td5 oil leak on right hand side

I have recently brought a td5 defender. I noticed the other day that there was a sizeable puddle of oil under it. I had a look and it appeared to be dripping from the sump. However when probing further the other day I noticed the entire right hand side (looking from front) of the engine was covered in oil. The oil seems to be from head gasket height. Could it be the head gasket? The head and gasket were changed in March 2010 so I would hope not. What else could be leaking this bad on that side of the engine? the turbo? The engine runs smoothly with no smoke. I haven't even insured the vehicle yet so don't know about running temperature or loss of coolant.

oil filters are on that side and about gasket height, theres 2 of em on a td5

Both oil filters are clean and leak free. As is the banjo fitting for the turbo feed. The oil is definitely pouring down the side of the block.

May be the cam cover gasket or the joint between the cam carrier and the head which is a smear of silicone gasket.

I would have to go with Shifty on this one. The cam cover gasket has a half moon shape at the rear which if not fitted correctly will move and start to leak. Easy fix is to just remove the cam cover and have a quick look, the gasket can be re-used as long as it is not damaged

Hello,
Had the same on my Discovery, I cleaned the area started the car and went under there with a tourch and found it was where the filter block bolts on the engine it has 3 bolts. Fitted a new gasket with flange sealant no more leaks.
ian

There is a rubber cap that pushes into the head at the front where the cam is.could be this seen it before,pop it out and re silicone it back in,also seen one where someone had made a bracket to hold this in place,it was strip of metal bolted to the head where the wiring harness is connected done the job perfectly

Thanks for the ideas. I hope to pressure wash the engine bay and clean it all up. I will check all areas mentioned above. Is the cam cover the same as the rocker cover? I changed this on my discovery, its a real pain to get on right.

yes it is. its only a pain on the disco due to the soundproofing attached to the rear of the engine block.

landroverfanatic said:

Thanks for the ideas. I hope to pressure wash the engine bay and clean it all up. I will check all areas mentioned above. Is the cam cover the same as the rocker cover? I changed this on my discovery, its a real pain to get on right.

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Did you get this fixed?
Was it OIL or FUEL that was leaking?

Its definately oil. And no I haven't fixed it yet. I prioritised on getting the vehicle through an MOT first. I hope to borrow a pressure washer next week.

I had a good look at the leak today. It is pooling on top of the 'oil pump'? below the exhaust manifold and next to the centrifugal filter. The vehicle is getting through quite a lot of oil but isn't burning any or losing any water. Could it be the head gasket? it certainly seems to be coming from that height. As said previously the head was supposedly changed in March 2011.

landroverfanatic said:

I had a good look at the leak today. It is pooling on top of the 'oil pump'? below the exhaust manifold and next to the centrifugal filter. The vehicle is getting through quite a lot of oil but isn't burning any or losing any water. Could it be the head gasket? it certainly seems to be coming from that height. As said previously the head was supposedly changed in March 2011.

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check the centrifugal filter bolts are tight mine had stripped thread on 1 when i changed the the filter back the other day

I have finally tracked this down to the seal between the camshaft carrier and cylinder head. This seal doesn't have a gasket, as it houses the camshaft between it, but instead relies on Hylogrip 2000. The only problem is the job involves removing the cylinder head bolts which is starting to get above what I am happy doing.

Has anyone ever done this? How much actually needs removing? The rave manual talks about doing it with the head on the bench is this the only way?

The bit that scares me is tightening up the head bolts and resetting the rockers. Is there anyone in/near North Shropshire willing to help me or at least be on the end of a phone?

I know notice that i have the same problem, what was the out come on this? as that'll give me some indication on where to look.