Oil level rising

lightning · Feb 19, 2018

.....2003 TD5 CSW with 125,000 Miles.

Indy are going to change the injector seals as l am hoping it might be that. The level has risen about 3mm in the 200 miles since l changed the oil.
The water is OK.

If the head has gone l am being quoted by my local Landy specialist £2,000 to fit a new one. I can have a used/recon head and they will fit it but with no warranty. Which l can understand, unless it was them doing the reconditioning.

If the head has gone then it’s goodbye, we cannot really afford it, it will have to get done and then sold.

What’s the chance it is the seals and the head is OK?
Runs fine no sign of a fault except for rising oil level, which seems to be the normal scenario with this kind of fault.

I still have my 110 so we will have one Landy on the drive. But the missus has had enough. It’s a shame as the 90 is an absolutely lovely example.

Magicgrotto · Feb 19, 2018

Be it I'm NO expert on the TD5 but i think your on the right track ! If it were the head i think you would have other problems !

rob1miles · Feb 19, 2018

If its the head then the the level rise is water and you should see green foam. Water will sit at the bottom with the oil on top, can you crack the drain plug and see what comes out? If its fuel the oil should smell quite strongly and may feel a bit thinner.

Turboman · Feb 19, 2018

lightning said:
.....2003 TD5 CSW with 125,000 Miles.

Indy are going to change the injector seals as l am hoping it might be that. The level has risen about 3mm in the 200 miles since l changed the oil.
The water is OK.

If the head has gone l am being quoted by my local Landy specialist £2,000 to fit a new one. I can have a used/recon head and they will fit it but with no warranty. Which l can understand, unless it was them doing the reconditioning.

If the head has gone then it’s goodbye, we cannot really afford it, it will have to get done and then sold.

What’s the chance it is the seals and the head is OK?
Runs fine no sign of a fault except for rising oil level, which seems to be the normal scenario with this kind of fault.

I still have my 110 so we will have one Landy on the drive. But the missus has had enough. It’s a shame as the 90 is an absolutely lovely example.

Are you absolutely sure it is rising? 3mm could easily be accounted for by parking on a slightly different place, and it isn't quite as level?

mick the builder · Feb 19, 2018

I'm no expert but oil not expand when hot. Perhaps it was new cold oil when you last checked. Have you any small drips from around engine, you must have

, you could easily lose 3mm that way. I know I could.

Turboman · Feb 19, 2018

mick the builder said:
I'm no expert but oil not expand when hot. Perhaps it was new cold oil when you last checked. Have you any small drips from around engine, you must have , you could easily lose 3mm that way. I know I could.

Difference between checking straight after switch off, or half an hour later, can give that kind of difference as well.

mick the builder · Feb 19, 2018

Turboman said:
Difference between checking straight after switch off, or half an hour later, can give that kind of difference as well.

That's what I was going along the lines of.

Turboman · Feb 19, 2018

mick the builder said:
That's what I was going along the lines of.

Td5 aren't the easiest for oil checks either, they have a long springy dipstick, and a long tube, which has a habit of smearing oil up the side of the dipstick.

tom1979 · Feb 19, 2018

For £2000 I’d want a brand new AMC head not my old one reconditioned. The later TD5’s cracked heads are less common, more likely the injector o rings, does the oil smell dieselly? Are you sure it’s not just overfilled a bit? Easy done when the oil hasn’t settled properly when topping up.

If the oil doesn’t smell of diesel and you're not losing coolant id just run it and keep an eye on all the levels

Turboman · Feb 19, 2018

tom1979 said:
For £2000 I’d want a brand new AMC head not my old one reconditioned. The later TD5’s cracked heads are less common, more likely the injector o rings, does the oil smell dieselly? Are you sure it’s not just overfilled a bit? Easy done when the oil hasn’t settled properly when topping up.

If the oil doesn’t smell of diesel and you're not losing coolant id just run it and keep an eye on all the levels

For a grand he should be able to get a good Td5 second hand engine, and pay someone to fit it.

tom1979 · Feb 19, 2018

Turboman said:
For a grand he should be able to get a good Td5 second hand engine, and pay someone to fit it.

Trouble is you can end up buying a different set of problems!

Turboman · Feb 19, 2018

tom1979 said:
Trouble is you can end up buying a different set of problems!

You can, but like you say, I doubt if he needs a new engine, or even a new head.

Just making the point that his garage are taking the pee.

tom1979 · Feb 19, 2018

Depends if it’s them that has quoted him £2k for the recon head Without finding the problem first

JimS · Feb 19, 2018

Apparently a drop of oil from the dipstick on a paper towel, any diesel will appear as an off white halo around the edges
Or the good old sniff test..

lightning · Feb 19, 2018

The £2,000 was for a brand new head, recon was about half that.

I checked the oil last week and it was 1cm above the high mark on the dipstick. But l’d not checked it for ages so changed the oil and spin on filter.

The old oil looked alright and just smelt of oil as far as l could tell.
I refilled it to half way between the low and high mark.
After about 20 miles l checked the level in the same place (on our drive) and it was the same.
We did about 200 miles over the weekend mainly motorway.
I checked it tonight and it’s now risen to just below full.

So l am hoping that you are all correct and it’s just the injector seals!!

tom1979 · Feb 19, 2018

Assuming yours is a 15P engine it’s quite uncommon for cracks in the head, much more common is the upper o rings on the injectors.

If you take the rocker cover off and put the ignition on so the fuel pump is running you may see the problem

lightning · Feb 19, 2018

Safe to use?

Can the Defender be driven without damage? I checked the oil level tonight and it’s now at the high level.

So l would guess half a litre of diesel is now in the oil.
How much is too much? It’s going in on Friday but the missus wants to go to work in it, a round trip of about ten miles each day.

Should l drop her at the bus stop?

jamesmartin · Feb 19, 2018

lightning said:
Safe to use?

Can the Defender be driven without damage? I checked the oil level tonight and it’s now at the high level.

So l would guess half a litre of diesel is now in the oil.
How much is too much? It’s going in on Friday but the missus wants to go to work in it, a round trip of about ten miles

i wouldnt run it

tom1979 · Feb 19, 2018

If it’s definately rising because of diesel then no. Did you take the rocker cover off and have a look for diesel spurting out from around the injectors?

lightning · Feb 20, 2018

Not yet, l will take a look tonight. I can’t tell if the level has risen any more since weekend, as mentioned above the dip stick is not that precise.

Oil level rising

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