Massive oil leak - Disco II TD5

[Damsel13]

Yes, I know, I know... If there's no oil under them, there's no oil in them but at this rate there certainly won't be any oil in it.
I have a huge oil leak and it's a mystery to both myself and my LR specialist mechanic. He has replaced a bunch of gaskets (latest being the cam cover gasket, sump gasket and cam plug seal) as well as the oil filter and it is still coming out.
It started as a huge dump of oil a while back. It then slowed to a 50 cent piece if it was parked for more than an hour or so but now it seems to have amped up again. The whole underside is covered in oil and the mark on the road is sure to have the EPA knocking any day now. Ha ha ha. We've tried cleaning the engine to see where it's coming from, but it hasn't helped either.
Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Or does anyone have any ideas on where it may be coming from? Even anything else we can try?
Anything... the hubby is ready to scrap it (but it's MY car and I won't let him! [biggrin])
Thanks in advance!

150191

[Ean Austral]

My guess would be the rubber o ring on the oil filter , seen it happen and done it myself on the TD5 just because of where its located behind the turbo so very hard to see if its sealed correctly. When mine leaked the old o ring remained behind when i removed the old filter so the oil ****ed out between the 2 o rings , was very hard to see it without having a close look.

The only other major oil leak I had was when the gasket behind the centrifugal oil filter housing blew out.

Good luck finding it.

Cheers Ean

[V8Ian]

As alluded to by Ean, check there is only one O ring on the filter.

[JimDAUS]

Buy yourself an inspection camera ... https://m.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m4084.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xphone ++inspection+camera.TRS0&_nkw=phone+otg+inspection+camera&_odkw=phone+inspection+camera then clean and let it sit running whilst you inspect it with the camera, it may take an hour of running before you see a leak, but inspection camera will make it much easier ... make sure you get one with LED lights ... if you don't have an android phone or tablet and can't borrow one, get a normal USB connection (take out otg from the search) and then a laptop and off you go.

[sierrafery]

Let's hope it's not the rear crankshaft oil seal which means gearbox off, also check the oil pipe to the vacuum pump on the alternator

[discorevy]

A bit odd that a Landy specialist mechanic can't diagnose a large oil leak, which begs the question , is he aware there are 2 different size cam cover gaskets ?
there is also a cam plug at the back of the head
oil leaks other than mentioned that can become large are turbo return pipe gasket , centrifugal oil filter return pipe to sump gaskets, also an 0 ring on the same housing which can become flat over the years.

degrease completely then run engine to find the leak bearing in mind the fan can spread oil back and gravity helps it down

lots of people have hubby's , they're common ..........disco twos are getting rarer .............people want to scrap them[wink11]

[laslo71]

If everithing is covered with oil than it will be hard to identify the leak. Try to clean as much as possible and at least identify if it comes from the left or right, up or down.
I also have some leak (minor but want to solve) and after many cleanings I could sort out that it comes from the back side of the cover gasket.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

try and catch some on a clean surface and at least see what colour/consistancy it is,,, just from that pic it looks clear enough to be fuel..

[laney]

I would have to agree with pedro that from the first picture looks a lot like diesel drop on the bottom of the plate and the paint lifting like it is also suggests to me I'd be looking at the fuel system .

[V8Ian]

Well spotted Pedro. Check the fuel pressure regulator.

[djam1]

There is an O ring between the centrifugal filter feed and the block
I have had these leak, a bit of a pain to change but not difficult

[discorevy]

try and catch some on a clean surface and at least see what colour/consistancy it is,,, just from that pic it looks clear enough to be fuel..

^^^ yes , well spotted , close look at first pic looks like diesel , fuel pressure regulator

[RANDLOVER]

I agree, those droplets do look clear like diesel, but if it is leaking a lot it might be being topped up with oil frequently, so the oil doesn't have a chance to get dirty and the centrifugal filter is rumoured to keep the oil quite clean anyway.

[Slunnie]

FPR are my thoughts too. It presents like an oil leak, but its diesel. Back of the engine.

[ramblingboy42]

"massive" oil leaks sometimes aren't as big as they appear. small leaks make a big mess , especially underbody.

I agree with the FPR idea as I had the same issue but its quite obviously fuel.

Another thought is the turbocharger oil drain pipe. It has or should have a metal convoluted or "wave" washer as a gasket. Mine was leaking and it made a terrible mess. I disconnected the pipe....wait until it's cool to check or work on.....and I found to my surprise there was no washer there. It's a very cheap item, quite easy to change when engine is cool.This little bugger fools a lot of people because it appears the leak is coming from the filter area and runs down along the block and down onto everything underneath and I mean everything , even though the oil loss is not significant.

Good luck with your findings.

[INter674]

If oil then I had a repco filter do this. ..was sealed on fitting but later leaked massively due to poor construction. Tightening fixed it a bit but it let go again and spewed oil out.

Also had a cracked filter housing do the same. They crack far too easily😐

But the drop looks like fuel.....?

[laney]

if it was oil then it would be contaminated as it crossed from the left to right side of chassis the leak seems to be on one side only and the paint lifting is classic fuel give away in my option..

[onebob]

Does your D2 have ACE - the way to tell is if your power steering fluid reservoir has 2 caps instead of the usual 1. If you have ACE then check that the oil lines from the ACE pump are not rubbed thru and leaking.

[Mike-DefTD5]

Not sure if it's the same with Discos, but my old TD5 defender had a massive and mysterious oil leak which appeared on the ground under the drivers seat. Turns out an oil seal in the engine around the injection harness had blown and the wiring was sucking up oil all the way to the CPU. When you switched off the engine the pressure was still there so a new puddle appeared. Worth checking.


Yes, I know, I know... If there's no oil under them, there's no oil in them but at this rate there certainly won't be any oil in it.
I have a huge oil leak and it's a mystery to both myself and my LR specialist mechanic. He has replaced a bunch of gaskets (latest being the cam cover gasket, sump gasket and cam plug seal) as well as the oil filter and it is still coming out.
It started as a huge dump of oil a while back. It then slowed to a 50 cent piece if it was parked for more than an hour or so but now it seems to have amped up again. The whole underside is covered in oil and the mark on the road is sure to have the EPA knocking any day now. Ha ha ha. We've tried cleaning the engine to see where it's coming from, but it hasn't helped either.
Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? Or does anyone have any ideas on where it may be coming from? Even anything else we can try?
Anything... the hubby is ready to scrap it (but it's MY car and I won't let him! [biggrin])
Thanks in advance!

150191

[davros]

Worth checking the ‘D’ seal at the back of the camshaft cover. It’s fiddly to seat right and needs to be sealed with silicone (the right type and amount). Mine leaked there and it runs down the back of the block.
Take off the plastic engine cover and shove your fingers down the back between the firewall and the head. If they are oily, you’ll have found at least one culprit!
I believe the oil cooler seals can let go and leak too, on the intake side of the block under the manifold? That’s where the fuel pressure regulator is too if that is leaking diesel.
Dave

[davros]

And people commenting on the diesel leak - yep it does look like it could be! You can smell if it’s diesel pretty easily.
Dave