Td5 engine nock and oil level very high!

Firstly, sorry its my first post on here and im asking for help

I bought a td5 disco 2 a few days ago slightly cheap as we established the turbo needed replacing, so we factored that into the price.

We assumed this because there was an oil leak and it was all fresh oil around the turbo area, and it had a little white smoke on startup, common symptoms for needing a new turbo.


We were driving down the road today, about 35mph, and the engine revs shot up through the roof and the engine started nocking and a **** tonne of smoke out the back.

We switched it off almost immediatley and pulled over, tried to start it and it was fine, drove me the half mile route home.

Checked under the bay and theres still a fair bit of oil under the turbo and the oil level is sky high! Most the way up the dipstick..

Took it round the block again to see if it had stopped fully, and it happened again so just rolled down the hill to my gates.

The engine oil level remains at about 6inches high on the dipstick and is very watery.

After abit of research myself iv found the heads are prone to cracking and i can only assume diesel has forced its way past the rings.

Is there anything else it can be? Other than an injector sticking wide open?

Is it a case of a new headnand an oil flush? Or is it going to need an engine replacement?

If so is there any guides kicking around which will make my life easier when doing it?



Sorry about the 21 questions guys, as you can imagine im stressing a little now

Its more likely to be an injector seal than a cracked head. However the early heads are prone to cracking leading to diesel in the sump oil. Don't drive it with elevated sump oil levels as you risk blowing the engine in an uncontrollable engine runaway where the engine feeds on its own oil rather than fuel and revs to destruction. It depends how long it has been running with diluted sump oil as to whether other engine components will need changing. Big ends are pretty much bullet proof on the TD5 so long as there is some lubrication. However the cam lobes are easily damaged with low oil levels or improper lubrication with diesel in the oil. Until you get it apart its all guesswork.

You were lucky you could just switch it off as it sounds you had a runaway. This is caused by the engine burning its own oil, either from oil being fed in by a faulty turbo, or from diesel leaking into the sump due to cracked head or leaking injector seals. If the oil is thin and level high then it is definitely being diluted be diesel. Don't try to start it again until you have fixed the problem, otherwise your engine will destroy itself.

Thanks for your replies, havent started it since, took all of us to push it onto the drive though!

You think itl be worth pulling the injectors first then one by one and looking at the seals? Im assuming theyre going to be o-rings?

Do a full flush and see how she runs?

I did have a thought that the initial white smoke problem was down to a dodgy injector, but after seeing the oil below the turbo on the chassis i decided thatnit was the turbo, i have a brand new unit being delivered tomorrow.

collapsed turbo hose will cause white smoke also. Plus check you air filter to see how clean or dirty it is

I did think of that but they all seem sound, and wouldnt explain the diesel in the oil, thanks for your reply

Injector seals are a copper washer and an o-ring. I would definitely try replacing all these, before anything else. If you are renewing the turbo, then replace the oil and renew both oil filters and it should then be safe to start again, to see whether the new seals have cured the problem. Also check there is no oil in intercooler.

Okay thanks again mate, ill have a good go tomorrow and see where im at, ill just replace the injector seals tomorrow and oil, and leave the turbo for now, if this fixes the fuel leak into the sump then ill put the new turbo on.

Reason being, indont want diesel lubricating my brand new turbo.

v8landyman said:

Injector seals are a copper washer and an o-ring. I would definitely try replacing all these, before anything else. If you are renewing the turbo, then replace the oil and renew both oil filters and it should then be safe to start again, to see whether the new seals have cured the problem. Also check there is no oil in intercooler.

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+1 Just be careful as a leaking injector seal can very quickly fill the sump with diesel. Watch the oil level very carefully once you have drained and refilled. Try and get genuine LR injector O rings and copper washers as the cheaper ones don't seem to last. While you have the cam carrier cover off to do the injector seals have a good look at the cam lobes for signs of metal dragging caused by insufficient lubrication. Good luck. You may be lucky and it will be a relatively cheap fix.

Thanks dude.

Ill give my local dealer a ring in the morning and see if they have them on the shelf, i hope so.

Iv been looking at the turner engineering cylinder heads, after abit of research they seem to be redesigned so they eradicate the issue completely. They come with a hefty price tag of circa £1300 with the gasket kit though! An expense i really dont fancy!

Cheers
Aron

Edited to add: if i do go for the TE head, will i need the erly or late type head? Whats the easiest way of telling? Its a 52 plate registered in 2003

Azzzah said:

Thanks dude.

Ill give my local dealer a ring in the morning and see if they have them on the shelf, i hope so.

Iv been looking at the turner engineering cylinder heads, after abit of research they seem to be redesigned so they eradicate the issue completely. They come with a hefty price tag of circa £1300 with the gasket kit though! An expense i really dont fancy!

Cheers
Aron

Edited to add: if i do go for the TE head, will i need the erly or late type head? Whats the easiest way of telling? Its a 52 plate registered in 2003

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You should be able to tell by whether or not it has an egr cooler, the number or fuel pipes by the cylinder head and the colour of the injectors.

hi, if you look at the drivers side of the head, is there a diesel pipe which enters the head at the front by the inlet manifold or does it all enter at the rear of the head on the drivers side ?

If you have the diesel spill pipe running from the front of the head you have the later type head.

AH FECK - got diesel in my oil too !

I did the injector seals (meticulously) about 4,000 miles ago (had some starting problems), and the level has gone up by 3 to 4 litres in that mileage. I suspect that have a cracked head, but is there anyway of checking this before I shell out for a new TE head ?

Funny, cos its actually running sweet as a nut, and pulls like a train. Any advise pls?

Five Pots said:

AH FECK - got diesel in my oil too !

I did the injector seals (meticulously) about 4,000 miles ago (had some starting problems), and the level has gone up by 3 to 4 litres in that mileage. I suspect that have a cracked head, but is there anyway of checking this before I shell out for a new TE head ?

Funny, cos its actually running sweet as a nut, and pulls like a train. Any advise pls?

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if you need another head i might have a good used one

jamesmartin said:

if you need another head i might have a good used one

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I might do, mines a later type. Have you changed a td5 head before? I image its fairly straightforward.

Five Pots said:

AH FECK - got diesel in my oil too !

I did the injector seals (meticulously) about 4,000 miles ago (had some starting problems), and the level has gone up by 3 to 4 litres in that mileage. I suspect that have a cracked head, but is there anyway of checking this before I shell out for a new TE head ?

Funny, cos its actually running sweet as a nut, and pulls like a train. Any advise pls?

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I ran my old engine for just over two years with diesel in the sump oil due to a cracked head. Once a week I just sucked out the excess via the dip stick tube and tossed it back into the fuel tank. I used a piece of suitable tubing with a cable tie set to the correct depth and used a vacuum oil recovery unit to suck out the oil. When my engine eventualy let go due to the dreaded oil pump sprocket coming loose the bottom end was in perfect condition but there was some evidence of wear on the cam lobes. I'm sure it would have gone for at least another year or two like this. Dont run with high sump levels or you risk engine runaway.

If it is running ok,could it just be the seals need changing again?Seems a cheaper option to try first

Did you recheck the injector clamp bolts after a few hundred miles? They can be prone to working loose as the copper injector washers settle.

Shifty1962 said:

Did you recheck the injector clamp bolts after a few hundred miles? They can be prone to working loose as the copper injector washers settle.

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I've decided I'm going to do the injector seals again. No I didn't re-tighten the clamp bolts (didn't know about it). Do you think that would cause the o-ring to fail then?