Oil leak dripping down right side of radiator

I have an oil leak which i my local mechanic think is coming from the intercooler.He has tried to find out where it has been coming from by was the oil off and then running in order for him to locate the source of the leak but the leak obivously takes a while to come through and only really happens when i'm on a longer journey which involves goign faster.Do i need a new intercooler/turbo or both?

By the way this a P reg P38 Range Rover DHSE with the BMW engine

Think you'll have an oil cooler there too... would imagine it's more likely to be leaking oil from there!

do you know how much a oiler cooler is.I'm guessing it costs less then a turbo or intercooler.Thanks.

I'd check the connections to it first, even cheaper...

Its mounted under the intercooler in front of the rad!

Thanks.that would be a relief if it was a cheap fix as i couldn't afford a intercooler or turbo.

mercedesdave49 said:

I have an oil leak which i my local mechanic think is coming from the intercooler.He has tried to find out where it has been coming from by was the oil off and then running in order for him to locate the source of the leak but the leak obivously takes a while to come through and only really happens when i'm on a longer journey which involves goign faster.Do i need a new intercooler/turbo or both?

Click to expand...

hi

do you have a manual gearbox? if i remember correctly it could be the oil cooler for the gear box as the diesel uses the lower part of radiator for cooling the gearbox oil

hopefully someone can confirm this

No i have a auto box.could iut still be the same problem?thanks

There certainly shouldn't be enough oil in the intercooler system to be leaking it! It's an air to air cooler and if there's any more than a thin film of oil in the hoses you've got bigger problems than just an oil leak.

Lerk's right the oil cooler is a much more likely candidate for that much oil and the connections top priority for checking, could be just failing seals.

mercedesdave49 said:

No i have a auto box.could iut still be the same problem?thanks

Click to expand...

no

the auto has a cooler where the left fog light goes

big-al-cove said:

hi

do you have a manual gearbox? if i remember correctly it could be the oil cooler for the gear box as the diesel uses the lower part of radiator for cooling the gearbox oil

hopefully someone can confirm this

Click to expand...

You're right, but that's on the left(passenger) side of the rad, so unless we've all got our lefts and rights mixed up, this is less likely.

kernowdragon said:

You're right, but that's on the left(passenger) side of the rad, so unless we've all got our lefts and rights mixed up, this is less likely.

Click to expand...

working from memory, guess thats not working either, another job to fix after the p38

mercedesdave49 said:

my local mechanic think is coming from the intercooler

Click to expand...

PS: Any mechanic should know intercooler shouldn't have enough oil in it to be leaking it. I'd look for someone who knows what they're doing!

mercedesdave49 said:

I have an oil leak which i my local mechanic think is coming from the intercooler.He has tried to find out where it has been coming from by was the oil off and then running in order for him to locate the source of the leak but the leak obivously takes a while to come through and only really happens when i'm on a longer journey which involves goign faster.Do i need a new intercooler/turbo or both?

Click to expand...

It is normal to have some oil in the intercooler pipes. If they are leaking take them off and clean internal of rubber hose and metal pipes they fit on. Smear a little sealant around internal of hose and external of steel pipe and refit re-securing with snugged up clips in a new position. Do this and see if the leak stops. You will know if they are leaking by wet patches around ends of hose going on to pipes. If these are all clean your looking at oil cooler and that could be a bag of worms.

kernowdragon said:

PS: Any mechanic should know intercooler shouldn't have enough oil in it to be leaking it. I'd look for someone who knows what they're doing!

Click to expand...

Not quite correct. It is quite normal to have oil in intercooler pipes quite a bit on older vehicles. They do leak if the joins are not tight because the pipes are under pressure and any oil can be forced out.

I agree, but not usually to point of dripping everywhere, unless it's symptomatic of impending seal/turbo failure. The comment was that it was most noticable after a long, faster trip, so I would expect most loose oil to have ended up being burnt off under those conditions not build up in the hoses.

kernowdragon said:

I agree, but not usually to point of dripping everywhere, unless it's symptomatic of impending seal/turbo failure. The comment was that it was most noticable after a long, faster trip, so I would expect most loose oil to have ended up being burnt off under those conditions not build up in the hoses.

Click to expand...

Yes will live with that, he most likely has a leak from the oil cooler but i mearly point out that sealing intercooler pipes (A fairly quick job) if there is any sign of a leak on them will take them out of the equasion. If the mechanic says he thinks it is from intercooler i would think he has seen evidence of a leak on the intercooler pipes, unless oil is being sprayed out of oil cooler upwards onto them as they are above cooler, there is chance it maybe the intercooler pipes. If oil was being sprayed out of the oil cooler hard enough to reach the intercooler pipes i would expect a much larger leak than he seems to have.

Will be the oil cooler, located under the intercooler. Mine split where a bracket is welded to the oil cooler. Only found it once I had removed the intercooler. I was also told it was my intercooler by a local mechanic, then it was the turbo blowing oil through etc etc etc.
When you replace the oil coller buy new oil hoses as well. The old ones are a bugger to remove, and impossible to refit. New ones are easy.

Ps plenty of new oil coolers and pipe sets on fleebay.

Thanks.so it could be the oil cooler then.the leak is coming from the right hand side but the oil cooler is on the left.It's definitely dripping from above the chassis as it's dripping onto it and then running down the side of the radiator.I reckon the leak is getting worse as i keep having to top up the oil every 2-4 days depending on mileage.