oil leak 1.8 petrol

I recently had a lot of work done to my W reg freelander including a new water pump, new head gasket, new timing kit and an oil change.

Since getting the car back i've done about 300 or so miles (each week i drive to work on a Monday, home on a Friday and a couple of short journeys on a weekend), last weekend i thought i saw a small patch of oil under the car but as where i park my car is used by a lot of people i couldn't be sure if it was from my car or another that had been parked there before me.

This weekend there was more, I checked the oil level on Saturday morning and it was fine, however after doing my supermarket shopping there was a saucer sized puddle under the car which had accumulated during the time i did my shop. This morning just as i was arriving at work the oil light flickered briefly. I haven't driven it since i arrived this morning.

I called the garage that did the work and they told me to bring it in. Unfortunately the garage that did the work is about 40 miles away and i'm not 100% comfortable driving it that far if there is a major problem. I'm going to take it to a local garage in the morning but any suggestions as to what it could be would be useful in the meantime. To hopefully put my mind at ease if nothing else.

I'm hoping it's something little like the new filter not threaded in properly. Surely if it is the result of a bigger problem it would have been picked up on while they did the other work. The leak has only happened since i got my car back.

If it's the red oil pressure light that flickered, don't drive it anymore, at least until youve got it topped up with oil. If it is the pressure light then it must be very low on oil and the resulting oil starvation could cause serious damage. Speak to the garage to see if they will recover it for you to their place.

Burn it and buy a defender....

its probably the o ring on the filter,

Can you see anywhere obvious where it is coming from, it could be as simple as freelance's comment above which should be easy to spot by having a crawl around. As said before don't drive it until you are sure!

Let us know how you get on.

you're going to have to give us more information. Ideally if you can, take the engine tray off and inspect the bottom of the engine. Try and see if the leak is coming from ner the filter, from near the cylinder head or from the cam seals if they haven't been reinstalled properly.

After closer inspection i think it could be the cam seals that haven't been fitted properly, but it also looks as if oil is coming from inside the timing belt casing so looks like it'll need a new timing kit after only four weeks. I'm taking it back to the garage that did the work on it recently as it is more than likely a problem with the work they carried out. I haven't driven it since the light flickered on and i'm getting it towed to the garage tomorrow. I've checked the oil level and if anything it looks as if there is too much oil in there. Hopefully it's just something they've done wrong and not a bigger problem. It's still an awful inconvenience to have to arrange to get a flat bed out and a hire car for me while they fix it. Hopefully they'll cover the costs if it's down to their error.

Did you get the oil rail changed and the remote thermostat installed?

pipsi said:

After closer inspection i think it could be the cam seals that haven't been fitted properly, but it also looks as if oil is coming from inside the timing belt casing so looks like it'll need a new timing kit after only four weeks. I'm taking it back to the garage that did the work on it recently as it is more than likely a problem with the work they carried out. I haven't driven it since the light flickered on and i'm getting it towed to the garage tomorrow. I've checked the oil level and if anything it looks as if there is too much oil in there. Hopefully it's just something they've done wrong and not a bigger problem. It's still an awful inconvenience to have to arrange to get a flat bed out and a hire car for me while they fix it. Hopefully they'll cover the costs if it's down to their error.

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I've heard of a few people/garages not doing the cam seals correctly (or at all once) when they don't know their way around the K series.

Hope you get it sorted.