Valve cover oil leak

[Cchase]

The newly rebuilt engine has been leaking too much oil, even for a Land Rover : ).

I thought that it might be the rear crankshaft seal. I cleaned off the engine and disconnected the crankcase ventilation hose from the oil filler cap. I let the engine warm up and tightened up the three nuts holding the valve cover, using copper or Al crush washers. After ~20 minutes of idling, no leaks!

I reattached the hoses and went for a 10 minute drive and was met with the leakage pictured on return.

I checked the hoses and there are no blockages and the cyclone breather was ok when I put it back on the engine after the rebuild. Could the round valve (err1468) that sits above the  cyclone breather be too stiff to open sufficiently to let air go to the inlet manifold? It does open now. 

(I have attached a pdf of the system on my engine - the link is below the photo)

Would it be better/a solution to run the hose from the oil filler cap to a catch can, and from there to the air intake, bypassing the cyclone breather? 

Do the ERR1468 valves fail?

Maybe I could substitute in this:  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Land-Rover-Defender-2-5-N-A-Cyclone-Engine-Oil-Breather-/201949618819?hash=item2f0522a283:m:msAZCYkL5CuSA8CNZ_4J-qg

Are these stud holes a common oil leak spot? maybe rubber o rings to further keep the oil inside?

Does the crankcase pressure subside as the engine wears in?

I thank the collective wisdom of this site and look forward to your advice!!

Cheers,

Colin

Crank Case ventilation 2.5na.pdf

[Cchase]

No replies/opinions/answers...This is a surprise from this forum!

Thanks for reading.

Colin

[western]

my parts book list  a joint washer under each of the domed nuts,  part number 273069, doesn't say if they are rubber or steel

[Cchase]

Thanks, Western.

Those are Aluminum 'sealing washers'. I'll try resealing under the nuts and re route the crankcase gasses to a vented catch can.

Cheers,

Colin

[deep]

I bought my 110 with a rebuilt, un-run 2.5 diesel.  I used to be very alarmed at how heavily it breathed, even pushing oil past the dipstick after a long idle (though the o-ring on the dipstick was naff and that no longer happens).  It had a straight breather hose from filler cap to inlet manifold.  I replaced the rocker cover with one of a 2.5TD, which has a big breather fitting on the back.  I have hoses on both outlets, going to catch tanks, and my crankcase pressure issues have faded from my mind.  Interestingly, very little oil ends up in those catch tanks and there is no big fog of fumes.  Nevertheless, the pressure produced really is surprising and I wonder if I glazed the bores a little when I first had it running (too much idling while I fettled various things)?

It has got a little better with use and I guess they are old-school engines which need some running in.  I do know that tightening and re-sealing things is avoiding the problem to some extent - reduce pressure first and you will find fewer leaks!

[Cchase]

Thanks, Deep. The issue is getting better with use. Were your catch cans vented to the outside or did you route them back to the inlet manifold?

C

[deep]

On 10/4/2017 at 10:30 PM, Cchase said:

Thanks, Deep. The issue is getting better with use. Were your catch cans vented to the outside or did you route them back to the inlet manifold?

C

They are under the bonnet, jammed between mudguard and footwell.  They basically vent into the engine bay.  I'm wary of injecting anything oily into the inlet manifold!

[monkie]

Who rebuilt the engine? Is it still in the running in phase post rebuild?

I don't like the idea of having the breathing system open to the atmosphere, all the oil fumes can enter the cab and there is no attempt at lowering the crankcase pressure which can encourage oil leaks from seals.

I think the breather set up that you have on your engine should be fine as it is provided that you have ensured that nothing is blocked. It was designed for military use of the 12J to stop the breathing system sucking excess oil into the intake if the sump was overfilled with oil for example. Is everything on the breathing system connected up as it should be with a hose from the bottom of the cyclonic oil separator fitting to a pipe on the sump - nothing open to the atmosphere?

In my opinion I would stick to the breather system you have and see how the crankcase pressure is in a few hundred miles of running in. If it is not better then its time to think what else could be causing the excess pressure such as a duff head gasket for example.

[deep]

Good points, monkie.  My motor is a military 18J.  It has no cyclonic breather, just a relatively small pipe from rocker cover to inlet manifold which couldn't cope, in this case (it might now that I have done 5,000+ miles?  Must investigate).  I have a 19J motor on the floor of the shed and that breathing system looks way better.  If Colin's breather can't cope after several hundred miles or running in, he's definitely got a problem.  Maybe glazed bores, maybe something else?

[monkie]

I have a 19J in my 110. Although later versions of the 19J have a pipe conecting the block to the rocker cover to help with heavy breathing,  I think the system is not the best design as it will pull oil straight to the air filter turning it into a soggy mess.

I really like the ex MOD cyclonic system that Colin has on his 12J as it looks right on that era of engine rather than using a tdi cyclonic system and it works in the same way by returning excess oil to the sump, the hose connected to the inlet system is after the airfilter rather than before as on the 19J. In fact I have been colecting all the parts and I am going to install that same system on my 19J as they do tend to breath heavily compared to other engines, even with no problems. I rebuilt my 19J about  7 or 8 thousand miles ago.

I will take some photos with part numbers when I do this upgrade to the breathing system  incase anyone else with a pre-tdi diesel wants to do the same rather than venting into a catch tank open to the atmosphere.

[deep]

I look forward to seeing that.  I confess I never looked too hard into the options.  My 19J motor must be later as it had that connecting pipe.  My 18J connects to the inlet manifold after the air cleaner but it's a tiny hole and the filler cap would actually blow off with that setup!  The 18J is an oddball engine but essentially the same as a 12J in this regard.

Edited October 8, 2017 by deep
typo

[Jon19j]

I had this problem on my 19j so I added a catch can and added an inline purge valve directly after the oil cap to stop back pressure...  I also replaced the breather hose on the rear and works lovely now and no oil leaks! 

[deep]

11 hours ago, Jon19j said:

I had this problem on my 19j so I added a catch can and added an inline purge valve directly after the oil cap to stop back pressure...  I also replaced the breather hose on the rear and works lovely now and no oil leaks! 

That purge valve sounds interesting.  I had good luck with a catch can, so made one that fits in the "triangle" behind the left side wheel arch, with an gas exit from the top that goes under the floor.  Amazing how little oil mist makes it through but, when you empty the can, there's a lot more water than oil in it (condensation, of course, not an oil problem!).