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NinkyNonk

Active Member
Noticed today that there is some oil running down the exhaust manifold side of my 300Tdi, so whipped the cover off the top as it was coming from in between the inlet manifold and rocker cover. Uncovered this, and didn't get a picture but the foam on the underside of the sound insulation is wet with oil and has been warn away above this area. So far I've been struggling to return much with a search, not exactly sure what to search for. Although I read somewhere that if the inlet/exhaust manifold gasket is split and the turbo is a bit worn then there is a possibility that oil can be blown out. My only other idea would be a split head gasket and oil is coming up from the 4th bolt back and getting out that way, but I'd be surprised if it was squirting upwards.
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As per usual, any help appreciated, I'm a bit lost on engines. Only had 5 minutes to look at it today and gave it a little clean around so I can have a look after I next drive it. Could check the manifold bolts are tight I guess??

Thanks for looking! The pictures aren't the greatest but I was helping but some garage doors up and nipping between the two.
 
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lynall said:
Rocker gasket first incl the 3 bolts grommet widgets, then inlet/exhaust gasket buy a decent one as the cheapies are well thin.
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Could the oil get down without leaving a trail from the rocker cover? I really couldn't see any signs of it coming from the rocker cover? I was looking at rocker cover gaskets the other day actually and struggled to find the widget part number.

Always go for OEM if the job is more than just a quick 5 minute one though, cheap components in expensive places are just a false economy o_O

Thanks for the input :)
 
I changed rocker cover gasket, that made it slightly better but when I changed the inlet/exhaust manifold gasket it cured it.
 
Rocker cover gasket and/or rubber washers on the cover bolts are the favourites, and hot oil doesn't leave much of a trace when it runs down to fill the well :)
 
Sounds like a plan, it's without doubt the easiest thing to change 1st.

I see there's a bearmach kit on ebay with the bolt seals and stuff. Or is it worth spending £16 on a genuine LR item?

My torque wrench starts at 8Nm so I'll give that a go, and tighten the bolts evenly/gradually.

Will report back once I've changed it.

Thanks again :)
 
Also, clean off all the existing oil properly - that way it will be easier to spot if the issue is sorted, and, if it isnt, where its coming from.

....but, as above, you probably wont see it leak from the rocker. Mine was leaking, could see no line from the seal, but tightened it down a touch more, and the pooling stopped - so it must have been the rocker cover.
 
Yes, because everything's hot when the engine is running the oil runs down readily and the residue dries off so it is hard to tell where it is coming out from.

I don't have a 300tdi, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any oil passages through the manifold gasket, so I'd be a bit surprised if it were coming out there.
 
Brown said:
Yes, because everything's hot when the engine is running the oil runs down readily and the residue dries off so it is hard to tell where it is coming out from.

I don't have a 300tdi, but I'm pretty sure there aren't any oil passages through the manifold gasket, so I'd be a bit surprised if it were coming out there.
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What can and does happen is the inlet/exhaust gasket starts to fail and the oily residue in the inlet pipework gets blown out of the failing gasket.
 
Just had a thought what do the smaller head bolts screw into? thinking maybe the oil is coming up the threads and out under the head?
 
There is no route for oil to come up through the head bolts as they all go into blind holes.
The rocker cover screw go into the top of the rocker shaft pedestals, and not into the head
 
That's a relief then, shouldn't be head gasket. Being a bit of a noob I just took it the bolts would have been the correct torque. Set the wrench to 8Nm just to see and probably got just over 1/2 a turn on all bolts. Will have a check the next time I drive it and see what it looks like, if there's oil there I'll torque them up to 10Nm.

There is oil near the cyclone breather thing, so maybe the lack of use over the last 2 months has annoyed the LR Gods and come back to bite me.
 
The cyclone leak will almost certainly be just the o-ring where the cyclone fits into the rocker cover as no one ver changes them.
Well a look at the valve lash caps whilst you have the cover off
 
lynall said:
The cyclone leak will almost certainly be just the o-ring where the cyclone fits into the rocker cover as no one ver changes them.
Well a look at the valve lash caps whilst you have the cover off
Click to expand...
I was looking for an O ring a few months ago, got annoyed as couldn't find a part no' so just bought a Bearmach cyclone complete with O ring, so maybe that's cracked. It was sealed with a clear looking silicon when I removed it. The breather's only started leaking since it was last serviced which seems suspicious. I asked them to investigate a leak which I thought was from the manifold gasket, I even bought an Elring gasket so they could replace it. They said it was the rocker cover gasket, and just replaced that, not sure on quality but I'm sure its a cheapy.

If I take the rocker cover off I'll have a decent inspection of everything, make sure it looks good. Bit OCD and work in a job which requires me to be fussy so if it doesn't look right I'll take some pics and put them on here. My Defender is my guilty pleasure which is the complete opposite of what I'd usually have, which is probably why I feel happy when I drive it.
 
You got a Fender and you say that you're an OCD fusspot?
You can't be, especially as you take a guilty pleasure in driving and being seen in a Tratter!
 
Ocd and a defender oh dear thats not going to end well:D
You will drive your self potty trying to fix all the external leaks and now winters here the internal leaks!
 
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