Oil and diesel on injectors

Slayer · Dec 28, 2009

Hi everyone!

I have a early 5dr TD4. Last week I took it to an independent mechanic for a routine revision (oil and filter change, etc.) When I was returning home the guy calls me and says that when he removed the engine plastic cover the whole thing was covered in what seemed to be a mix of oil and diesel

He says he won't be able to know what it is until he opens the engine (and that will only be in early 2010!)

I had a HGF last year and it was fixed under warranty by the seller's mechanic. Since then I was very careful with it (rarely gone over 3000 rpm and frequently checked fluids level). In the past year I used 2 litres of anti-freeze in it and until I left it in the shop I noticed no problems whatsoever in performance.

It's the first time I take the car to this mechanic.

Has anyone had this sort of problem? Is it expensive?

Thanks in advance

howardo · Dec 28, 2009

Have a look for yourself, clean it off and see if it reoccurs.
They may charge you alot of money just to clean your engine.

TD John · Dec 28, 2009

Lot of rubber/cloth diesel return pipes under that plastic cover-all.
Any small pin holes will spray diesel around and when it picks up dirt and muck as the air flows thro' will make it look like a major problem.

Go with Howardo on this, get it back clean it up and check what's happening with the cover removed and engine running, any fresh damp areas need attention.
Keep the info. coming and the knowledgable 'spurts' will guide you thro'. :tea:

Slayer · Dec 28, 2009

Thanks for the advise!

The mechanic said that it was probably nothing special. Like TDJohn said, any pinsize hole could be the problem.

Anyway, I thought it was best to leave it at the garage to prevent any damage.

However, I will try to see with my own eyes on Jan 6th when he opens the engine.

Chaser · Dec 28, 2009

Be careful running the engine with the acoustic cover removed. The bolt for the cover which is nearest the right inner wing needs to be replaced to prevent oil leaking from the bolt hole. I always smear some silicon sealant onto the threads of this particular bolt each time I refit the cover.

TD John · Dec 28, 2009

Thanks Chaser, I didn't know that.
Ooops!
Make sure I check that after the service has been done then.
Info level always goes up when the 'spurts' join in

Slayer · Dec 28, 2009

Thanks Chaser, I also didn't know that... actually there's a lot I don't know

One more reason to be looking over the mechanic's shoulder

gmzez · Dec 28, 2009

My 2000 td4 has been run for miles with the cover removed.. The rear cover fixings are via 2 nuts screwing onto studs that are passed through 2 rubber grommets in the cover itself...... The front fixing is via a philips screw..

gmzez · Dec 28, 2009

if its oil and diesel sprayed all over the cover then it may be an injector leaking where it seats into the head.. A leaky injector makes a real filthy mess if it leaks.. Also the engine breather is situated to the rear of the head and if the seal has blown it also can spray oil gunge and diesel all over he place....

willo · Dec 29, 2009

gmzez said:
My 2000 td4 has been run for miles with the cover removed.. The rear cover fixings are via 2 nuts screwing onto studs that are passed through 2 rubber grommets in the cover itself...... The front fixing is via a philips screw..

My MY01 is exactly the same, and I run it wit the cover off during the whole year, just put that cover on again once a year when going to the MOT so that they can't see the EGR.

Chaser · Dec 29, 2009

willo said:
My MY01 is exactly the same, and I run it wit the cover off during the whole year, just put that cover on again once a year when going to the MOT so that they can't see the EGR.

OK. OK. Just to clarify which cover and which bolt here's a pic. This particular bolt hole goes through the cam cover.

willo · Dec 29, 2009

It looks as we are talking about another kind of cover, the early FL's had a full scale cover where the later versions just got a small one only covering the part of the engine near the airfilter. Ours looks like:

Slayer · Dec 29, 2009

Mine's exactly like Willo's. It wouldn't appear to be much of a problem to leave that huge piece of plastic out.

In fact - it's a bit scary - but when I bought the car that cover was lose. It just had no screws!!! Oh, and the little cover on the oil cap is missing.

When I asked for them they just put some other screws that happened to fit - all different!

Then I understood why the car had had a new auto gearbox before I bought it. They must have tried to change the oil in it and ****ed it

TD John · Dec 30, 2009

Hi All,
Learn't something new again today.
Mine's a late TD4, like Chasers, and it has had the air filter cover off twice now since we got it.
If Slayers G/Box change was caused/done by the same dealer - think it may be a case of DIY servicing if you want the car to stay healthy? Hope they didn't do much of the other servicing on that particular vehicle!

gmzez · Dec 30, 2009

Well, if the oil leakage was just caused just by one scew, then thats good news,, and we all now know to seal it.............

Slayer · Dec 30, 2009

TD John said:
Hi All,
If Slayers G/Box change was caused/done by the same dealer - think it may be a case of DIY servicing if you want the car to stay healthy? Hope they didn't do much of the other servicing on that particular vehicle!

Actually, the gearbox was changed at an official dealer

And I didn't pay for the HGF fix as it was covered by warranty.

All I did after that was to use a serynge to take the "extra" fluids they decided that the car needed (PAS fluid and coolant - again!). I could go on with an endless rant about that particular dealer...

Anyway, I'm very pleased with the car and now any other smaller car feels like I'm driving a toy car.

I'm finding it rather difficult to find reasonable LR service in Portugal. Especially with a Freelander:doh:

Slayer · Feb 24, 2010

Hello again!

After the service in Januay, the mechanic had the car running for about 200 kms and the oil leak didn't appear again. Good news? Not really...

Since I got the car back I was very careful in checking the oil and coolant levels as well as seeing if there was more oil over the injectors.

It ran dry for a few weeks, until I decided to push it past 120 Km/h.

I found that after that there was more fluid on the injectors.

So I decided to take it to a Bosch car centre in case it was an injector pipe problem.

The guy cleaned it and found that there was a crack in the cylinder head cover

In your opinion, what (or how much) am I looking at here?

Phantom_Mark · Feb 28, 2010

I got caught out running without plastic cover and that bolt when we first got our 54 plate Td4............****ed oil everywhere when the wife drove 15 miles to work the next day lol............ooooopsie

Oil and diesel on injectors

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