Finnjws

Member
Hi there,



I have recently noticed wet patches around the back of my front Diff, and areas on the underneath of the gearbox and so on... I am no mechanic and barely know my way around the underneath of a car so please excuse my ignorance, I may be talking about the wrong parts. There is also a dark black wet patch on the right hand side of the radiator behind the grille. Also what I assume is the power steering, has a leak in it. a light brown kind of liquid?.

Basically What would have caused these leaks and how serious are they if left unattended? also what can be done to fix these little issues and how much averagely would it cost at a garage or can they be done by myself?. I will try to take some better pictures tomorrow... i tried tonight but the camera was a little shaky but I managed to capture a few okay ones.

Please take a few moments to view the pictures and see if you can shine some light on the issues!


Any help is appreciated.


Thank you



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Cause of leaks? Wear n tear.doesn't look like ATF (power steering fluid). Check the power steering dipstick to see if you have lost some.
 
I thought these
Ears were fitted at the design stage then added to and made worse by the guys on the production line......
To be fair a Little leak is not the end of the world In all the spots you say except the rad as that could be power stearing fluid but if that was leaking it would of failed its MOT
I am assuming it's got an MOT?

Keep an eye on the fluid levels, a little oil goes a long way, you can also rejoice in the fact that the oily bits won't rot away
 
I have checked the Power steering dipstick and all seems normal I think! Yes It last passed a MOT last May 2016. But I Haven't noticed the leaks until recently, will it now fail a MOT?. I'd like to find out whether these leaks may be resolved through changing any kind of seals? If necessary I will eventually replace the Radiator as honestly it looks bloody knackered, even to my untrained eye. By the way, there has been no change at all in how it drives, all normal.

The Front Differential is very wet, its really concerning me, I don't feel comfortable just passing it off, there must be a cause and a fix, surely?


I don't think I mentioned, when crawling around underneath the car I could see a very wet area up in the engine bay form beneath, looking like it had come from near the rear of the engine bay area?. any ideas?.
 
The front differential oil seal needs replacing. They cost a couple of quid. Good to also get the metal cover ring replaced too as it stops the road crud getting at it. The oil seal sits in behind the universal joint. Access is by unscrewing the bolt. It needs to be torqued tight at the right setting when putting it back together. If you're not confident doing it yourself a good independent landy garage (not a dealer) will do the job for under a £100. If you get a garage to do it might as well do the rear too. It's a common problem, nothing serious.
 
Looks like the gearbox fill plug might be leaking a little in the last pic but none of it looks serious with the possible exception of the leak by the rad.

Best to clean it up and wotk out what it is and where it's coming from.
 
Thank you for your replies so far, i will go through the comments making notes and get on looking for seals / or / and a good mechanics thats not going to take the ****. I investigated the leak i noticed coming from the engine bay and without taking the plastic cover off the engine I can see a slight weeping of oil at the back, i think coming out of the rocker cover?. I had an issue where I had to replace the Injector Loom hardness a few months back and did it myself, kept the original seal when replacing the rocker cover, could this be the cause of the leak?. Thanks everyone.

Also the ATF fluid in the reservoir is touching the low line of the dipstick, does this indicate a leak? whats the best stuff to top up with?.
 
My MOT man just tells me all Landrovers leak... As long as fluid levels are checked and not dropping, or you get puddles underneath should be fine. Mines old enough that everything leaks a little but never enough to need topping up.
 
For my R380 gearbox I use this http://www.paddockspares.com/stc9157-oil-transmission.html which is the Land Rover branded stuff for it. There's smaller and cheaper bottles available if you just want a quick top up http://www.paddockspares.com/stc9158-oil-transmission.html Changing the gear oil is a bit of a blind spot for many owners and it never gets done, so a full oil change would be a good idea if you don't know when it was last done. As well as a new copper washer on the drain plug I usually find a small smear of instant gasket on the threads gives an oil tight seal.
 

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