Disco 2 Oil leak and identifying the part

Hi (again),

I'm starting to wish I hadn't bought this particular Disco as I've only had it 3 weeks and so far have a growing list of issues, thankfully most are (finally) being sorted by the dealer I bought it from and the local 4x4 garage.

However, I've just noticed an oil leak (see image showing leak onto cardboard that I placed under the car). Oil only seems to leak when the car has been running - it was left for 48hrs earlier in the week and no oil was present on the cardboard, only today when I had run the car for 20 mins or so.

So, first question is.... (and apologies for this one as I really don't have any mechanical experience, especially not with land rovers!)
What is that part that the oil is leaking from?!

2nd question, what are the likely fixes to this and how serious is it likely to be?

I've done a bit of googling on the subject but as I don't really know the specific part I'm struggling with what to search for!

It's booked into the garage for new radiator, shocks and tracking rod next week so I'll add this to the list for them to look at but would like, if nothing else, to be able to give some specifics so apologies for the very amateur question(s), any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Simon

That looks like oil around the back end of the engine where it joins to the gearbox bellhousing.
The first things to check are for oil running down the back of the engine from higher up, such as from the back end of the rocker cover. It's not unknown for a leak to develop from that area.
The worst case might be the rear crankshaft seal beginning to weep. I had mine start to weep from there, and being a great proponent of "management rule 14b", rather than pulling the gearbox or the engine, I tried some BarsLeaks for oil, the one for the rear crank seal and that seemed to stop it, how long for I don't know, but I do add some sort of oilseal treatment to every oil change now.

brian47 said:

That looks like oil around the back end of the engine where it joins to the gearbox bellhousing.
The first things to check are for oil running down the back of the engine from higher up, such as from the back end of the rocker cover. It's no unknown for a leak to develop from that area.
The worst case might be the rear crankshaft seal beginning to weep. I had mine start to weep from there, and being a great proponent of "management rule 14b", rather than pulling the gearbox or the engine, I tried some BarsLeaks for oil, the one for the rear crank seal and that seemed to stop it, how long for I don't know, but I do add some sort of oilseal treatment to every oil change now.

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thanks @brian47 scrolling through the workshop manual (that was fun) I think its the part shown on the attached - will have a feel about at the rear of the engine later on and see what I can find!

02Disco2 said:

thanks @brian47 scrolling through the workshop manual (that was fun) I think its the part shown on the attached - will have a feel about at the rear of the engine later on and see what I can find!

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From your picture "underside_2", the sump drain plug does look dry, so I doubt if anything is leaking from there.

brian47 said:

From your picture "underside_2", the sump drain plug does look dry, so I doubt if anything is leaking from there.

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yes looking at it again you make a good point - at least I know which part on the car I'm looking at though!! Gotta start somewhere

There are those who'll say that Land Rovers are supposed to leak, it's the law! Others will say that it's not leaking, it's just marking its territory. Some might even call it an automatic chassis corrosion suppressant system.
I doubt whether a small leak like yours would result in a fail, but it could get an advisory at the MoT.

02Disco2 said:

yes looking at it again you make a good point - at least I know which part on the car I'm looking at though!! Gotta start somewhere

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i've got a coating of oil around my sump/bell-housing which is from (well at least some of its from...) my rocker cover gasket. i've got the bits to do it and an oil change, just got to be @rsed to do it! i could have done it saturday but watched 'Pirates of the Caribbean- Salazar's revenge' instead...

Mine was leaking and it turned out to be just the camshaft seals.. there just plastic caps at the top of the engine, one front one rear, they are the easiest things to change, just pop out the old pop in the new, rear on is a bit of a bugger to get to though..

heres a pic of the front one

Nige4927 said:

Mine was leaking and it turned out to be just the camshaft seals.. there just plastic caps at the top of the engine, one front one rear, they are the easiest things to change, just pop out the old pop in the new, rear on is a bit of a bugger to get to though..

heres a pic of the front one

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Thanks @Nige4927, will add that to the list of things to check. If it is that then it'll be the rear one!

02Disco2 said:

Thanks @Nige4927, will add that to the list of things to check. If it is that then it'll be the rear one!

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Yes, there is a blanking seal on the back of the engine, but it is a complete PITA to change on an assembled engine. If it is leaking from the back end then it's more likely to be from the gasket between the cylinder head and the rocker cover.

brian47 said:

Yes, there is a blanking seal on the back of the engine, but it is a complete PITA to change on an assembled engine. If it is leaking from the back end then it's more likely to be from the gasket between the cylinder head and the rocker cover.

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yes, I watched a really good video from Atlantic British on replacing that one - looked like a pain in the ass job though so not sure its within the realms of my mechanical abilities!

@02Disco2 you're gonna have to get your hands dirty sometime mate

Nige4927 said:

@02Disco2 you're gonna have to get your hands dirty sometime mate

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I replaced the ARB bushes and linkages last weekend so working up to it

Here' a question. What is best way to clean the engine to make spotting oil leaks easier. Especially being able to see where they come from.

Watched a few vids on this, one was on a landy and they wrapped all the electrical connectors, fuse box etc in plastic, sprayed the whole bay with Gunk engine cleaner then washed off with the sprinkler setting on a hose pipe.. is that the best method or are there better ways..

Nige

Nige4927 said:

Watched a few vids on this, one was on a landy and they wrapped all the electrical connectors, fuse box etc in plastic, sprayed the whole bay with Gunk engine cleaner then washed off with the sprinkler setting on a hose pipe.. is that the best method or are there better ways..

Nige

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IMO the best way is to prep as above, waterproofing the electrics, then "Gunk", there are other grease cutting cleaners, work it in to all the corners then use steam to clean it off. You might have to hire a steam cleaner for the job.

ooh our steam mop has detachable steam bit thingy,, might try that.... will take longer that a full one jobby but it pumps out a fair bit of steam... just have to sneak it past the missus

Nige

Is yours automatic? mine is leaking from the seal between the bell housing and the gearbox plate, aparently its common for bolts to come loose behind the torque converter creating a leak of gearbox oil.....

iv just had the engine out over xmas aswell but forgot to check these bolts im living with it for now but its making a mess of my block paving lol

plus mine only leaks when running too

Jimbo1990 said:

Is yours automatic? mine is leaking from the seal between the bell housing and the gearbox plate, aparently its common for bolts to come loose behind the torque converter creating a leak of gearbox oil.....

iv just had the engine out over xmas aswell but forgot to check these bolts im living with it for now but its making a mess of my block paving lol

plus mine only leaks when running too

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hi @Jimbo1990 yes mine is an auto - ah, i wonder if it could be that! Removing the engine is a little beyond me at the moment but I'll have another look around this weekend when I'm doing some other bits and see what I can find!

hmm, worth a look !

it leaks where the gearbox bell housing meets the gearbox itself, thats where mines leaking from and it the gasket between the two as the bolts have loosened off over time :/

hope its a easy fix for you.

i just put a litre of ATF in every few months to keep it going. not had anyprobs with the box itself.

Jimbo1990 said:

i just put a litre of ATF in every few months to keep it going. not had anyprobs with the box itself.

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That's not the point. A small oil leak can elicit an advisory on the MoT test and a bad oil leak could even mean a fail. Add to that the possibility of the local authority taking legal action against an owner of a vehicle which continually drips oil and damages the tarmac road surface where it's parked, if it is indeed parked on the road.