rebuilt defender 200tdi oil leak

[iainmcinnes]

A cautionary tale that might help others as well as a chance for those more experienced to chortle at a schoolboy error.

Having finished the complete rebuild of my 200tdi last weekend the fateful moment came when you can't put off turning the key and seeing if all that hard work (and expense) has worked out. Key was turned and after not too much churning it started the oil pressure light went out smartly and everything sounded good. Whilst it warmed up I was feeling pretty smug until one of the kids asked where that large and growing puddle of oil was coming from. It was coming from the front wading plug hole in the timing cover and it clearly wasn't going to stop. Long story shortened the source of the leak was the bolt in the centre of the timing belt adjuster. I had fitted the gasket that effectively seals the thread of the adjuster securing bolt off from the oil coming from the nose of the camshaft that runs down the front of the block and back into the sump to the wrong hole. In my defense the manual seems to show the gasket going on the top hole and the you tube video I watched definitely shows it going on the top one

.

Obviously I should have checked by offering up the timing cover chest when I was building the engine and seen that in my case the bolt was going through the bottom hole but to be honest I didn't get the significance of the gasket.

After sulking for a while I pulled the front of the engine apart changed the gasket along with all the others and the engine is now leak free as well as sounding good.

Am I the first numpty to make this mistake I wonder?

[Mo Murphy]

No, you aren't ?

Mo

[Retroanaconda]

One hole is for the Defender timing chest, one for the Discovery I believe.

I nearly made the same mistake.