Noticed a few oil drops on garage floor this AM so checked oil. It was only showing on tip of dipstick. No change in engine performance or low oil light. Other than the obvious find out where the leak is coming from and fix it I am hoping I dodged a bullet and can just sort out the leak and add oil and carry on wheeling. Anyone have a perspective on this?
Damage from Low oil
- Thread starter Cantatan
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Add oil and carry on. Be worried when the oil light comes on.
Add oil. You are fine. Then find and fix the leak.
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- #5
I agree. I filled it up and wife is taking it on a 120 mile round trip today. I will check oil at end of day and see what gives. I honestly don't think the oil all leaked out and it was just fortuitous that I saw the patch today. Either the last oil change shorted me or I have something more fundamentally wrong.
Yeah, you could have started out with a bad oil level from the previous oil change.
The valve covers are the most likely culprit for a leak.
Once these are changed, the engine usually doesn't leak another drop of oil for 100Ks more miles.
The valve covers are the most likely culprit for a leak.
Once these are changed, the engine usually doesn't leak another drop of oil for 100Ks more miles.
plus these dipsticks are not exactly an exact science... cold vs hot, drag it on the side or not, light vs dark oil etc. Plenty of opportunities to have some uncertainty. (although not as bad as ATF on some trucks)
I agree that it could be valve cover gaskets but it might also just be the washer on the drain plug.
If there is no oil residue any higher than the bottom of the oil pan, then just live with the small leak until next oil change. Be sure and have the new washer/seal for the drain plug available to install before reinstalling the drain plug.
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If there is no oil residue any higher than the bottom of the oil pan, then just live with the small leak until next oil change. Be sure and have the new washer/seal for the drain plug available to install before reinstalling the drain plug.
Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD
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- #9
I checked this morning and the oil level was fine. Wife just called me now and told me there was a puddle under it again. I am going to climb under properly tonight to check source. Hopefully nothing serious
I have to chime in...i just sold my 2004 Land Rover Discovery and bought a 2006 LC, just being a month ago.
I had the Disco built with rovertym sliders, 16 rims, bfg all terrains, front a bar, qt axel guards, 2.5" rovertym lift, ome shocks. I was the orignial owner, and outside of the occasional trail duty, she was pampered with synthetic oil, all maintanance on time, etc...
When i sold her a month ago with 95k mi, she had leaking rear diff, center diff, front diff, valve cover gasket, both front brake calipers (not orignial so won't hold it against her) bad air flow sensor, on the heels of a head gasket job i did at 64k miles because of a bad coolant leak near cylinder 7...
Seeing your post on a leak reminded me of her. I loved that truck but muck like a 67 mustange, love to look and and not so crazy about owning, at least not as a daily driver.
Really happy with the LC. Not to beat on the rover because they have their good point too, but i the level of engineering between the two is so obvious as soon as you pop the hood. My wife and I are looking forward to many years of ownership (hopefully) without any oil on our garage floor...
I had the Disco built with rovertym sliders, 16 rims, bfg all terrains, front a bar, qt axel guards, 2.5" rovertym lift, ome shocks. I was the orignial owner, and outside of the occasional trail duty, she was pampered with synthetic oil, all maintanance on time, etc...
When i sold her a month ago with 95k mi, she had leaking rear diff, center diff, front diff, valve cover gasket, both front brake calipers (not orignial so won't hold it against her) bad air flow sensor, on the heels of a head gasket job i did at 64k miles because of a bad coolant leak near cylinder 7...
Seeing your post on a leak reminded me of her. I loved that truck but muck like a 67 mustange, love to look and and not so crazy about owning, at least not as a daily driver.
Really happy with the LC. Not to beat on the rover because they have their good point too, but i the level of engineering between the two is so obvious as soon as you pop the hood. My wife and I are looking forward to many years of ownership (hopefully) without any oil on our garage floor...
I believe Tow-Mater said it best in Cars 2, "The only time a British car don't leak oil, is when it don't have none to start with". Or something like that.
I recall a time someone posted on a rover forum that they had washed down the undercarriage to get rid of all the slug from the motor and diffs, there was post after post grilling the guy telling him that's how the leaks are contained...it's gonna leak more now!!!
In all fairness to the rover. the interior on it is incredibly durable and well built. My LC has 18k miles on it and shows more wear than the 95k Rover i had. The quality of leather and carpet in that car was very high.
My friend with a defender 90 put it best, Rover's are the most overengineered, underengineered cars i the world. Sometimes you look at the car and can't believe how overbuilt a particular part is for its intended purpose, then you sit insdie the car and the steering wheel dosn't perfectly match up with the driver(literally, on my friends D90). Still those british cars have a charm to them that is incredible. It's when the charm hit's your pocket book that you wisen up, at least i did...
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- #13
I have had a defender 110 (diesel)and Disco and now a LC. I know its probably heresy on this board but I would give up the LC in a heartbeat to own another 110. Sorry to keep it tech I took it for an oil change and all seems good now.
Here is what I had to say about LRs in the chat section:
The only thing LR has going for it is superb looks. LRs have problems that defy logic, reason and physics. They have fittings made of materials the expand and contract in the extreme temperature ranges that are possible in the US thus causing air springs to fail. They start on Mondays, not on Tuesday mornings, 50/50 on Wednesdays, fine on Thursdays, not on Fridays after 2:41 PM EST, only with females in the driver's seat on Saturdays, and only when the gas tank is over 72% full on Sundays. They idle rough on calendar days ending in 3, 4 and 7. They overheat every second Tuesday of months ending in Y (unless that month happens to not have 29 days). Windows only work if there are 3 or more people in the truck but only if the rear occupant sits on the passenger side and this only applies to days where the temperature exceeds 62 degrees F. If humidity is above 83%, this negates the windows working rule unless, the front passenger door is opened and closed three times within 5 seconds, 3 seconds after the driver turns the ignition.
This may be a slight over exaggeration, but it honestly felt that way sometimes.
I love the way you can look under an abused 100 Series and there is not even a hint of oil anywhere to be found. Now my front diff...Thats another story.
The only thing LR has going for it is superb looks. LRs have problems that defy logic, reason and physics. They have fittings made of materials the expand and contract in the extreme temperature ranges that are possible in the US thus causing air springs to fail. They start on Mondays, not on Tuesday mornings, 50/50 on Wednesdays, fine on Thursdays, not on Fridays after 2:41 PM EST, only with females in the driver's seat on Saturdays, and only when the gas tank is over 72% full on Sundays. They idle rough on calendar days ending in 3, 4 and 7. They overheat every second Tuesday of months ending in Y (unless that month happens to not have 29 days). Windows only work if there are 3 or more people in the truck but only if the rear occupant sits on the passenger side and this only applies to days where the temperature exceeds 62 degrees F. If humidity is above 83%, this negates the windows working rule unless, the front passenger door is opened and closed three times within 5 seconds, 3 seconds after the driver turns the ignition.
This may be a slight over exaggeration, but it honestly felt that way sometimes.
I love the way you can look under an abused 100 Series and there is not even a hint of oil anywhere to be found. Now my front diff...Thats another story.
Wait, were you the buyer of my Rover???
Jokes aside, they do have many unique issues. I think that's the reason older Jag owner's love their car. When a car is finiky enough, they start to develop a personality...
I liked the looks, the purpose built aspect of the car and the simplicity of my 2004 Disco. Solid axels, boxed frame, no air suspension (that's a disaster in itself), very simple. It's just the thing leaked everywhere. I had a reservior tank give out in december. I thought i had another blown head gasket there was so much coolant on the floor. It turned out because the coolant reservior was part of the pressurized system (yes a plastic tank part of a presurized cooling system??? who thought of that???) and because it had a leak in the cap, it was causing massive back pressure and the coolant leak...
i still loved that Rover...
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So did you track down the leak??
I bought a 2k LC with 152k miles recently. The one and only thing that scared me to death was a slightly "wet" spot on the plastic skid underneath. It was bought sight-unseen with an exception of a mud member that inspected it for me. I drove it home still not knowing what was causing the oil to drip/seep/leak on the skid. I got home and changed the oil to full synthetic the next day and found it was just a loose drain plug or dirty drain plug washer. Snugged it up good and no more leak!
Hope yours is a simple fix. I wouldn't have any advice on where to start, but I am curious what you find.
I bought a 2k LC with 152k miles recently. The one and only thing that scared me to death was a slightly "wet" spot on the plastic skid underneath. It was bought sight-unseen with an exception of a mud member that inspected it for me. I drove it home still not knowing what was causing the oil to drip/seep/leak on the skid. I got home and changed the oil to full synthetic the next day and found it was just a loose drain plug or dirty drain plug washer. Snugged it up good and no more leak!
Hope yours is a simple fix. I wouldn't have any advice on where to start, but I am curious what you find.
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- #19
Disco was ok but expensive to maintain, 100 is better. In the 1980's I also had an old FJ45 that took me all over Southern Africa. Also loved that truck. ended up rolling it head over heels in Zululand.
So far so good on the LC, I cleaned up underneath and did an oil change. Now I will wait and see if it appears again
So far so good on the LC, I cleaned up underneath and did an oil change. Now I will wait and see if it appears again