ajh Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 So... I've had a difficult to diagnose oil leak for a few months now and I really need to get it stopped as soon as possible. Defender 200TDI; the oil is ending up on the bolts on either side of the drain port on the bottom of the bellhousing. I don't see any evidence of a leak from above or any evidence of it coming out of the drain port. I'm all for ideas on where to look, I thought it could be the fuel pump but changed the gasket there with no effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I've got one like this that I can't trace too. Sorry, that's no help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HampshireHog Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I had the same on mine , turned out to be the rear crank seal , but on a brighter note I followed the info on this forum , fitted bolts to the bottom of the bell housing etc and now its all tickety boo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 The rear main was changed when I did the clutch in the fall. I'm hoping I don't have to pull it back apart, what's the best test for that? I was thinking I could plug the drain port with rolled up paper towel and see if it still gets around or backs up? Is that logical? Could you possibly point to the thread you referenced please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I know you've checked about, but double check the back of the rocker cover gasket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 is your rear main seal directly in the flywheel housing or in its own small ally housing? the flywheel hsg with seal has a gasket to the block which does go brittle and leaks like a rear main seal cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I've got the same problem on my disco 200tdi engine, I fitted a new rear crank seal when I fitted the engine approx 3 weeks ago, upto now I was assuming I must have somehow fitted the seal incorrectly so I'm relieved to hear it's a common problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangie46 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Defo check the rubber half moon on the rear rocker cover gasket they always leak as well as the front one too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 Fully re-sealed the valve cover; used "The Right Stuff" on both sides and to fix the half-moons and still a whole lot came out; enough that this really needs to be fixed before any more trips. My guess is either around the lift pump or the plate the lift pump bolts to. I'm waiting for things to cool down and will pressure wash everything I can get to and see how things look after a short in-situ running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Is yours a disco engine if so have all the countersunk bolts been fitted in the bottom of the bell housing. As this allows oil down those bolt holes and would show it's self on the joint not the drain hole. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 No, this one is a Defender engine. I guess I'll order both drain hoses and all the gaskets on the lift-pump side and change them all out, then new oil lines etc until the problem goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Has the sump pan been off ? maybe the sump to engine block sealant is damaged/part missing allowing oil to migrate past via a gap in the sealant. there's no gasket just STC611 RTV sealant on 200 & 300 Tdi engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Nope; haven't had the sump off. It'll just be one part at a time until it stops leaking; but it's leaking enough to worry. Enough that the oil lines at the filter end are suspect; could just be an o-ring even but will get things clean and run it inside so I can get a better look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 I had a filter that leaked at the crimped joint, though it was leaking from somewhere else, after driving the airflow put oil drips on the same bolt heads, worth a look if you haven't looked already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 I did an oil change last week to make sure the filter gasket wasn't bad etc; going to have to pick up some more oil before I take things apart too much but I think I've managed to pressure wash the block enough that I'll be able to hopefully see where the leak is. I'd get one of the UV indicator systems but not in the budget right now; and oddly the rental places never seem to have the really useful things you might only use once a year, only the cheap things you could buy for a couple rentals anyway. I'm also suspecting it could be damage to the hose from the cyclone to the sump; but around the lift pump is still pretty likely since it only happens when running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 on mine it was the folded seam of the filter not the rubber seal, breather hose to engine block is a good call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Well, it looks like it is in fact the secondary housing to engine gasket. Any advice on fixing this, once, and having it last? Transmission out again or engine out? Is using 'The Right Stuff' gasket maker good enough or do I absolutely need to order a new gasket and put off the fix until next weekend? Worth trying one of the stop-leak agents short-term to try to slow the leak to at least something manageable until I can get the parts to fix it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Confirming that ERR1440 is the only gasket it can be if the oil is coming out in front of the secondary housing and behind the engine and between the two lower bolts and nowhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Yes ERR1440 item 19 in http://lrcat.com/#31/4/53149 gasket flywheel housing to engine block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 they don't last forever and a bloody pain , big job for a tenner of gasket ,if I do a rear main I do this as well Oil leaks are my major OCD prob , makes me wonder why I gravitated to LR's sometimes ha ha cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Add "The Right Stuff" to position and seal on top of the gaskets (in moderation) and it'll never leak again.. and well be pretty tough to get apart too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Well, at least engine-out will let me fix my engine mounts. I had Richards make custom bolt-in mounts; but nobody thought (on either side) to change the spacing slightly to account for the added backing plate... so it's a bit of a tight fit... that'll be nice to fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 So, it is leaking quite a bit, my only vehicle at the moment and it is increasingly looking like it will be at least weeks before I can pull the engine to fix it. So, crazy bodge idea time. It seems urethane foams might be oil resistant enough for this to work; short term at least. I am making a couple assumptions though the first is that there are no pressurized channels between the block and the flywheel housing. My question is, since the gap is fairly large between the two housings... has anyone tried this as a short-term measure? I realize in a few weeks I'll have to clean it all off and do it right, but living out of town and losing a litre a day just can't continue and none of the stop-leak type approaches have been any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 So, this is now resolved (once the engine is back in), and ... if you get this leak; deal with it immediately, the problem was much more serious than first thought. It wasn't that the gasket had failed, it was that the top two bolts holding on the flywheel housing were gone and 2 more had the heads sheared off (which explains why the bellhousing had holes in it when I first got the vehicle from an apparently spurious bolt head left inside) and could also explain some of the clutch troubles I've had. I'd almost go as far as recommending checking this if you're doing your clutch already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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