head is off? Thanks.

If you are replacing one or more pistons then you will want to hone the bore anyway. It won't fix serious damage but it will take out minor scarring.
Not a tricky job. A honing tool is £20 or so, fix it to the end of a suitable drill and work it up and down the bore.

Piston has melted by the looks of it.

Fairly simple to replace it, would require the sump and oil pump/stiffener dropping off so you can get at the big end of the conrod, but as stated above the bore is likely to be glazed so would benefit from a hone. The pistons/rings are meant to be sacrificial in terms of relative hardness versus the bore/liner so you may be lucky.

I recently replaced all 5 pistons/rings, crank and oil pump on mine, took a couple days total effort for the rebuild.

Question is, what caused the melt... excessive fuelling from duff injector/faulty seals would be my guess, doubt a cracked injector port would cause (they normally crack at the top and nowhere near the bottom) that but you may have a combination of issues.

What does the bottom of the injector port look like, has the hole become enlarged/enlongated?

I am going to drain the sump and then while that is draikning I will take the cam carrier off the head and get a better look at the area around that valve area. The car is offroad so the only time pressure is getting it done while the weather is good. Thanks.

Even with my limited knowledge the following pictures probably answer the original question.

The main question I am wondering about now is whether replacing an engine is something I can contemplate.

brianconwy said:

The main question I am wondering about now is whether replacing an engine is something I can contemplate.

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Given you did the clutch, I'd suggest it's well within your capabilities to change an engine ..... Do you have access to an engine crane ?

I bought one when we did the clutch and then sold it afterwards for the same price. So I might buy another and even if I resell it cheaper then it might be easier than hiring. I might as well have a crack at it. Nothing to lose and probably no dearer than buying a cylinder head and all the gaskets and bolts etc.

brianconwy said:

Nothing to lose

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Very true - sad, but true.